By Gary Gentile in Washington

June 9 - The Minerals Management Service on June 8 issued tough new safety guidelines for offshore drilling, a key step that will allow the eventual resumption of shallow-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Notice to Lessees (NTLs) details specific steps drillers must follow before they can resume work in waters of less than 500 feet. The guidelines apply to all offshore operations, but all deepwater drilling has been put on hold for six months while an independent commission appointed by President Barack Obama investigates the April 20 blowout of BP's Macondo well.

Shallow-water permits have been frozen and in some cases yanked over the past few weeks while MMS officials worked on the set of new safety and inspection requirements.

Additional NTLs will be released in the coming weeks, acting MMS Director Robert Abbey said. Those documents will detail expanded requirements for exploration and development plans on the Outer Continental Shelf.

"We are following an orderly, responsible process for implementing stronger safety and environmental requirements of offshore drilling," said Abbey. "We need to make sure that drilling is done right, that it is done safely, and that oil and gas operators are following the law."

The NTL details seven steps drillers must complete before permits for new wells are granted or operations at current wells are allowed to proceed.

The document also sets two key deadlines that could extend a de facto shallow water ban for some drillers for several more weeks.

Drilling operations that are not subject to the deepwater moratorium must submit detailed information about their blowout preventer (BOP) equipment to the MMS by June 17. Required safety certifications must also be submitted by June 28.

"Failure to provide required certifications will result in the issuance of an incident of non-compliance and may result in a shut-in order," the document states.

Among the requirements, drillers must examine all well control systems and certify that they are properly maintained and capable of shutting a well during an emergency. Companies must also have their blowout preventer equipment certified by an independent engineer and certify to MMS that the BOP is capable of operating properly.

All operators that were using a subsea BOP or a surface BOP stack on a floating platform on May 27, when the deepwater moratorium was established, must submit detailed diagrams and information about the BOP and well configuration.

The mandatory information includes piping diagrams of the stack and well control system. BOP and control system test results must also be submitted, as well as "any information on any initial failed test attempts and remedy to obtain a successful test," the document states.

Operators must also detail any BOP and loss of well control events, even if temporary. Operators do not have to include information on routine well kicks that were controlled, but should include information on the release of fluids through a diverter.

Before starting new floating drilling operations or resuming operations, operators must have an independent third party conduct a "detailed physical inspection and design review" of the BOP.

An independent third party must also verify that the blind shear rams installed in the BOP are capable of shearing the drill pipe in the hole "under maximum anticipated surface pressures."

All BOP stacks must also have a secondary control system, with capabilities for being activated by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The subsea BOP system must have an emergency shut-in system in the event of lost power in addition to a deadman system. An acoustic trigger mechanism for activating the BOP remotely is not required, although it is mentioned as one of the acceptable backup systems.

Companies must also show proof that all well casing designs and cementing procedures are certified by a professional engineer. Companies must also verify that they have dual mechanical barriers in addition to cement to prevent the flow of hydrocarbons in the case of cement failure.

"The deepwater drilling moratorium that is in place will provide time for the Presidential Commission to complete its work, but production and shallow-water drilling may continue under the stronger safety requirements that we are implementing today," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

The American Petroleum Institute said it had not had time to analyze the NTL, but was pleased that guidelines were in place that would allow shallow-water operations to resume. The group also called on Interior to reconsider its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

"We fully support the Minerals Management Service's goal of making offshore energy production as safe and environmentally sensitive as possible," the API said in a statement. "However, we urge MMS to be mindful that actions taken today could impair the nation's production of much-needed oil and natural gas in the future, threatening jobs, government revenues and America's energy security."