Study opens path for seismic surveys off USAC for oil, gas
development
Washington (Platts)--27Feb2014/602 pm EST/2302 GMT
The Obama administration on Thursday moved a step closer to allowing
the first seismic exploration in decades for oil and gas off the US
Atlantic coast, outlining a range of environmental mitigation measures
that surveyors would have to follow to avoid negatively impacting
wildlife and habitats.
But the announcement, made by the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management in a programmatic environmental impact statement,
seems sure to raise industry hackles, given the agency's stated desire
to impose "the strongest safeguards" for marine life.
Those include requirements to avoid vessel strikes, closed-off areas to
protect the migratory route for the endangered North Atlantic right
whale, geographic separation of simultaneous seismic airgun surveys and
"passive acoustic monitoring" to improve detection of marine mammals
prior to seismic airgun surveys.
The American Petroleum Institute, the National Ocean Industries
Association and the International Association of Geophysical Contractors
said they were still reviewing the announcement and had no immediate
reaction on whether it would discourage seismic exploration or raise
costs.
But in comments the groups submitted in 2012, when BOEM first considered
mitigation measures for seismic surveying off the Atlantic coast, they
said such requirements "would impose potentially high costs [and]
greatly impede or altogether preclude the conduct of seismic surveys and
geohazard and cultural resource identification."
For now, the groups say they are relieved that the long-delayed PEIS is
finally out, paving the way for BOEM to begin approving seismic
exploration permits in the coming months for the potentially
resource-rich region, which stretches from Delaware to mid-Florida.
Jeff Vorberger, NOIA's vice president for policy and government affairs,
said the completion of the PEIS represents "an important step in the
determination of whether to open up new areas of the Atlantic Outer
Continental Shelf to oil and natural gas exploration."
Meanwhile, environmental and wildlife groups opposed to opening up the
Atlantic coast to development blasted the PEIS, saying BOEM should have
strictly limited the areas where airgun surveying could occur, likening
such activity to "dynamite going off in your neighborhood every 10
seconds for days, weeks and months on end."
"Airgun exploration is not only a gateway drug to offshore drilling but,
as the scientific community has recognized, a major assault on the
oceans in itself," the Natural Resources Defense Council's Michael Jasny
said.
In the PEIS, BOEM said the rules, when finalized, would provide a
framework for its decisions on whether to approve applications it has
received to conduct seismic surveys of the region. The PEIS will be
available for public comment through April 7, after which the agency
will issue a "record of determination" that would codify the rules.
OLD DATA
The last seismic surveys of the area were done about 30 years ago, and
industry groups have said the information is outdated and not as
reliable as surveys shot using newer technology.
More recent projections include a 2011 analysis by BOEM, which concluded
that the Mid-Atlantic region, which stretches from Delaware to South
Carolina, could contain undiscovered, technically recoverable resources
of 1.42 billion barrels of oil and 19.4 Tcf of natural gas.
BOEM will begin work next year on its 2017-2022 offshore development
plan and is weighing whether to allow lease sales off the Atlantic
coast, where hey are currently not allowed.
BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau said the PEIS is "part of our strategy to
help us understand the resource, to help us understand its location, any
potential special conflicts and to ensure a fair return for the
taxpayer."
Beaudreau said BOEM currently has nine applications for seismic
surveying in the Atlantic. Before the agency approves any of them, they
would be subject to individual, site-specific environmental reviews, he
said.
However, all nine applications were submitted before a Virginia lease
sale was canceled by BOEM after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in
the Gulf of Mexico.
Erik Milito, the API's director of upstream and industry operations,
said he expects the applicants will have to resubmit their permit
requests, "to make sure their applications have the latest information
and conform to the requirements."
But the real catalyst for oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic will
be any announcement from the Obama administration that an Atlantic lease
sale will be included in its 2017-2022 plan, Milito said. BOEM officials
have so far been mum on that possibility.
"There could be a waiting game on whether [seismic exploration firms]
move forward, based on whether the government allows the potential for
leasing," Milito said. "If that signal comes, you'll then see a lot more
activity in terms of companies moving forward with seismic operations in
the Atlantic."
--Herman Wang,
herman.wang@platts.com
--Edited by Annie Siebert,
ann.siebert@platts.com
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