Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

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Status of Drilling Permits Subject to Enhanced Safety and Environmental Requirements in the Gulf of Mexico

In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has put in place significant new safeguards to protect the environment beyond what has ever existed before. These new safety measures include heightened drilling safety standards to reduce the chances that a loss of well control might occur in the first place, as well as a new focus on containment capabilities in the event of an oil spill. For more information on new applicable regulations and standards for both shallow and deepwater drilling operations, see Offshore Drilling Safety Reforms.

Ongoing permitting: facts and figures (Please note that these numbers are updated daily)

Shallow water: To date, 62 new shallow water well permits have been issued since the implementation of new safety and environmental standards on June 8, 2010. Permits have averaged more than 6 per month over the past 8 months, compared to an average of 8 permits per month in 2009. Just 3 of these permits are currently pending; with 6 having been returned to the operator for more information.

Deepwater drilling applications fall into two categories for the implementation of our new regulations. To clarify these differences, we have included the narrative below. The deepwater moratorium was lifted on October 12, 2010, and is the reference for inclusion of new rules in applications:

Deepwater permits requiring subsea containment: Since an applicant first successfully demonstrated containment capabilities in mid-February, we have approved 57 of these permits for 17 unique wells, with 26 permits pending, and 23 permits returned to the operator with requests for additional information, particularly information regarding containment.
Deepwater activities not requiring subsea containment: Since the implementation of new safety and environmental standards, 41 of these permits have been approved, with 1 currently pending. These activities include water injection wells and procedures using surface blowout preventers.

The tables below demonstrate aggregate permitting statistics for both shallow water and deepwater. The table for deepwater includes both those permits that are subject to containment requirements and those that are not.

To download copies of approved permits see the eWell Online Query.

Scroll over type of permit in the tables below for a definition of the permit.

Shallow Permits to Drill¹ Data last updated on 06/29/2011 11:00 AM (CST) and will be updated each business day.
Water Depth Less than or equal to 500 feet
Permit Type	Submitted prior to June 8, 2010	Submitted since June 8, 2010	Returned²	Withdrawn³	Pending⁴	Approved since June 8, 2010⁵
New Well A revision to a sidetrack involves a change to the drilling of a sidetrack from an existing well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A revision to a sidetrack involves a change to the drilling of a sidetrack from an existing well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A sidetrack involves an operator drilling to a new geologic target or a new location within the original target from an existing wellbore. A sidetrack involves an operator drilling to a new geologic target or a new location within the original target from an existing wellbore. A revision to a bypass involves a change to the drilling of a bypass from an existing well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A revision to a bypass involves a change to the drilling of a bypass from an existing well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A bypass is when an operator drills around a mechanical problem in the original hole to the original target from the existing wellbore. A bypass is when an operator drills around a mechanical problem in the original hole to the original target from the existing wellbore. A revision to a new well involves a change to the drilling of new well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A revision to a new well involves a change to the drilling of new well, which may be necessary for safety purposes, such as if an operator determines it necessary to set a liner deeper in the wellbore due to results from a formation integrity test. A new well involves an operator drilling an original wellbore hole in the seafloor to a geologic target.	13	63	6	5	3	62
Revised New Well	9	114	1	2	2	118
Bypass		25			1	24
Revised Bypass		17				17
Sidetrack	16	96	8	3	7	94
Revised Sidetrack	6	105	2		1	108
Deepwater Permits to Drill⁶
Water Depth Greater than 500 feet
Permit Type	Submitted prior to Oct 12, 2010	Submitted since Oct 12, 2010	Returned²	Withdrawn³	Pending⁷	Approved since Oct 12, 2010⁸
New Well A new well involves an operator drilling an original wellbore hole in the seafloor to a geologic target.	15	28	15	2	17	9
Revised New Well	2	50	3	3	2	44
Bypass		11	1			10
Revised Bypass	1	14		1	3	11
Sidetrack	4	10	2	1	4	7
Revised Sidetrack	4	17	2	1	1	17

Shallow water drilling operations became subject to new rules and information requirements as of June 8, 2010.
Submitted permit applications may be returned to the operator for further information or clarification. These applications are not counted as pending applications.
Applications may be withdrawn by an operator at any time in the application process.
Pending permit figures in this table include applications submitted before and after June 8, 2010. They do not include applications that have been returned.
Approved permit figures in this table include applications submitted before and after June 8, 2010.
The deepwater moratorium was lifted on October 12 and is the reference for inclusion of new rules in applications.
Pending permit figures in this table include applications submitted before and after October 12, 2010. They do not include applications that have been returned.
Approved permit figures in this table include applications submitted before and after October 12, 2010.

Status of Exploration and Development Plans Subject to Enhanced Safety and Environmental Requirements in the Gulf of Mexico has been moved to it's own page and can be found by clicking here.

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Last Updated: 06/29/2011