Is GOM drilling moratorium hurting or helping rig safety?

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) is urging its members to contact federal lawmakers to convey IADC’s dismay regarding the blanket suspension of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

IADC Chairman Louis A. Raspino said uncertainty from Washington, DC, regarding deepwater drilling threatens the future of the US offshore drilling industry. Raspino, chief executive officer and president of Pride International Inc., spoke during an IADC town hall meeting in Houston on July 7.

The Interior Department imposed a 6-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the gulf following an Apr. 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible drilling rig, which was working for BP PLC and partners on the Macondo well in 5,000 ft of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 252.

“Just about every rig sitting in the gulf right now is trying to find a way out of the gulf,” Raspino said. A federal judge in New Orleans issued a temporary injunction that effectively blocks the drilling moratorium, but the federal government is appealing that ruling to the appeals court.

Raspino and others speaking at the meeting all emphasized the importance of rig safety, but they also suggested that the motivation behind the moratorium was more about anti-drilling politics than it was about rig safety.

The moratorium is more likely to reduce safety than to improve safety, said Tom E. Williams, a member of a team of scientists advising Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Williams is managing director of Nautilus International LLC.

Several others at the town hall meeting emphasized that the US has higher environmental standards and drilling safety regulations than do many other countries.

“The national security issue is not even being discussed,” in Washington, Raspino said regarding the likelihood that a decrease in US drilling will contribute to higher US dependence upon imported oil.

IADC’s first competence accreditation goes to Rowan

Rowan Drilling UK Ltd. last year became the first company worldwide to gain full competence accreditation for its drilling personnel training through the International Association of Drilling Contractors.

Brenda Kelly, IADC director of accreditation and certification, said the Competence Assurance Accreditation Program (CAA) helps assure that worker competence programs designed by drilling and service companies meet accepted practices.

In February 2008, Rowan received conditional accreditation. The company made some minor revisions to its program and achieved full accreditation in November 2008, Kelly said.

Rowan’s CAA applies to 16 rig positions and the personnel holding those positions who work in northern European waters. Kelly said the positions are wide ranging and include roustabouts, crane operators, drillers, electricians, and medics.

Currently, another company has conditional accreditation. Three others have applied for accreditation and await site visits to verify the quality of their competence programs, Kelly said. A fourth company is in the program application review process.

The CAA is a way to help ensure the flow of knowledge and skills from industry’s aging workforce to its newer recruits.