Interior official says industry is making progress in preparation for oil well blowouts

The Interior Department’s top offshore drilling regulator met with officials from major oil companies Tuesday and said he sees progress in their efforts to improve their capability to contain blown-out deepwater wells.

Interior is demanding improved capabilities before it resumes issuing permits for deepwater oil-and-gas drilling, which was halted after last year’s BP oil spill.

Michael Bromwich, director of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said he met Tuesday with the Marine Well Containment Co., an Exxon-led consortium of major oil companies that also includes Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips and is developing enhanced systems that can be quickly deployed in the event of another blowout.

“I think they are making progress and they answered some of the questions we had, and we will continue to work with them,” Bromwich told reporters Wednesday.

Last Friday Bromwich sent letters to the consortium and the Helix Energy Solutions Group — another company developing containment systems — seeking details on their efforts.

“The most critical missing piece in the process of approving applications for permits to drill in deep water is the demonstration of well control and subsea containment capability,” Bromwich wrote in the letters to the companies Friday.

On Wednesday Bromwich said the meeting provided some of the answers he’s seeking.

“I think we are getting closer. I think we needed to put the questions to the highest levels of those companies so we could get good and coherent responses. We got many of those yesterday, and we will have continuing discussions with them over the next several weeks,” he said Wednesday.

Bromwich last month said he expects permitting for deepwater projects to resume before mid-year. Asked Wednesday if that timeline remains effective, he replied, “Yes. I think it is.”