Koil Energy Solutions Inc. (KLNG)

[Fred Kadiddlehopper]

BHP deepwater exploration plan OKed for U.S. gulf

By Ryan Dezember
May 17, 2011, 7:33 p.m. EDT

HOUSTON -(MarketWatch)- U.S. regulators on Tuesday approved a deep-water Gulf of Mexico exploration plan by BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) , which allows the Anglo-Australian conglomerate to now seek drilling permits.

BHP's is the third such plan to be approved by federal offshore regulators since new safety and environmental rules were adopted in the aftermath of BP PLC's (BP, BP.LN) deadly Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB, RDSA.LN) has had two exploration plans approved.

The U.S. government had instituted a six-month ban on deep-water drilling after the explosion of Transocean Ltd.'s (NYSE:RIG) Deepwater Horizon, which was being leased by BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), killing 11 and unleashing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Even after the government's official ban was lifted in October, no drilling permits were issued by regulators until Feb. 28.

BHP had resumed drilling in the Gulf's deep waters in late March. At the time that the operations had been halted, the company had five rigs drilling. The head of the conglomerate's oil and gas division said the government's moratorium on deep-water activity stalled work on 11 wells for the Gulf's third-leading producer.

The latest exploration plan calls for a single well in 4,468 feet of water 124 miles off Louisiana's coast, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation Enforcement, which vetted the proposal.


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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-deepwater-exploration-plan-oked-for-us-gulf-2011-05-17