The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a second round of noncompliance notices to BP PLC on Dec. 7 in connection with its operation of the Macondo deepwater well which blew out in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico on Apr. 20, 2010, resulting in a massive oil spill.
BSEE said it issued five incidents of noncompliance (INC) by faxed letter to BP, four of which were violations of one regulation in different sections of the well. “Further review of the evidence demonstrated additional regulatory violations by BP in its drilling and abandonment operations at the Macondo well,” BSEE Director James A. Watson said.
One INC alleged that BP did not conduct an accurate pressure integrity test at the well’s 13-5/8-in. liner shoe, while the other four said the company did not suspend operations at the well when the safe drilling margin identified in the approved drilling permit application was not maintained, according to BSEE.
BSEE said BP has 60 days to appeal the INCs. Once that time has passed, BSEE will consider imposition of fines, it said.
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