The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has approved 69 federal offshore oil and well permits during this year’s first half, BSEE Director Scott A. Angelle said.
Nine wells have been completed and 33 are being drilled on the US Outer Continental Shelf, Angelle said. Approval of a well permit paves the way for an offshore operator to begin drilling and initiates a vast project supported by drilling crews and service and supply contractors, he said.
Economic activity surrounding the drilling of an offshore well is extensive, Angelle said. It includes contracting the rig, manufacturing the drill pipe and casing strings, and supplying the drilling mud and other goods and services, he said.
“Overall, operators on the US OCS are producing more oil and gas than ever before, and it all begins with drilling the well,” Angelle said in a statement as part of the Trump administration’s Energy Week.
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