Shell gets Nova Scotia green light

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) approved Shell’s development plans for the Shelburne Basin Exploration Project on Tuesday.

According to the board, the approval comes after a revision in Shell’s blowout response plan. The company reduced the time it would take to deploy a capping stack to 12-13 days, down from its original plan of 21 days. Since 2010, Shell has made other alterations, such as improvements to the blowout preventer, that had been requested by the CNSOPB.

“With the stringent requirements now in place for blowout preventers, independent well examiners, real time monitoring and CNSOPB’s deep water drilling oversight plan – all new requirements since the Macondo incident in 2010 – we are confident that all reasonable precautions to protect safety and the environment have been taken,” board CEO Stuart Pinks said in a statement.

The super-major will use the Stena IceMAX drillship to drill at water depths of 1,500-3,000 metres. The first phase of the project will see the drilling of two exploration wells. In total, the project area includes six licences covering 19,845 square kilometres. Shell operates the licences with a 50-percent interest. Other shareholders include the US’ ConocoPhillips, with a 30-percent stake, and Canada’s Suncor Energy, with a 20-percent stake.

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