In more news, five Shell drilling rigs in the Gulf, shut down by a federal government ban on drilling after BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, are being allowed to resume operations. The massive BP explosion blew that rig apart, killing 11 offshore oil rig workers. The federal ban against drilling was lifted last October. It was put in place to allow the federal government to conduct an environmental impact study and other safety investigations of deep water drilling rigs and equipment. Since then, however, the government has been slow to issue new drilling permits for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  

Shell’s announcements came after it received word this month from the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement that it could develop the new Europa well off Louisiana’s coast, reactivate five rigs in the Gulf and open up operations in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea. The Post also reports that Shell is close to receiving permission to drill three wells in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

Meanwhile, Fuelfix.com reports that Chevron is partnering with NASA’s Jet Propulsion  Lab to develop technologies to expedite oil and gas exploration in remote regions. The JPL’s experience with rovers on Mars and other robotics will help oil and gas companies monitor conditions on the ocean’s floor, miles beneath drilling rigs. Pressures and temperatures there are among the most extreme on earth. A Chevron executive says the technology will help with  exploration in “deep remote reservoirs.” JPL technology can successfully send electronic signals over millions of miles in space. Energy executives are quick to say they believe it will be a boon to oil and gas exploration.   

The news from Shell has environmentalists worried. Groups like EarthJustice call its new conditional government permits to drill in Alaska a “catastrophe.” In a statement in the Washington Post, the group’s spokesperson said Alaska’s “...remote and fragile waters” are especially vulnerable to oil spills. The drilling site’s distance in the Beaufort Sea from the nearest Coast Guard facility, 1,000 miles away, is also a concern. Environmentalist’s fear any response to a spill will be inadequate given the drilling rig’s location.

Jones Act attorney Jim Adler is also casting a wary eye on Shell’s plans in the Gulf of Mexico and its plans for drilling in Alaska. Offshore oil work is extremely hazardous for anyone employed on an oil rig, from roustabouts to cooks and maids, who make sure that living conditions on the rig are comfortable. Safety is a constant concern due to high winds and the potential for freezing weather even in summer in Alaska. Adler is also concerned about equipment failure under Alaska’s harsh drilling conditions and in the Gulf of Mexico. Final reports about problems with the blowout preventer supected of causing the BP disaster are not yet public, a fact that also concerns Adler. That type of blowout preventer is commonly used on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.  

The Jones Act is a long-standing federal law that protects offshore oil rig workers and other maritime workers. But it can be complex given the many kinds of accidents that can and do happen under the potentially dangerous conditions that exist on oil rigs every day no matter their location.