5
ensuing impacts should ultra-deep blowouts reoccur? It is to these questions that this
volume intended to contribute.
Keywords Ultra-deep oil and gas · Ixtoc 1 · Deepwater Horizon · Oil spill
response
1.1 Background
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 (Lubchenco et al. 2012) challenged
the essence of what industry, government, scientists, and the public perceived at the
time about marine oil spills, and revealed the tremendous technological challenges –
and risks – being undertaken to maintain hydrocarbon supplies globally. Currently,
offshore oil from the Gulf of Mexico accounts for >90% of US marine production and
about 20% of total US oil production (terrestrial and marine). Over half of the US supply of marine-derived crude oil now comes from wells >1500 meters (one statute mile)
water depth – classified by industry and government regulators as “ultra-deep” production. The technologies to exploit ultra-deep and highly productive formations within
them have developed rapidly since 2000 (Murawski et al. 2020b) when no ultra-deep
wells existed anywhere in the world. Deep water drilling no longer involves derricks
standing on the sea bottom, but rather ships tethered to anchoring systems with extended
drilling and production pipe strings from the sea surface to blowout preventers (BOPs)
resting on the seafloor. A number of factors make ultra-deep exploration and production much more challenging than shallow-water plays, including strong ocean currents,
extremely high pressures and low temperatures at the sea bottom, varied sub-bottom
rock and sediment strata, and high oil and gas reservoir pressures/temperatures. All of
these factors, combined with the extremely high production costs of ultra-deep wells,
create enormous challenges to explore, develop, and produce from ultra-deep oil and
gas extraction facilities safely and with minimal environmental damage.
1.2 Introduction to the Volume
In the United States, offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production
are primarily regulated by the federal government, under conditions specified by the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), originally signed into law in 1953.
Additional regulations and applicable statutes related to marine oil and gas production include the Clean Water Act (1972), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972),
and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, among others. The latter two statutes are
primarily applicable to the exploration phase (regulating the use of seismic testing
for sub-bottom profiling) and, with respect to oil spills, damages that may be incurred
to species and their habitats subject to law’s jurisdictions. The response to marine oil
spills is managed by the US Coast Guard acting with other related federal and
1 Introduction to the Volume
ensuing impacts should ultra-deep blowouts reoccur? It is to these questions that this
volume intended to contribute.
Keywords Ultra-deep oil and gas · Ixtoc 1 · Deepwater Horizon · Oil spill
response
1.1 Background
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 (Lubchenco et al. 2012) challenged
the essence of what industry, government, scientists, and the public perceived at the
time about marine oil spills, and revealed the tremendous technological challenges –
and risks – being undertaken to maintain hydrocarbon supplies globally. Currently,
offshore oil from the Gulf of Mexico accounts for >90% of US marine production and
about 20% of total US oil production (terrestrial and marine). Over half of the US supply of marine-derived crude oil now comes from wells >1500 meters (one statute mile)
water depth – classified by industry and government regulators as “ultra-deep” production. The technologies to exploit ultra-deep and highly productive formations within
them have developed rapidly since 2000 (Murawski et al. 2020b) when no ultra-deep
wells existed anywhere in the world. Deep water drilling no longer involves derricks
standing on the sea bottom, but rather ships tethered to anchoring systems with extended
drilling and production pipe strings from the sea surface to blowout preventers (BOPs)
resting on the seafloor. A number of factors make ultra-deep exploration and production much more challenging than shallow-water plays, including strong ocean currents,
extremely high pressures and low temperatures at the sea bottom, varied sub-bottom
rock and sediment strata, and high oil and gas reservoir pressures/temperatures. All of
these factors, combined with the extremely high production costs of ultra-deep wells,
create enormous challenges to explore, develop, and produce from ultra-deep oil and
gas extraction facilities safely and with minimal environmental damage.
1.2 Introduction to the Volume
In the United States, offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production
are primarily regulated by the federal government, under conditions specified by the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), originally signed into law in 1953.
Additional regulations and applicable statutes related to marine oil and gas production include the Clean Water Act (1972), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972),
and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, among others. The latter two statutes are
primarily applicable to the exploration phase (regulating the use of seismic testing
for sub-bottom profiling) and, with respect to oil spills, damages that may be incurred
to species and their habitats subject to law’s jurisdictions. The response to marine oil
spills is managed by the US Coast Guard acting with other related federal and
1 Introduction to the Volume