BP mud drilling spill ‘should be setting off alarms’

Government being asked to stop project

Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna is being asked to halt the BP Canada Energy Group ULC (BP Canada) offshore exploratory drilling project the near Sable Island National Park Reserve and revisit the approval of BP’s application in light of new expert evidence that the project’s risks were not fully assessed.

“BP has been drilling for only two months and has already had a significant spill. This should be setting off alarms for people everywhere,” says John Davis of the Clean Oceans Action Committee. “We know the conditions of our offshore waters and know these, and other risks, were underestimated by BP. Now we have an expert confirming this. It’s time to reconsider this approval to drill.”

BP began drilling April 22 at the offshore site, Aspy D-11, in waters 2,777 metres deep, in what could be the first of seven exploratory wells in the Scotian Basin. On June 22, BP reported “an unauthorized discharge of synthetic based drilling mud (SBM)” from the drilling unit West Aquarius. Preliminary estimates are the volume discharged is approximately 136 cubic metres (136,000 litres; 29,915.8 gallons). Preliminary indications are the discharge came from piping that forms part of the mud system approximately 30 metres below sea level.

Drilling at the site remains suspended pending an investi- gation by the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB). “To resume drilling, the CNSOPB must be satisfied with the responsive steps that BP has taken, and be satisfied that drilling operations can proceed safely,” reads an update on the CNSPOPB website.

In the meantime, more than 25 organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Canadians have sent an open letter to Minister Catherine McKenna calling for the project to be stopped.

“Right now, BP is drilling near Sable Island National Park Reserve, putting this treasured place, Nova Scotia’s multibillion-dollar fisheries and tourism industries – which drive the province’s economy and provide people with good, sustainable jobs – and marine life at risk,” reads the letter. “The nearest capping stack is in Norway and federal approval did not require a relief well drilling unit. As the minister that approved BP’s application, you have a responsibility to halt BP’s drilling offshore Nova Scotia and reassess this approval.”

The letter highlights expert evidence by Dr. Robert Bea, pro- fessor emeritus at University of California Berkeley and codirector and founder of the university’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management. “Contrary to the [ Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s] (CEAA) Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Guidelines, the ‘risks of accidents and malfunctions’ have not been properly assessed, documented and validated by BP,” Dr Bea is quoted as saying in the letter. “BP’s assessment of the likelihood of an uncontrolled blowout is much too low, based on the Nova Scotia exploratory drilling conditions. BP’s assessment of the consequences of an uncontrolled blowout are based on unsubstantiated assessments of the times required for successful mobilization of a blowout preventer capping stack, and if required, drilling a relief well. Both the short and long-term ‘consequences’ of the oil and gas released to the environment have been significantly underestimated.”

The open letter to McKenna is the latest lobby effort by the Council of Canadians and a host of other organizations to stop the BP project. “This spill is a wake-up call. Drilling puts our economy and sustainable jobs in the fishing and tourism industries at risk. We need to stop expanding the fossil fuel industry in Canada and start getting serious about planning for more sustainable energy production and consumption,” said Andrea Harden-Donahue, energy and climate justice campaigner with the Council of Canadians.

According to the CNSOPB, synthetic based mud is a heavy, dense fluid used during drilling to lubricate the drill pipe and overbalance reservoir pressure. “Be- cause of its weight, the mud sinks rapidly in the water column to the sea floor. The synthetic based oil used in SBM is of low toxicity. Because of this, effects of SBM spills are typically limited to the area immediately surrounding the well site and are associated with physical smothering of the seabed due to coverage by the mud.”

Environmental fate and effects analysis will be required from BP as part of the investigation following the accidental release of the drilling mud, the regulatory board says.