The Department of the Interior (DOI) relaxed a drilling rule that was projected to increase oil production in the Gulf of America and lower costs, the agency said in an April 24 statement.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has implemented new parameters for “downhole commingling” in the Paleogene (Wilcox) oil and gas reservoirs in the Gulf of America.
Downhole commingling is the process of producing oil from several reservoirs that have varying pressure levels by using only a single wellbore, a type of borehole drilled to extract oil.
Under the new policy, the BSEE is “expanding the allowable pressure differential from 200 psi to 1500 psi,” a nearly eightfold increase. This will allow companies to produce oil from multiple reservoirs with pressure differences….