Naples News

U.S.inspectors: Oil rig headed to Cuba generally complies with standards

By ERIC STAATS

January 9, 2012

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/09/usinspectors-oil-rig-headed-to-cuba-generally

U.S. inspectors got a look Monday at the oil drilling rig that is headed to a job in Cuban waters and has raised concerns about the adequacy of oil spill response plans.

Spanish oil giant Repsol plans to use the new Chinese-built rig to look for oil in coming weeks some 90 miles from Key West off Cuba's northern coast.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a statement afterward that said inspectors found the rig "to generally comply" with international and U.S. standards.

A government spokeswoman would not say how many people were involved in the inspection, how long it took or what the inspectors discussed with rig operators.

"The language (in the statement) should not be interpreted to suggest there were problems," spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said.

Inspectors with the environmental enforcement bureau and the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the Chinese-built rig, the Scarabeo 9, off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago at the invitation of Repsol.

The U.S. government has no official jurisdiction over the rig, but Repsol agreed to the inspection to assuage fears about a repeat of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the northern Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

A spill off the coast of Cuba would threaten coral reefs, mangroves and beaches in the Keys, and the Gulf Stream could carry oil up the U.S. east coast.

Monday's review included the rig's construction, drilling equipment, lifesaving and firefighting equipment, emergency generators, the system that positions the rig and the blowout preventer, according to the bureau's statement.

In testimony to a House subcommittee last fall, the bureau's Director Michael Bromwich said the review would not cover about a dozen inspection points that must be done once the rig is in place, including testing the blowout preventer and how well the rig is secured in place.

An environmental advocate said he wanted more details about what inspectors found on the rig than the "pretty vague" government statement.

"In and of itself, it's not enough," said Daniel Whittle, Cuba program director for the Environmental Defense Fund. "It makes me want to know more."

Whittle said he was encouraged by part of the statement that described multilateral discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico on drilling safety, ocean modeling and oil spill preparedness.

The talks "are providing valuable information on each country's plans and capabilities that will improve bilateral and regional cooperation should a major pollution incident occur," the statement says.

Authorities have been tight-lipped about the outcome of a December meeting in the Bahamas that some participants have described as "constructive," Whittle said.

"It's a good significant first step," he said.