Drilling permits remain down, approval time longer

Permits for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico remain below average across all categories, according to the latest Gulf Permit Index. The index, released today by Greater New Orleans Inc., shows that deepwater permit issuance continues to lag behind the monthly average observed in the year prior to the BP oil spill of April 2010. Just two deepwater permits have been issued per month since November 2011, representing a 66% monthly reduction from the average of 5.8 permits per month. This number also represents a 71% reduction from the average of seven permits per month over the past three years. Shallow-water permit issuance is also below the historical average. Since November, the state has averaged 2.3 shallow-water permits per month, a decrease of 68% from the year prior to the oil spill. That’s also an 84% reduction from the historical average of 14.7 permits per month over the past three years. The GPI also shows a sharp increase in the average number of days taken to approve plans and a significant decrease in approvals. In 2011, the average approval time for a plan was 109 days, compared to the historical average of 61 days. All deepwater plans that include drilling activity must now undergo an environmental assessment process; for those plans in 2011, the average approval time was 213 days. Additionally, 34% of plans submitted in 2011 to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement were approved, compared to the historical 73.4% approval rate. Data for the index originates from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as well as data on exploration and development plans taken from BOEMRE.