The Obama administration Friday issued proposed Arctic-specific drilling regulations that will apply to potential exploration operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The regulations include new requirements for operators to submit “region-specific” response plans for oil spills, have “prompt access” to source control and containment equipment, and have a separate relief rig available in case well control is lost, the Department of Interior said. “If there were to be an uncontrolled well event, we want to make sure that the well can be secured within the drilling season,” Brian Salerno, director of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said during a conference call. That requirement was quickly criticized by industry. “Other equipment and methods, such as a capping stack, can be used to achieve the same season relief with equal or higher levels of safety and environmental protection,” said Eric Milito, the American […]