(Reuters) The U.S. Interior Department said it has implemented new guidelines for allowable pressure differences in a certain type of oil drilling in part of the Gulf of Mexico, changes it expects can boost U.S. oil output.
President Donald Trump's new Energy Dominance Council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is looking for ways to cut costs for oil and gas producers, cut regulations and boost oil output, which reached record levels under former President Joe Biden.
Under the new rules, operators working in the Wilcox rock formation under part of the waters that Trump has renamed the Gulf of America, can produce oil from multiple offshore reservoirs using greater pressure differences.
The rules on so-called downhole commingling between reservoirs in the Paleogene expand the allowable pressure differential from 200 pounds per square inch to 1500 psi.
Interior expects the changes can boost output by 100,000 barrels per day of oil from the region over 10 years. "This is a monumental milestone in achieving American Energy Dominance," said Burgum. "We're delivering more American energy, more efficiently, and with fewer regulatory roadblocks."
The producers must meet conditions including pressure monitoring and regular performance reporting, Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
Late in the Biden administration, the bureau rolled out safety rules for offshore drillers as breakthrough technology enables them to operate under extreme subsea pressures. The high pressures could unlock billions of barrels in untapped oil reserves around the world, but some safety concerns have loomed about the potential for leaks from drilling sites.
"This change makes more money for paper pushers, but makes the work more dangerous for tool pushers out in the water," said Scott Eustis, the community science director for the Healthy Gulf nonprofit group.
Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said the rule change is "designed to unlock potentially stranded offshore oil and gas production while keeping safety and environmental protection front and center."
The Biden-era rules came after Chevron started production at its Anchor asset, owned with TotalEnergies, which was the first ever project to operate at 20,000 psi of pressure, reaching reservoir depths of 34,000 feet (10,363 m).
