DoD seeks rules for drilling in GoM

An expansion of oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) would interfere with military testing unless the Defense and Interior departments develop rules to govern the work, a Pentagon report released May 9 concluded. The Defense Department’s report, was sent May 9 to lawmakers, indicated that drilling east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico, a demarcation more than 200 miles west of Florida, would harm military testing operations without the rules. The report indicated: “Military flexibility in the region would be lost and test and training activities would be severely affected” without mutually agreed restrictions on drilling between the two departments. Industry groups interpreted the report with optimism, according to Reuters. In January, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the administration would not allow drilling off Florida. DoD and Interior have been holding meetings on drilling in the region that is likely to continue for months. In a March auction for acreage in the Gulf of Mexico several companies’ bids were made in the formation closest to the Military Mission Line - known as DeSoto Canyon. BP Plc bid on the most contiguous leases staking its claim on about 171 square miles in DeSoto Canyon, some 100 miles south of the Louisiana coast. (Source: Reuters 05/10/18) NAS Pensacola, and Eglin and Tyndall (Fla.) AFBs; NAS/JRB New Orleans; and NAS Meridian, Miss., use the testing and flight range in the eastern GoM on a year-round basis.