While the current extension request from 12/1/19 to 12/31/19 for publication of the final rule is greater than 30 days from the ORIGINAL date, it is less than 30 days from the currently published target date for this milestone. As a reminder, the schedule was adjusted in fall 2018 to better align with the applicant's (Hillcorp) revised permitting and construction timeline for the project, which extended the construction schedule by at least one year. At that time, we underwent FPISC review and coordination with the project sponsor to extend the milestone target dates greater than 30 days, and received FPISC clearance. The current extension request for publication of the final rule is due to extra time needed for review and clearance from NMFS General Counsel, NOAA General Counsel, and DOC because of the complexity of the project and the controversy surrounding it. The current extension request for issuance of the LOA is to allow for the 30-day cooling off period between publication of the final rule and issuance (since the final rule is being extended, issuance of the LOA also needs to be extended). The project sponsor/applicant are aware of the extension request and are okay with the change. This change would not affect any other aspects of the project permitting timetable.
PROJECT WEBSITE: https://www.boem.gov/Liberty/
All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
PAUSED
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED
SECTOR
Conventional Energy Production
CATEGORY
Project Category
FAST-41 Covered Projects
LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of Defense, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory
Description:
Hilcorp proposes to develop the Liberty Prospect in Foggy Island Bay, Beaufort Sea, Alaska by constructing an artificial drilling and production gravel island, approximately 6 miles offshore. The proposed Liberty Development described in the Development and Production Plan includes five stages: construction of the island; development of a new gravel mine; construction of a pipeline; construction of associated ice roads; and drilling and hydrocarbon production.
The island will have drilling and production processing facilities, with a single phase oil pipeline transmitting the produced sales-quality oil to shore. The island will include 16 well slots: 5-8 producers, 4-6 injectors, 2 disposal wells. Hilcorp estimates that peak production will be approximately 60,000 - 70,000 barrels per day. Estimated first production may occur in 2020-2021. The project life is estimated to be 15-20 years, with a total recovery estimate of about 167 million barrels.
Associated Permitting:
Environmental Protection Agency - NPDES Permit: Completed 10/26/2018, available here: https://www.epa.gov/
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement - Oil Spill Response Plan: Returned to Hilcorp July 2019 with a Request For Additional Information (RFAI)
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement - Platform Approval Program and Platform Verification Program: Approval timeline dependent upon Oil Spill Response Plan Approval
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement - Application for Permit to Drill: Approval timeline dependent upon Oil Spill Response Plan Approval
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement - Production Safety Systems Permitting: Approval timeline dependent upon Oil Spill Response Plan Approval
Note: The project timeline represents the cooperating agencies' estimates at when agency actions could occur depending on the project proponent's future submissions.
Milestone: Incidental Take Authorization Decision Rendered
Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:
Publish Final Incidental Take Authorization in the FR by 185 days
From: 12/01/2019
To: 12/30/2019
Incidental Take Authorization Decision Rendered by 245 days
From: 02/01/2020
To: 02/28/2020