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Chevron drill ship, the Stena Carron, used to drill the Orphan Basin exploration well.

Chevron Corp. faces more intense regulatory scrutiny of its operations as it proceeds to drill the deepest offshore well ever in Canadian waters, the federal-provincial regulator announced Thursday.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams has been under fire for allowing Chevron to proceed in the Orphan Basin even after the U.S. government halted all new deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP PLC's catastrophic blowout on April 28.

The board said it was imposing additional oversight "in light of the situation unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico and heightened public concern over drilling operations currently under way in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area."

Chevron officials, along with those from the Swedish drilling company Stena AB, must meet with regulators once a week to review matters of interests, and will face onboard inspections every three to four weeks, compared to the normal three to four months.

Prior to penetrating the hydrocarbon zones, Chevron and Stena must take a "time out" from their operations to satisfy the board that "all appropriate equipment, systems and procedures are in place to allow operations to proceed safely and without polluting the environment," the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB) said in a release.

Board spokesman Sean Kelly said that pause would last as little as a few hours and as much as a full day.

Chevron - which is also drilling in the Gulf of Mexico - will be required to provide to federal-provincial regulators regular assessments of lessons it has learned from the BP blowout, especially with regard to well operations and the failure of the blowout preventer.

BP has confirmed that its well had experienced pressure problems in the hours before the blowout, and that the company had moved earlier than usual to inject heavy drilling fluids into the well to close it down until it could be reworked for production.

Investigators are also questioning the company and its partners over the failure of the blowout preventer - a huge valve that is meant to be closed in the event of a surge of crude. The giant valve had been modified to allow for more efficient testing, but there are reports it had been damaged prior to the accident, which killed 11 workers.

Chevron vice-president David MacInnis said the company has already reviewed its safety practices in light of the BP accident and will work with the CNLOPB to make sure the board and the public are assured it is doing everything it can to protect the environment.

"We recognize the significance of this incident and, along with the rest of the industry, want to understand what caused the incident so we can apply any lessons to further enhance our safety, environmental protections and reliability," he said in an interview.

Mr. MacInnis said the company has a team of safety officials on the drill ship and the additional oversight won't distract the crew from its operations, which is being conducted in 2,600 metres of water.

The board's announcement came as BP claimed to be making progress in siphoning the gushing crude from the blowout to a drill ship sitting 1,600 metres above the ocean floor. The company said it is now diverting 5,000 barrels a day through the tubing. That has been the estimate of total crude being spilt, but officials concede the blowout is still sending oil into the Gulf waters.

BP is also preparing a dramatic attempt to cap the well by a "top kill," which involves pumping heavy drilling fluids into the crippled equipment on top of the well, then permanently sealing it with cement. That effort could come as early as Sunday.

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