Thursday, June 23, 2011
Houston Chronicle
by Jennifer A. Dlouhy
The government is poised to propose new rules that aim to boost the safety of offshore drilling and tighten standards for emergency equipment guarding subsea wells, a top regulator said Wednesday.
The looming rules will build on already broad changes that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has imposed since last year's Gulf oil spill, agency director Michael Bromwich said in a speech before the World National Oil Companies Congress in London.
For instance, regulators are planning to add teeth to a workplace safety rule they imposed last October requiring oil and gas companies to identify risks at every stage of offshore exploration and take steps to minimize human errors and operational hazards. That rule for the first time is forcing companies in U.S. waters to have safety and environmental management systems like those required in the North Sea.
The rules will require additional safety procedures, training programs and strengthened third-party auditing procedures, Bromwich said. The bureau is also readying new mandates for the blowout preventers, a last line of defense against un-expected oil and gas surges.
"Our goal will be a further set of enhancements that will increase drilling safety and diminish the risks of a major blowout," Bromwich said. "It will address weaknesses and necessary improvements to blowout preventers, as well as many other issues."
The regulations may include mandates governing the design of offshore wells and new standards for cement barriers.
For months, Bromwich has signaled that the new regulations are coming but insisted that they will go through a lengthy federal rule-making process, with time for public comment and guidance from interested stakeholders.
Industry leaders have complained about the shifting regulatory landscape since last year's spill and insisted companies need more certainty to plan investments. Many industry representatives objected to the pace of changes .
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