The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will inspect offshore drilling rigs with increasing frequency in response to the Apr. 20 blowout of the BP Macondo well and ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
DECC said it is recruiting inspectors for its Aberdeen office in order to double its inspection rate, although it has reviewed the regulatory regime and found it "fit for purpose." DECC also is reviewing indemnity and insurance requirements for operations on the UK Continental Shelf.
DECC noted that it is participating in an advisory group set up by Oil & Gas UK to review oil and gas spill response practices of the UK offshore industry (OGJ, June 7, 2010, p. 39). It said the European Union has asked companies operating offshore to provide assurances that they "are working as hard as possible to ensure safe practice and that they are able to take on full responsibilities for environmental and other damage if an incident were to occur."
Citing events in the gulf, UK Sec. of State Chris Huhne said, "What we are seeing will transform the regulation of deepwater drilling worldwide."
He said he would review new and existing procedures when details are available about the cause of the Macondo blowout and fatal explosion and sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible. The review, he said, "will build upon the work already begun by the newly formed Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group," set up by OGUK.
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