Nick Snow
Washington Editor
International cooperation will be the key to formulating effective offshore oil and gas regulations worldwide, US Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich told his counterparts from eight other countries at a meeting in Vancouver, BC.
"It is critical as we move forward toward safer and more environmentally responsible drilling, that we do it together," he said in remarks prepared for delivery at the International Regulators Forum's third conference. "We have already taken positive steps toward international collaboration." BOEMRE helped establish IFR in 1993 when the US Department of the Interior agency was known as the Minerals Management Service.
Bromwich noted that BOEMRE hosted a delegation from Mexico's Hydrocarbon Commission in July to discuss topics including technical data management, production measurement and verification, and regulatory and enforcement programs. Staff members also discussed potential consultation on the initial inspection of an ultradeepwater semisubmersible, which is en route to Mexico for operations south of the Perdido Regional Host Spar on the US Outer Continental Shelf, he said.
BOEMRE also hosted a special IRF meeting at the agency's eastern regional offices in Herndon, Va., several weeks ago, and is also a substantial player in the US Department of State's Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative, a multiagency global effort to provide a range of technical and capacity-building assistance to the governments and institutions of countries that are expected to become emerging oil and gas producers, according to Bromwich.
"I note that the agenda for this conference includes a discussion of IRF's plans for addressing regulatory issues," he said. "The broad expertise and experience of IRF's members put this organization in a unique position to provide global leadership in advancing the goal of improved safety of offshore oil and gas activities. I hope the discussion over the next several days will lead to concrete steps that will help all of us achieve that goal."
Two major blowouts
Bromwich noted that in less than a year, the world has seen two major offshore blowouts—at the Montara well off Western Australia in August 2009 and BP PLC's Macondo well in the US Gulf of Mexico on Apr. 20. "For 30 years, oil companies have ventured into deeper and deeper waters in the Gulf of Mexico and developed more sophisticated drilling technologies, while safety practices and equipment have lagged behind," he said. "This is unacceptable—to us as regulators and to the public we serve. We at [BOEMRE] are working very hard to change the status quo by issuing new safety regulations and requirements for testing, and for independent certification of safety equipment."
Such major offshore spills also raise questions about the appropriate regulatory framework for preventing such events, he said. "As you would expect, we are devoting a significant amount of time to this issue in the US," Bromwich said. "This is an area where I believe we can learn a great deal from one another. In fact, in making decisions about the future regulatory framework in the US, we have been studying the approaches of our sister organizations in other nations.
"In this room are gathered regulatory officials from many nations with ongoing or proposed offshore oil and gas activity. Many of us face the same problems and have devised various solutions to address them," he told the group. "I think we can all benefit by sharing our experiences and perspectives, and hope that our dialogue will continue beyond this forum, although I have certainly already gained substantial benefit from meeting separately with many of you."
Bromwich also described steps which led to US Interior Sec. Ken Salazar's lifting of the deepwater drilling moratorium before its scheduled Nov. 30 expiration. He said BOEMRE imposed more stringent drilling permit requirements under which well operators must meet new well design, casing, and cementing standards; have their plans certified by a professional engineer; and provide information about their ability to respond to a blowout and to a worst-case scenario. "Responsibility will flow directly from the individuals responsible for making decisions for these companies," he said. "From now on, energy company [chief executives] must certify that their operations comply with safety regulations."
New regulations
BOEMRE also imposed new rules covering well equipment and workplace safety in September, Bromwich said. "These rules substantially raise the standards for all offshore operators," he maintained, adding that he submitted a report to Salazar on Oct. 1 outlining information from 45 days of public hearings and meetings with 61 experts from the oil and gas industry, academia, environmental organizations, state and local governments, and business groups.
"Our analysis focused on three main points: First, the new safety measures would create additional precautions that reduce the risk of future deepwater drilling," Bromwich said. "Second, the [Macondo well blowout, rig explosion and spill] experience resulted in substantial improvements in industry's and government's knowledge of wild well containment, and available resources and equipment for controlling wild wells. Finally, a significantly greater number of spill response resources that were originally dedicated to the Macondo well spill response are now available should another spill occur."
He said in coming weeks, BOEMRE will proceed with standard rulemakings for additional safety measures, including new requirements for blowout preventers and remotely operated vehicles. The proposed regulations also will consider additional workplace safety reforms and possibly stronger oversight requirements for operators' safety and environmental management systems, he said.
"But we won't stop there," Bromwich declared. "We will continue to analyze information that becomes available, including the findings and recommendations of a number of ongoing investigations into the causes of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill—and we will implement reforms necessary to make offshore oil and gas production safer, smarter and with stronger protections for workers and the environment.
"As we move forward, we must ensure that the current momentum for developing state-of-the-art safety and containment technologies continues," he said. "The US government is currently exploring ways to partner with industry, academia, and the environmental community to develop a rigorous [research and development] program and ensure that safety and containment technologies keep up to date with drilling advancements. Creating the incentives and the capacity for such ongoing R&D in which the government is a full partner, is one of the key challenges we face."
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