It would be an understatement to declare offshore oil and gas has changed since the deepwater Macondo well blowout and crude oil spill 5 years ago. An obvious follow-up question is whether it has changed for the better.
Complacency undeniably existed before the well blew out natural gas and the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig above it exploded, killing 11 people. The rig's underwater connection lines ruptured as it sank, triggering a leak that spewed nearly 5 million bbl of crude into the Gulf of Mexico that took 87 days to cap and contain.
Wake-up calls don't get more dramatic. The US offshore oil and gas industry and the Department of the Interior responded accordingly.
DOI quickly suspended oil and gas activity in the gulf as it broke the US Minerals Management Service into separate components with specific purposes less likely to conflict. Today's US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement operate separately but occasionally coordinate.
BOEM's reforms aim to ensure that environmental safeguards are strong and based on the best available science before it approves exploration and development plans. It requires more specific worst case discharge calculations and more accurate air quality modeling. Liability limits jumped from $75 million before Macondo to $134 million presently, with a process for further increases to keep pace with inflation.
Reforms at BSEE aim to reduce risk with better well design and casing requirements, a bigger inspection and engineering workforce, and Safety and Environmental Management System requirements to let workers participate in safety management decisions.
Its inspectors now must be on-site to observe blowout preventer testing before drilling begins. Operators also must demonstrate they have access to all necessary subsea well control and containment equipment, including a capping stack.
New rule proposed
On Apr. 13, BSEE proposed a rule to increase equipment reliability, build upon industry's enhanced BOP standards, and comprehensively address multiple offshore well control systems and processes.
The industry's Center for Offshore Safety reported on Apr. 8 that 2013 data from its members show operations are safer than ever. Safe mechanical lifting, process safety, and adherence to operating procedures and safe work practices still can improve, it indicated.
The report showed that COS members' operations in 2013 suffered no fatalities and did not loss control of any well over 42 million work-hr, American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard told reporters a day later.
"That is a marker we must build and improve upon every single day," he said. "The millions of men and women who work in our industry-and all Americans whose lives are powered by oil and gas-deserve no less."
