The American Petroleum Institute published a significantly updated offshore oil and gas safety, incident prevention, and environmental standard. API Recommended Practice 75 provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving a safety and environmental management system (SEMS) for offshore operations, it said on Dec. 4.
“API continuously updates its standards to reflect new technologies, techniques, and in-field learning,” said Debra Phillips, senior vice-president of API’s Global Industry Services. “This latest edition of RP 75 reflects state-of-the-art systems to drive safety and environmental protection in offshore operations.”
She noted that the edition makes several changes that expand the safety and environmental management system by:
Extending the standard for use globally, beyond its previous focus on domestic operations in the US Outer Continental Shelf.
Providing guidance on how companies should interface with each other to ensure operational risks are managed, and safety and environmental protection are maintained.
Expanding the types of operations that fall under SEMS risk management expectations, providing greater consideration of human performance.
Structuring the standard to encourage utilization by contractors and sub-contractors.
Including advancements in technology, operations and overall knowledge.
API RP 75 has a 25-year history of promoting safety and environmental protection at offshore assets and helped lay the foundation for the Center for Offshore Safety (COS), which was established after the 2010 Macondo deepwater well blowout and crude oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico to promote the highest level of safety for the US offshore oil and gas industry, the oil and gas trade association pointed out.
It said that COS works with the offshore oil and gas industry on the implementation of both RP 75 and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS) requirements – which are mandatory, along with third party audits every 3 years, for all operators in the US Outer Continental Shelf.
API said it will hold a training webinar on Feb. 27 on RP 75’s fourth edition. Additional information and registration is available at www.apilearning.org or by email at [email protected]. A special session on RP 75 is planned for the 2020 Offshore Technology Conference on May 7 in Houston. More information is available at www.otcnet.org.