The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement will begin a new program on Apr. 1 that will increase physical inspection time offshore while saving nearly $20 million over 3½ years, the US Department of the Interior agency reported. A team in its Gulf of Mexico regional office in New Orleans developed the approach as it explored ways to make inspections more efficient and reduce helicopter operating expenses, it said.
“This new process will allow BSEE inspectors to increase physical inspection time on offshore oil and gas facilities,” noted Michael Saucier, who supervises district field operations in the region.
Using technology that provides inspectors access to onshore electronic records, inspectors now will have much more time to inspect operations offshore at more than 2,200 facilities in the gulf, BSEE said. It also will reduce helicopter operating expenses by 15% without affecting safety and environmental protections, it added.
The agency pointed out that production from the US Outer Continental Shelf accounts for 1 of every 6 bbl of crude produced in the US. “With 98% of all OCS energy produced from the Gulf of Mexico, it is critical that BSEE continues to maximize efficiency and ensure that oil and gas operations are conducted safely and in an environmentally sustainable manner,” it said.
Responding to the announcement, Lori LeBlanc, executive director of the Gulf Economic Survival Team in Thibodaux, La., said the grassroots advocacy organization considers offshore safety a top priority.
“Our family members and our neighbors go to work offshore every day to produce the fuel for America, and we want nothing more than to see them come home safely,” LeBlanc said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
