One week after it finalized revised offshore well control and blowout preventer regulations, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a report on May 9 highlighting first-year results of its Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) Program.
The program uses a protocol of targeted, risk-focused inspections to supplement the US Department of the Interior agency’s existing schedule of inspections at offshore production sites and active drilling operations, its director said May 9 at a presentation during the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
Analyzing data to identify higher-risk operations, BSEE is able to effectively direct additional inspections where necessary, Scott Angelle said. The focused field operations also let the agency verify that operators are properly identifying, managing, and mitigating risk, he added.
The report analyzes the program’s implementation and the steps BSEE took to make it more effective following its launch in March. It also describes the 82 risk-based inspections the agency undertook during the rest of that calendar year, and the 30-40 that are being planned now, Angelle said in his presentation to the Center for Offshore Safety during OTC.
BSEE conducted these supplemental inspections in addition to the more than 10,000 regularly scheduled inspections it made during the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2018, he added.
“BSEE is incorporating technology, direct data collection, and data analysis into its programs and our decision-making process as part of the continuing effort to make operations safer and smarter,” Angelle said.
As the report documents, the RBI process does not end with the physical field inspections. After they conclude, BSEE meets with each operator to discuss preliminary findings and exchange feedback. It follows up with a written report of the findings and requires each operator to develop a corrective action plan to address deficiencies.
The agency also issues a safety alert following each round of performance-based risk inspections to provide findings and recommendations, assuring that the lessons learned are shared across the offshore oil and gas industry, Angelle said.
Safer, smarter management
“Implementing a risk-based inspection protocol is a move toward safer and smarter management of oil and gas operations on the OCS,” said Jason Mathews, who leads BSEE’s RBI program. It lets BSEE direct more inspection resources to relatively higher-risk and higher-consequence facilities, he said.
The RBI program is part of BSEE’s strategy to drive offshore safety performance and environmental stewardship with innovative, collaborative programs, Angelle said. Another key component is SafeOCS, a near-miss and equipment failure program.
“The Trump administration inherited a 4% participation rate in the voluntary SafeOCS program. Through a focused outreach effort, BSEE has increased participation to 85% of all oil producers on the US OCS,” Angelle said.
