BSEE

In response to a Presidential Order to reduce undue burden on industry, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has completed a comprehensive review of the Production Safety Systems regulations.

Recommendations to reduce risks related to gas-release hazards were issued to the offshore oil and gas industry on 5 January. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement released a Safety Alert highlighting the findings of its Gulf of Mexico-wide inspection effort.

As of 4 September, BSEE has not received any damage reports from evacuated platforms or rigs in the path of Hurricane Harvey. A small number of facilities remain evacuated.

With Hurricane Harvey closing in, operators have evacuated a significant number of platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, shutting in substantial production.

After the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the Obama administration broke the scandal-plagued federal agency that policed offshore drilling into separate bureaus. Now, the Trump administration is considering putting it back together again.

The budget ensures continued support of the offshore energy industry’s safe and responsible operations providing for secure and reliable energy production for America’s future.

The Trump administration has tapped a former Louisiana utility regulator to lead the agency responsible for offshore oil and natural gas drilling safety.

Various industry experts discussed the progress of an initiative led by SPE and BSEE to develop a safety data-sharing framework to help mitigate potential risk in operations.

With the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement as a cochair of the steering committee, SPE held a 2-day summit in April to discuss the development and implementation of an industrywide safety-data sharing framework.

More precise measurement can create a dilemma. One example is the precise fluid flow measurements used to control managed pressure drilling (MPD) systems.