Using Research to Provide Safe and Environmentally Sound Decisions in the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

Abstract

Abstract The US OCS frontier areas provide a challenging environment for regulating oil and gas as well as renewable energy safety. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) relies heavily on the use of technology assessment and research to provide safe and environmentally sound decisions. The BSEE continually re-examines current technology and procedures that may be used in the OCS because of the evolving challenges that frontier areas bring. The BSEE collaborates with national and international federal agencies to provide consistency and to ensure that the best available and safest technology is used in the OCS. This paper will look at regulatory improvements made from research conducted post hurricane. It will also highlight post Macondo research that is being pursued by the BSEE for drilling, cementing, and human factors. The results of the research are used in the development of offshore regulations, standards, and inspection policies of more than 3400 OCS facilities and more than 33,000 miles of pipelines. For example, projects were completed which have determined appropriate structural assessment methods that did not exist previously. A new web based system is being used as a tool to ensure that recommendations formed from research findings are used expeditiously. This paper will highlight improvements being made at the new agency formed in the Department of the Interior in an effort to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement.