IPAA supports Interior’s efforts to remove regulatory hurdles to offshore safety

WASHINGTON, DC -- Following the publication in the Federal Register of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) proposed revisions to the Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Rule, IPAA Senior V.P. of Government Relations and Political Affairs Dan Naatz praised the bureau’s work on revising flawed regulations and advancing safer offshore industry operations.

“IPAA is pleased to see BSEE is taking a closer look at the technically-flawed Well Control Rule, which missed the mark on improving the safety of America’s offshore oil and gas operations. Offshore producers share the federal government’s goal of enhancing offshore safety and companies continue to work every day to make their operations as safe as possible. Unfortunately, the overly-prescriptive Obama-era rule did not allow for flexibility or the ability to utilize the latest technologies, which would only enhance the safety of offshore operations. Instead, the 2016 rule created bureaucratic red tape for producers and arduous regulatory constraints at the expense of safety. IPAA supports BSEE’s efforts to modernize regulations for an ever-improving offshore industry that place the protection of its workers, the environment, and coastal communities first.”

Over the past several years, IPAA and the broader oil and natural gas industry have worked closely with the U.S. Department of the Interior to support the effective regulation of America’s offshore sector, standards, and safety programs. Most recently, the offshore oil and natural gas industry outlined to the Interior Department a number of concerns with the 2016 Well Control Rule and ways to enhance the regulation in a safe and environmentally sound manner.