News Release

New report identifies potential methods to audit safety of offshore oil and gas operations

Business Announcement

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has broad regulatory authority over energy operations on the U.S. outer continental shelf, including oversight of offshore platforms involved in drilling and production of oil and natural gas. BOEMRE is responsible for ensuring operators' safety, and with the intent of making offshore facilities safer, mandatory regulations called Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) will go into effect on Nov. 15. The new rules require companies that operate offshore facilities to develop and implement a SEMS program at their facilities.

Interim Report on the Effectiveness of Safety and Environmental Management Systems for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Operations, a new report from the National Research Council, identifies nine methods that BOEMRE could use to evaluate the effectiveness of an operator's SEMS program, including audits, compliance inspections, peer reviews-assists, key performance indicators, whistleblower programs, periodic lessee reports, tabletop exercises or drills, SEMS monitoring sensors, and calculating the risk with SEMS in place. It examines the benefits and disadvantages of each method identified, cites entities that could perform audits and necessary qualifications, and presents possible methods for conducting audits. A final report with recommendations will be released in the fall.

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Copies of the interim report are available for immediate release to reporters from the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. Additional information is available at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49165.

Contacts:
Maureen O'Leary, Director of Public Information
Luwam Yeibio, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu


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