The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposed the update of regulations regarding offshore oil and gas drilling operations to improve their, safety, efficiency, and environmental footprint.
BSEE tried to identify ways to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while ensuring that offshore oil and gas drilling operations are performed in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. The Proposed Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Rule was submitted to the Federal Register Friday on April 27, 2018.
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BSEE identified certain provisions that were impractical, and have required BSEE to repeatedly grant permission to utilize alternate procedures or equipment. The team also identified long term policies that could be incorporated into the regulations.
BSEE that only 59 of the 342 provisions of the 2016 Well Control Final Rule, were appropriate for proposed updating and revision.
The proposed revisions would change the testing protocol for blowout preventers, modify capability requirements for ROVs, remove duplicative verification requirements, and codify recent revisions to industry standards. Codification of a standard gives it the strength of an enforceable regulation.