WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement recently issued a Safety Alert relating to the Macondo well blowout.
The Safety Alert was distributed to oil and gas leaseholders
and contractors working on the Outer Continental Shelf. It briefly summarizes
the findings of the Joint Investigation of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and
oil spill, and highlights recommendations for immediate action that
leaseholders and contractors can incorporate into their work.
“We must ensure that the lessons learned from the
investigation of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill are widely
disseminated and used to enhance the safety practices used by offshore oil and
gas operators and contractors in their day-to-day activities,” said Michael R.
Bromwich, the bureau’s director, in a press statement. “Issuing this Safety
Alert to all oil and gas leaseholders and contractors is another method for
BSEE to ensure that offshore operations are conducted in the most safe and
environmentally-responsible manner.”
Safety Alerts are tools used by the bureau to inform the
offshore oil and gas industry of the circumstances surrounding an incident or a
near miss. They also generally contain recommendations that should minimize the
likelihood of a recurrence of such events on the OCS.
Recommendations included in the alert cover operational
areas such as negative pressure testing procedures, location of equipment on
the rig, and the configuration and alignment of subsea blowout preventer
stacks.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and
Enforcement (BOEMRE)/U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team released its
final investigative report on the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion,
loss of life, and resulting oil spill on Sept. 14. Volume II, covering the
areas of the investigation under BOEMRE jurisdiction, includes findings on the
direct and contributing causes of the Macondo blowout and the resulting
explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon.
In Volume II, the Joint Investigation Team summarized the
evidence developed during the investigation and concluded that BP, Transocean
and Halliburton’s conduct in connection with the operations at the Macondo well
violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations under BOEMRE’s
jurisdiction. The report is available at: http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2011/press0914.htm.