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Salazar proposes new safety institute
As a further response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has proposed establishing a new Ocean Energy Safety Institute, to facilitate research, development, training and systems implementation relating to offshore drilling safety, including oil spill response and the containment of well blowouts.
Although based in the Department of the Interior, in consequence of Interior’s regulatory role, the institute would foster collaboration between government agencies, industry, academia and scientific experts, prioritizing research funding from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources.
Raising bar on safety “The Deepwater Horizon tragedy highlighted the importance of raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology,” Salazar said Nov. 2, in announcing his proposal. “The institute would serve to coordinate and institutionalize the lessons and strategies learned from the oil spill so that the United States can stay at the forefront of drilling safety, containment and spill response.”
The new institute would develop enduring research capabilities and expertise in offshore drilling safety and would also develop a cadre of technical experts for deployment to deepwater drilling-related operations. The institute would also create a framework for achieving regulatory predictability within the global drilling market, Interior said.
Salazar has already discussed his proposal with potential partners in government, industry and elsewhere and has asked people to share their ideas for the proposed institute’s formation and operations by Nov. 30, Interior said.
—Alan Bailey
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