API endorses Center for Offshore Safety

The board of the American Petroleum Institute has endorsed a plan for the oil and gas industry to establish a Center for Offshore Safety. Based in Houston, the center will be available to all companies that operate in deepwater exploration and production, API says.

“The oil and natural gas industry has approved the creation of the Center for Offshore Safety, which will promote the highest level of safety for offshore operations through an effective program that addresses management practices, communication and teamwork,” said Jack Gerard, API president and CEO. “The board directed API to further develop the operational framework and timeline for the center — working with other industry stakeholders — to enhance industry safety and environmental performance.”

The new center will be one of the outcomes of investigations into the Deepwater Horizon disaster, with API having provided testimony to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling on options for an oil industry safety organization.

API says that the center will draw on lessons learned from existing successful safety programs, applying the best elements of these programs to the unique challenges of offshore oil and gas operations. The center will use an API recommended practice for safety and environmental management systems, a practice that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has recently incorporated into federal regulations, API says. Independent certifiers will audit and review the center’s programs.

“While many of the center’s structure and operating details have yet to be resolved, the program will be run by the separately funded standards and certification arm of the American Petroleum Institute, which receives regular audits and accreditation by the American National Standards Institute and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board,” Gerard said.

—Alan Bailey