BSEE issues finished offshore safety rule

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, has issued the final version of a drilling safety rule that establishes new standards for well casing and cementing; for third-party certification and verification of blowout preventers; for blowout preventer capabilities, testing and documentation; and for well control training. The rule, which applies to drilling on the federal outer continental shelf, originally emerged as part of emergency rule making in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The final version of the rule includes refinements resulting from public comments on the original rule, BSEE says.

“The oil and gas industry has been operating under these enhanced safety requirements for the past two years,” said Jim Watson, director of BSEE, when announcing the issuance of the final rule on Aug. 15. “Today’s action builds on the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and is part of the administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to expand safe and responsible development of America’s domestic energy resources.”

Refinements to the original version of the rule include features such as improved descriptions and classification of well-control barriers; defined testing requirements for cement; clarified requirements for the installation of dual mechanical barriers; and the extension of blowout preventer and well-control fluid requirements to well completions, well workovers and decommissioning operations.

—Alan Bailey