BSEE announces increase in maximum penalty

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has announced an increase in the maximum civil penalty for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The maximum penalty is rising from $42,704 to $43,576 per day for each violation, BSEE said in a Jan. 17 press release. OCSLA is the statute under which the U.S. Department of the Interior manages oil and gas leasing on the outer continental shelf. BSEE imposes civil penalties under OCSLA when an offshore oil and gas operator fails to correct a recorded violation or commits a violation that poses a serious threat to life, property, a mineral deposit, or to the marine, coastal, or human environment.

“Assessing civil penalties is one of BSEE’s tools used to promote safe and environmentally sustainable operations,” explained BSEE Director Scott Angelle. “America’s energy future depends on robust production on the outer continental shelf, and oil and gas operators must produce in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner.”

BSEE said that it reviews penalty rates annually, to ensure that the rates keep pace with inflation. By law the maximum penalty must be adjusted to reflect changes in the consumer price index, the agency said.

- ALAN BAILEY