BOEMRE Issues Guidance for Offshore Deepwater Drillers to Comply with Safety and Containment Requirements

Memo Provides Additional Clarification to Assist Offshore Operators with Permit Applications

WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today issued additional guidance summarizing and clarifying previously issued offshore deepwater drilling safety requirements. This guidance document also highlights BOEMRE’s process for reviewing subsea containment plans for deepwater operations. The guidance contains no additional regulatory requirements, but instead provides clarifying information to assist the oil and gas industry in complying with existing regulations and guidance.

“Our goal remains the same as it has been from Day 1 – to ensure that offshore operations are conducted as safely as possible,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “This guidance document gives deepwater drilling operators additional information to help address some of the recurring issues that have been raised in our ongoing discussions with industry.” 

Director Bromwich and BOEMRE personnel have met regularly with multiple oil and gas operators and industry representatives to answer questions about new regulations, Notices to Lessees (NTL), and how the agency will apply National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements with respect to deepwater drilling operations.  The issues addressed in the information document include compliance issues relating to: the Drilling Safety Rule (or Interim Final Rule) and NTL-10, as well as further information on BOEMRE’s process for evaluating subsea containment information submitted by operators along with their permit applications. 

The information document is available at: http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/pdfs/DeepwaterGuidanceSupplement.pdf..