Offshore

Second to None: The U.S. Offshore Industry's Safety and Environmental Records
The more than 4,000 oil and natural gas platforms operating in U.S. waters have an outstanding safety and environmental record. U.S. offshore exploration and production meet what could easily described as the world’s most stringent government regulations and industry standards. Protecting the environment is a national imperative, and oil and natural gas operations have established an impressive record of protecting our coastal waters.

API developed, and the Minerals Management Service has endorsed, a recommended practice for employing a Safety and Environmental Management Program (SEMP). Designed to be flexible, responsive and become a permanent part of a company’s culture, objectives and operations, SEMP covers design, operation, and auditing to assure that company operations offshore are safe and protective. More...

Leasing Moratoria Restrict Access to Significant Oil and Natural Gas Resources
Congress and past Presidents have placed moratoria on offshore drilling and development on the U.S. East and West Coasts, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaskan offshore waters. The consequence of these actions is to foreclose until at least 2012 any effort to explore for critical oil and gas resources that are estimated to lie beneath these areas. This section includes a map illustrating current offshore moratoria areas.