Energy Tomorrow Blog

Q&A: Industry Leadership, Partnerships Make Offshore Safer Than Ever

offshore safety  bsee  api standards program  deepwater horizon 

John D. Siciliano
Posted April 20, 2020

Today is the 10^th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. A decade later, offshore energy development has never been safer, largely because of industry leadership in developing new technologies and creating a proactive safety management culture. This is critically important because the offshore accounts for 15% of U.S. oil production. Innovations in infrastructure and deep-sea equipment, plus rigorous safety training, safety protocols and the management tools to ensure those protocols are effective, reflect industry’s commitment to prevent such an incident, in which lives were lost, from happening again. In the Q&A that follows, Debra Phillips, API senior vice president for Global Industry Services, talks about what has been learned and industry’s responses – including hundreds of safety standards – to maximize offshore safety.

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Gulf Drilling: Still Lagging

deepwater horizon  gulf of mexico  offshore drilling  permits 

Mark Green
Posted October 3, 2011

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A Year Later

boemre  boemre  bp  deepwater horizon  gulf coast  gulf of mexico  oil spill  macondo oil well  offshore wells  safety regulations 

Jack Gerard
Posted April 20, 2011

As we mark the one-year anniversary of the Macondo oil well spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it is important that we remember the 11 workers who died in that accident, their families and the communities along the Gulf coast that were most affected by this incident.

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Capping Stack: A Positive Outcome from a Tragic Accident

deepwater horizon  domestic energy  energy iq  gulf of mexico  offshore operations  oil spill  safety standards  spill response  technology innovation  department of the interior  oil spill containment 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted April 18, 2011

It looks like a child's toy gyroscope on steroids, and it has the technology necessary to stop the flow from a well blowout on the ocean floor. It's the capping stack developed and built by a consortium of oil companies in response to the unprecedented Deepwater Horizon disaster that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago. 

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A Commitment to Safety

deepwater drilling  deepwater horizon  domestic energy  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  oil leak  oil spill  rhetoric vs reality 

Mark Green
Posted January 31, 2011

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The Facts on Safety

deepwater drilling  deepwater horizon  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  offshore drilling  oil leak  oil spill  presidential spill commission  spill commission 

John Felmy
Posted January 18, 2011

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Presidential Commission Fails to Recognize Safety Improvements

deepwater horizon  domestic energy  energy policy  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  oil leak  oil spill  spill commission  offshore safety  offshore safety operations  oil spill commission  presidential oil spill commission 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted January 11, 2011

The American Petroleum Institute (API) today said the industry already has taken significant action to improve offshore safety operations consistent with the recommendations of the presidential commission investigating the Deepwater Horizon accident.

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Commission Identifies Deepwater Horizon Missteps

blowout preventer  deepwater horizon  department of energy  domestic energy  energy information administration  energy policy  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  macondo well  oil leak  oil production  oil spill  boemr  oil rig 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted January 6, 2011

The presidential commission examining the Deepwater Horizon accident has determined that several missteps contributed last April's blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, including poor decision-making by the companies' management and government regulators. According to an excerpt from its report, the commission found the tragedy "was not the product of a series of abberational decisions made by a rogue industry...the root causes are systemic" and should be corrected. 

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Energy Policy's Impact on U.S. Consumers

alternative energy  congress  deepwater horizon  department of the interior  domestic energy  energy  energy policy  energy taxes  gas prices  gasoline  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  offshore energy  oil leak  oil spill  shallow water drilling 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted December 30, 2010

As the nation approaches the New Year, reporters around the country are writing about the energy outlook for 2011. There are quotes from analysts predicting oil and gasoline prices; opinion leaders discussing energy policies likely to be considered by the 112th Congress; and professors explaining the relative merits of fossil fuels and alternatives. 

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The Oil Spill Suit

bp  deepwater horizon  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  interior department  macondo well  oil leak  oil spill  spill response  clean water act  national oceanic and atmospheric administration 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted December 16, 2010

The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against BP and eight other companies yesterday to recover billions of dollars from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. The administration's suit asks that the companies be held responsible for all cleanup costs and damage to natural resources. 

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