Progress Seen in Offshore Oil Safeguards, But Companies Can Expect Push on Audits

摘要

Oil and gas companies operating in federal offshore waters are improving their environmental and safety performance but need to pick up the pace on getting their technologies and procedures audited, an Interior Department official said Oct. 2. In the wake of the 2010 blowout of the Macondo well operated by BP Plc in the Gulf of Mexico, Interior required every company operating offshore to adopt a safety and environmental management system (SEMS), a comprehensive risk identification and reduction program. Interior gave companies until November 2011 to get the systems in place and until November 2013 to complete their first SEMS audits to verify compliance.