WIRELINES • IADC CONNECTION
ExxonMobil, Oceaneering recognized with Safety Leadership Awards from COS
ExxonMobil and Oceaneering each
received Safety Leadership Awards from
the Center for Offshore Safety (COS). The
awards recognize companies for outstand-
ing leadership in developing safety man-
agement and performance practices and
projects that advance the offshore indus-
try’s culture of safety.
ExxonMobil was honored for its
Enhancing Process Safety (EPS) program,
which was developed as part of a multi-
year effort. The program includes identi-
fication of higher-consequence scenarios,
defined ownership of critical safeguards
and field-based safety and environmen-
tal management system (SEMS) assess-
ments. EPS assessments involve in-field
demonstration of the health of personnel
and equipment safeguards that prevent
or mitigate higher-consequence scenarios.
Oceaneering was recognized for a sub-
sea, remotely operated vehicle system
called Liberty E-ROV that the company
designed and deployed. It is a self-con-
US Interior Department to update Well Control Rule
The US Interior Department has
announced proposed revisions to the
2016 Well Control Rule. These revisions
include:
Requiring blowout preventer systems
(BOPs) to be able to close and seal the
wellbore to the well’s kick tolerance
design at all times;
Removing the option for operators to
submit failure data to designated third
parties and instead require the direct
submission of failure data to the US
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement (BSEE);
Requiring failure analysis and inves-
tigations to start within 90 days instead
of 120 days;
Requiring independent third parties
to be accredited by a qualified standards
development organization;
Specifying that surface BOPs on exist-
ing floating facilities must follow the
dual shear ram requirements when
replacing an entire BOP stack;
Requiring that remotely operated vehi-
cles be capable of opening and closing
each shear ram on a BOP; and
Requiring the operator to provide test
results to BSEE within 72 hours after
completion of the tests if BSEE is unable
to witness testing.
The Well Control Rule was developed
from recommendations from investiga-
tion teams following the 2010 Macondo
incident. Members of the public may
submit comment on the proposed rule-
making until 14 November.
Scan me to read BSEE’s
proposed revisions to
the Well Control Rule.
on.doi.gov/3MnZNUf API comments on proposed US offshore leasing program
API submitted
comments in
early October urging the US Interior
Department to open offshore acreage to
development. Responding to the 2023-2028 National
Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas
Leasing Proposed Program and Draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, API highlighted the impor-
tance of offshore leasing to US eco-
nomic strength and energy security. It
also called on the Interior Department
to uphold its statutory responsibility to
take current and future energy needs
into account by promptly issuing a final
program that includes 11 lease sales.
In the comments, API expressed con-
cern over the proposed program’s option
to issue a final program with zero lease
sales, which would jeopardize domes-
tic production and weaken American
energy security.
According to a recent study conducted
by API and the National Ocean Industries
Association, a two-year lapse in fed-
eral offshore leasing could lead to a drop
in production of nearly 500,000 bbl/day,
cost nearly 60,000 American jobs and
sacrifice billions in lost state and local
revenues by 2040.
tained, battery-powered remotely operated
vehicle (ROV). The Liberty E-ROV is oper-
ated from a remote onshore location and
can conduct subsea work missions for up
to two months without a surface support
vessel. The combination of the Liberty and
an onshore remote operating center elimi-
nates the need for vessels and personnel
to travel to and from offshore, reducing
exposure to high-risk environments, as
well as offshore injuries and environmen-
tal incidents.
BOEM reinstates top bids
from 2021 GOM lease sale
On 14 September, the US Interior
Department’s Bureau of Ocean Manage-
ment (BOEM) announced reinstatement
of the 307 highest valid bids from Gulf of
Mexico Lease Sale 257, in accordance with
congressional direction in the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA).
After months of postponement of the
sale’s intended date, the lease sale was
held by BOEM in November 2021, bringing
in a total of $189,888,271. In February of this
year, a federal judge invalidated the results
of oil and gas Lease Sale 257.
In a statement, IADC said that, while
BOEM’s announcement is encouraging, it
continues to monitor related factors that
may ultimately have an impact on its
members. More specifically, IADC is cur-
rently working with members and counsel
to identify how IRA provisions detailing
lease sales 258, 259, 261 and other related
policies may or may not be affected by
ongoing litigation concerning federal oil
and gas leasing.
“BOEM’s reinstatement of Lease Sale 257
Act is a positive step forward for energy
production in the Gulf of Mexico, which
has lacked new oil and gas leases for
almost two years. With the region being
responsible for over 15% of all US oil pro-
duction, the importance of holding robust
and timely offshore lease sales cannot be
understated. As nations around the world
experience rising energy costs and height-
ened geopolitical tensions, development of
all forms of energy in the Gulf will be criti-
cal to ensuring lasting energy security for
the US and its global partners,” said IADC
President Jason McFarland.
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