IADC Comments on BSEE Blowout Preventer, Well Control Requirement Final Rule
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IADC Comments on BSEE Blowout Preventer, Well Control Requirement Final Rule
Houston, Texas (14 April 2016) – In response to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) release today of the final rule regarding blowout prevent (BOP) requirements and reforms in the areas of well design, well control, well monitoring and subsea containment, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement:
“As the owners of drilling rigs and blowout preventers, IADC members are acutely impacted by this rule. Since BSEE issued its initial proposal last year, our members have participated in joint industry workgroups to carefully consider each of the points of the lengthy and detailed Well Control Rule, and submitted comments several months ago. Those comments addressed serious issues with some of the technical requirements of the proposed rule, the timing of its implementation and what was determined to be an underestimation of the estimated costs of the proposed requirements.”
“IADC’s subject matter experts will, over the next several days, continue to digest the technical aspects of the rule to determine its implications. Our hope, of course, is that BSEE took into consideration the meticulous work of so many industry experts in composing a final rule that enables safe offshore drilling activities without imposing undue financial hardship on those who operate on the outer continental shelf.”
“What often gets lost in this discussion is how much work the industry has done since the Macondo incident to improve offshore safety. This industry did not wait for BSEE to issue regulations to make major changes to our operations and procedures. IADC members are committed to safety and have developed and implemented major changes with regard to equipment, procedures and safety protocols to protect against future well control incidents.”
About IADC
Since 1940, the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has exclusively represented the worldwide oil and gas drilling industry. IADC’s mission is to catalyze improved performance for the drilling industry by enhancing operational integrity and championing better regulation to facilitate safer, cleaner and more efficient drilling operations worldwide. For more information, visit the IADC website at www.iadc.org.