Industry News & Resources

“IADC welcomes the nomination of David Bernhardt to serve as the next Secretary at the Department of Interior. Given his background and depth of knowledge, coupled with his interim leadership at Interior, we believe that Mr. Bernhardt is deeply committed to managing the development of the tremendous natural resources within the U.S., with a focus on ensuring that work is done in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

he International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) presented its Contractor of the Year Award to Trent Latshaw, President of Latshaw Drilling Co., during last week’s IADC Annual General Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“We have long advocated for sensible, uniform regulation when it comes to ballast water discharge. IADC members with offshore operations own and operate maritime vessels that are subject to the current maze of conflicting regulation which is administered under two Federal agencies and exists alongside multiple state rules.

“Interior’s approval yesterday of the Alaska Liberty project is a step forward in tapping the rich potential of the Arctic’s natural resources. Arctic reserves are estimated at more than 90 billion barrels of oil, and with decades of experience operating in Alaska’s harsh climate, drilling contractors have developed safe and effective environmentally sensitive methods to retrieve the region’s vast oil and gas reserves.

“IADC is pleased to see the advancement of a new trade agreement with all three countries at the table. A trade agreement that promotes the swift movement of equipment and personnel across the borders in North America is important to IADC’s membership and we will continue to monitor it as it moves toward a Congressional vote.

“IADC is pleased to see today’s results of the exacting approach taken by BSEE to enhance its production safety regulations. Far from making industry operations less safe, as detractors have alleged, the judicious assessment of all 484 provisions contained within the original 2016 rule will afford stakeholders an opportunity to effectively apply these revised requirements as they were originally intended.