WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is extending the public comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled 'Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf – Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control,' which was published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2015 (80 FR 21504). The original public comment period would have ended on June 16, 2015. However, BSEE received requests from various stakeholders to extend the comment period. The BSEE reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 30-day comment period extension to July 16, 2015 is appropriate.
This proposed rule is intended to consolidate equipment and operational requirements that are common to other subparts of BSEE’s regulations pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning. This proposed rule would focus, at this time, on blowout preventer requirements, including incorporation of industry standards and revision of existing regulations. The proposed rule would also include reforms in the areas of well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time well monitoring, and subsea containment. The proposed rule would address and implement multiple recommendations resulting from various investigations of the Deepwater Horizon incident. This proposed rule would also incorporate guidance from several Notices to Lessees and Operators and revise provisions related to drilling, workover, completion, and decommissioning operations to enhance safety and environmental protection.
