HOUSTON -- Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Brian Salerno underscored the value of a robust safety culture in reducing risk offshore to representatives from the offshore oil and gas industry during the Oct. 12 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop: Strengthening Offshore Industry Safety Culture.
Salerno participated on the regulator's overview panel with U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Thomas. "BSEE is interested in supporting, encouraging and incentivizing the adoption of a meaningful safety culture across the industry," said Salerno. "However, this cannot be imposed by a regulator; it must originate from within the industry to be genuine."
The workshop also included panel discussions involving industry operators, and drilling and service contractors. Discussion centered around the recommendations found in the NAS study report, Strengthening the Safety Culture of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry. Initiated in March 2014 and completed in June 2016, the study was supported with funds designated for the National Academy of Sciences as a community service payment arising out of a plea agreement entered into between the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Company. The report involved the NAS's Marine Board, The Committee on Offshore Oil and Gas Safety Culture, Transportation Research Board and Board on Human-Systems Integration.