LAFAYETTE, La. – Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement inspectors from all three BSEE regions are meeting in Lafayette April 16-18 to collaborate on recent updates to BSEE’s inspection strategy and other initiatives the Bureau is undertaking to drive safety performance and environmental stewardship improvements in the Outer Continental Shelf. “Everyone in this room plays a critical role in keeping offshore oil and gas operations safe and environmentally sustainable. You are doing more inspections than ever before, you’re increasing physical inspection time offshore, and you’re doing more with less,” said BSEE Director Scott Angelle during opening remarks.
Angelle’s comments reference BSEE’s nearly 30 percent reduction in helicopter expenditures over the past two years and the increase in the use of onshore e-record inspections.
Angelle also commended the inspectors for their work implementing BSEE’s Risk-Based Inspection Program.
“As we move from being prescriptive to more performance based, initiatives like risk-based inspections positively impact the safety of offshore energy production,” said Angelle. “As you perform these targeted inspections on high-risk activities, operators are driven to direct their attention to areas where BSEE has identified trends.”
Angelle said inspectors are the backbone of the Bureau and he believes these collaborative meetings help ensure standardization across BSEE’s regions.
“Each year you conduct thousands of inspections on oil and gas facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said Angelle. “When those inspections are conducted the same way, regardless of the district or region, everyone benefits.”
More than 125 BSEE inspectors are attending the three-day meeting, which provides them with an opportunity to learn from each other and receive training.
“You travel offshore daily to ensure offshore oil and gas operations are safe and environmentally sustainable,” Angelle said. “We are all grateful for the work you do. America depends on you.”
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