On November 5th and 6th the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) participated in BP Americas, Inc. Annual Incident Management Team Exercise in Houston. BSEE Deputy Director Margaret Schneider attended the exercise, which was a worst-case discharge scenario of a mobile offshore drilling unit colliding with a container ship. The exercise tested BP’s ability to respond to a spill in accordance with its Oil Spill Response Plan. During the exercise BP simulated source control notification, procurement, personnel, logistics, and other actions to cap or cap/contain the subsea loss of well control.
BSEE’s Oil Spill Response Division audited the exercise to ensure regulatory compliance, and Gulf of Mexico Region personnel participated in BSEE’s role of Source Control Support Coordinator (SCSC). The SCSC is the principal advisor to the Federal On Scene Coordinator for deep-water well source control issues. The job of the SCSC during an emergency response is a critical one. The SCSC is responsible for providing source control support for operational decisions and for providing oversight of source control efforts during an event involving the loss of well control on the Outer Continental Shelf.
