HOUMA, La. – Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Brian Salerno completed a four-stop visit to Louisiana this week. Salerno opened the BSEE National Inspectors meeting on Tuesday by emphasizing the critical role inspectors play in the Bureau’s mission. He underscored the importance of their role within BSEE, but more so to the citizens of coastal states and the nation. Their efforts to promote safety and protect the environment, Salerno asserted, had real impacts on people, especially in the Gulf region. Salerno addressed the recent fall in oil prices head on, telling the inspectors that production is actually increasing, making their jobs even more essential. Salerno closed by telling them that inspectors, as front-line field staff, have a special role in ensuring worker safety and protecting the environment they and their neighbors cherish.
After leaving the meeting, Director Salerno toured Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port and the largest deepwater port serving oil and gas operations. Estimates suggest that 90% of the Gulf’s deepwater rigs and platforms are serviced at this single port. The port’s executive director briefed Salerno on the integration of the port’s services to support the operator’s highly technical activities in a safe manner. Given the expanding presence of deepwater wells, Port Fourchon is an increasingly critical service provider to the gas and oil industry.
Director Salerno met Wednesday with leadership from LLOG Exploration Company (LLOG) in Covington, La. to discuss safety and environmental enforcement priorities. The company is the sixth largest deepwater oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico. Several LLOG representatives discussed two of their production operations in detail explaining how they integrate safety into their operations.
The Director completed his swing through Louisiana by hosting staff from the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) at the BSEE Gulf of Mexico Region office in New Orleans Wednesday afternoon. Salerno took the opportunity to discuss BSEE’s integrated approach to environmental stewardship in the Gulf with the GRN Executive Director and the Network’s staff. The GRN expressed their commitment to unite and empower people in order to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region and they encouraged BSEE in pursuit of its mission.
