WASHINGTON – In an op-ed published today in the Houston Chronicle's FuelFix, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Brian Salerno writes that the focal point of numerous investigations and studies of theDeepwater Horizon tragedy all point to blowout preventers (BOPs) and associated well control systems, which is why BSEE has proposed new rules that would substantially upgrade existing regulations pertaining to BOPs and well control systems. Industry standards put in place in the aftermath of the deaths of eleven offshore workers and ensuing oil spill are a step in the right direction, but do not solve the problem. These standards do not have the force of law, as regulations do. Accountability matters, and, as a regulator, we need to do all that we can to drive down risks in offshore operations.
