BSEE's Oil Spill Preparedness Division (OSPD) is responsible for developing and administering regulations (30 CFR part 254) that oversee the oil and gas industry's preparedness to contain, recover and remove oil discharges from offshore facilities operating seaward of the coastline. Current regulations require that operators of these offshore oil and gas facilities submit an Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) that identifies the procedures and contracted spill response resources necessary to respond, to the maximum extent practicable, to the facilities’ worst case discharge (WCD).
In 2014, BSEE OSPD awarded a contract to Booz Allen Hamilton, who assembled a multi-faceted team of subject matter experts on oil spill modeling and response, to: 1) examine how the portfolio of worst case discharge scenarios contained within the OSRPs in each of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Regions have changed over time; 2) analyze the oil spill response equipment capabilities that are currently available to respond to these discharges; and 3) provide subsequent recommendations on how the requirements for OSRPs may be improved. The two-volume study report, the Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) Equipment Capability Review, was completed in February 2016, and is available for download and viewing below:
Volume I: Worst Case Discharge Analysis
Volume II: Oil Spill Response Equipment Capabilities Analysis
The Next Generation of Planning for Offshore Oil Spill Response was presented at the International Oil Spill Conference in 2017 and summarizes many of the key spill modeling methodologies, observations, and results contained in Volume II: Oil Spill Response Equipment Capability Analysis. The paper is available for download and viewing below:
The Next Generation of Planning for Offshore Oil Spill Response
The oil spill modeling and recommendations contained in the OSRP Equipment Capabilities Review (Volumes I and II) were subjected to a peer review panel of external subject matter experts, which was completed in January 2017. The Summary Peer Review Report and BSEE's Response Document (to the Summary Peer Review Report) are now available for download and viewing below:
BSEE's Response Document to the Summary Peer Review
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the OSRP Equipment Capabilities Review, or the subsequent Peer Review documents, please feel free to contact John Caplis, at BSEE Headquarters in Sterling, VA, at 703-787-1364 or at oilspillpreparednessdivision@bsee.gov.