FOLLOWING THROUGH:

How Industry and Government are

Improving the Safety of Offshore Energy
Development in the Post-Macondo Era

April 2020
For the latest report,
please visit https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/health-and-
safety/exploration-and-production-safety/offshore-safety
 The oil and natural gas industry
and the federal government have
together taken great strides
to enhance the safety of offshore
operations. Since Macondo,
industry has focused on increasing
its ability to:
PREVENT spills from occurring.
INTERVENE to halt any spill
that does occur.
RESPOND to spills with
the most effective mitigation
measures possible.
As always, standards and best
practices will continue to be
reviewed on an ongoing basis in
order to protect the environment
and promote the safe and
responsible development of
energy sources that help fuel the
American economy.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved.

 AFTER MACONDO:
Industry and Government Made Significant Improvements
to Prevention, Intervention and Response Capabilities
Restoring Confidence in Offshore Operations

The full suite of industry reports and recommendations

are available at https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-
gas/environment/clean-water/oil-spill-prevention-and-
response/api-joint-industry-task-force-reports.
Spill Well
Response Containment In addition to the initial work focused on drilling
Capability and Intervention
Capability operations, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry has been
SAFE on a continuous improvement journey to enhance safety
Operations and environmental protection in all areas of offshore
exploration, production and oil spill response.

Industry
Standards PREVENTION: INDUSTRY STANDARDS

API standards raise the level of safety performance

across the industry, and more than 100 have
been incorporated into offshore federal regulation.
I M M E D I AT E I N D U S T R Y A C T I O N The industry has 275 exploration and production
Immediately after the Macondo incident, the U.S. oil standards that address offshore operations, covering
and natural gas industry launched a comprehensive everything from blowout preventers to comprehensive
review of offshore safety measures and operations guidelines for offshore safety programs. Since 2010
to enhance safety and environmental protection by API has published over 250 new and revised exploration
identifying best practices in offshore drilling operations and production standards, including standards for:
and oil spill response. Four industry panels were • Well design, cementing and operator/
assembled to focus on the critical areas of equipment, contractor interaction.
operating procedures, subsea well control and
containment, and spill response. The panels also • Blowout prevention equipment design,
worked with the U.S. Department of the Interior and operation, repair and maintenance, and
the Presidential Oil Spill Commission to help form their associated control systems.
recommendations to improve offshore safety and • Subsea equipment interfaces with remotely-
the regulatory framework. operated vehicles and well capping equipment.
• Protective equipment for oil spill response
The goal of this ongoing effort is continuous
workers.
improvement of comprehensive safe operations through
evaluation and revision of industry guidelines and • Integrity Management and Safety and
procedures and active engagement with regulators. Environmental Management Systems.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved. 1

Reviewing and improving industry standards has always the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and
been a top priority. Since 1924, API has been the leader all API standards are reviewed on a regular basis to
in developing industry standards that promote reliability ensure they remain current. Government-referenced
and safety through the use of proven engineering and safety-related standards may be freely viewed
practices. The API standards process is accredited by online at http://publications.api.org.

PREVENTION + INTERVENTION + RESPONSE

+ ONGOING IMPROVEMENT =
Safe and Environmetally Sound Operations

and academia, we ensure we learn everything we can

INTERVENTION: WELL CONTAINMENT from past incidents. Since Macondo, oil spill response
organizations have increased their capabilities by
The Marine Well Containment Company increasing training and by updating their suites
(http://marinewellcontainment.com) and HWCG of response equipment that enable them to respond
(http://www.hwcg.org) were founded in 2010 to a spill with all the tools we have at our disposal.
to provide containment technology and response Assessments conducted immediately after the
capabilities for the unique challenges of capping Macondo incident also led to the creation of new
a well that is releasing oil thousands of feet below guidance documents and reports, including:
the water’s surface.
•  Guidance on the creation of offshore oil spill
response plans (API Recommended Practice
These companies maintain quickly deployable systems
1145 – Preparation of Response Plans for Oil
that are designed to stem any uncontrolled flow of
Spills from Offshore Facilities).
hydrocarbons from a subsea well and facilitate training
of their member companies on the installation and • An evaluation of the mechanical recovery
operation of these systems. Their systems also systems used at sea during the Macondo
provide the potential to capture flow from a subsea incident.
well incident via subsea equipment, risers and • A report and field guide for spills on sand
containment vessels that can safely capture, store beaches and shoreline sediments, including
and offload the oil. protection techniques and detection and
response capabilities.
RESPONSE: OIL SPILL • An evaluation of the process by which
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE alternative technologies are reviewed for
use during an oil spill.
In addition, API and the oil and natural gas industry
The United States has established one of the world’s have established a robust program of oil spill
most sophisticated and well-coordinated spill response response research and development, with a focus on:
networks, administered by the National Contingency planning, mechanical recovery, dispersants, in-situ
Plan (NCP). By bringing together the resources burning, remote sensing, shoreline protection,
and expertise of private industry, public agencies alternative technologies and inland spill response.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved. 2

 Results from these efforts have been published in The COS has developed Safety and Environmental
peer-reviewed academic journals and in conference Management Systems (SEMS) tools for auditor
proceedings around the world, with the goal of qualification, conducting audits and accreditation
educating the global oil spill response community. of Audit Service Providers. The Bureau of Safety
All final reports from these efforts are publicly and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has adopted
available at http://oilspillprevention.org. three COS guidelines into its own regulations,
and the COS continues to work on additional
guidelines to strengthen industry’s safety culture
The industry has also invested in two international
and advance its mission.
oil spill preparedness and response programs focused
on improving industry operational capabilities in all
The mission of COS is to promote the highest level
parts of the world including the Arctic. These two
of safety for offshore drilling, completions, and
programs are coordinated with API’s activities,
operations through:
and together, they represent a comprehensive, global
approach to continued advancements in oil spill • Effective leadership
preparedness and response. • Communication
• Teamwork
• Use of disciplined SEMS
• Third party auditing & certification

COS is governed by a diverse board representing the

breadth of the industry. The board includes operators,
drilling contractors, service and supply companies,
and other Associations. COS has a full-time staff.
This staff works with numerous industry committees,
subcommittees and work groups organized by COS to
address specific SEMS concerns and opportunities.

SEMS in the U.S. industry and the work of COS is based

on and defined by API RP 75. Thus, COS is focused on
delivering SEMS tools and techniques based on API
RP 75 as well as identified needs from safety data.
ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS: CENTER The work continues as part of COS’s commitment
FOR OFFSHORE SAFETY to learn and continuously improve SEMS and Safety
Culture via SEMS. Currently COS is in the process
of updating documents and processes for the new
edition of API RP 75.
In 2011, the industry formed the Center for Offshore
Safety (COS) to help improve the safety performance
COS CORE FUNCTIONS
of America’s offshore oil and natural gas industry.
The COS promotes the highest level of safety COS’s initial work was focused on SEMS auditing to
and continuous improvement for offshore drilling, support an independent third-party SEMS auditing
completions and operations through enhanced process. The development of standard and uniform
communication of best practices within the industry, COS audit tools, processes, and audit documents assists
use of effective safety and environmental management in implementing SEMS, and creating uniformity that
systems, and analysis of findings identified by would enhance sharing and learning from audit results.
independent third-party auditing programs.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved. 3

 COS’s work now focuses in the following areas:
1. SEMS Audit Tools and Good Practices
2. Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting
• SEMS audit data
• Learning from Incidents (LFIs)
• Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs)
• Annual Performance Report
3. Good Practice Development
• Continual improvement of SEMS
• Create good practices to close SEMS gaps
4. Sharing Industry Knowledge
• Facilitate the sharing and learning process F E D E R A L GOV E R N M E N T AC T I O N S
•  Interface with industry leaders to assure The federal government responded to the Macondo
system deficiencies are recognized incident by reorganizing the Minerals
and addressed Management Service (MMS) and initially focusing on
four areas of regulatory policy:
• Conduct forums, workshops and other
sharing events 1) Blowout prevention
5. Accreditation 2) Drilling safety
• A
 ccreditation of qualified third-party Audit 3) Spill response
Service Providers
4) Well containment
• O
 verseeing that ASP assure their SEMS
audit management systems meet the
To help accomplish this, the MMS was reorganized
COS audit requirements and the regulator
into three new agencies:
requirements
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
From the beginning, COS has provided a place (BOEM), responsible for energy leases
for the industry to come together, share in areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf;
lessons learned and collaborate regarding SEMS.
• The Bureau of Safety and Environmental
More information on COS can be found at
Enforcement (BSEE), responsible for
http://www.centerforoffshoresafety.org.
enforcement of safety and environmental
protection in all offshore energy activities; and,
•  The Office of Natural Resources Revenue
(ONRR), responsible for management of
royalties and revenues.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved. 4

 These new agencies identified areas for In addition, the United States Coast Guard (USCG)
improvement through a series of regulatory and has taken actions to address guidance received
policy actions, including: in its internal investigation and report of the
Macondo incident. These include rulemakings to
•  Requiring operators to follow new procedures
address the following:
when calculating worst-case scenarios for
loss of well control and determining how to • 
Operations and equipment on mobile
effectively manage such an event. offshore drilling units (MODU).
•  Subjecting blowout prevention systems Voluntary Incident reporting for MODU
• 
to new testing, inspection and maintenance dynamic positioning systems to
requirements. facilitate industry-wide improvements in
system reliability.
•  Requiring oil spill response plans to have
a signed statement of compliance and • 
Testing and training requirements for lifesaving
adequate well containment resources to and firefighting equipment on MODUs and
be readily available. floating production facilities.
•  Requiring safety and environmental
The USCG has also entered into two Memorandums
management systems (SEMS) to address all
of Agreement with BSEE, one to delineate
elements of API’s Safety and Environmental
responsibility for inspection and oversight on MODUs,
Management Program standard (API RP 75)
and another to strengthen agency management of
and be subject to verification through audit.
safety and environmental protection responsibilities.
The USCG has also reorganized its management of
offshore inspections to provide for a single point
of responsibility.

SUMMARY
The offshore oil and natural gas industry remains
committed to following through on our responsibility
to operate in a safe and environmentally sound
manner. Together with changes being made by
federal regulators, our collective actions will serve
to improve the safety of offshore energy development
and continue to provide the resources needed to
increase our nation’s energy security.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved. 5

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved.