National Oil Spill Commission News

U.S. In response to the findings of investigations into the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, and following a thorough evaluation of recommendations from industry groups, equipment manufacturers, federal agencies, academia and environmental organizations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced proposed regulations to better protect human lives and the environment from oil spills. The measures include more stringent design requirements and operational procedures for critical well control equipment used in offshore oil and gas operations.

“The lengthy report and its numerous recommendations will certainly provide ample fodder for all those interested in offshore drilling for months to come. The Commission has put forth recommendations that should be vetted, aired and in some cases possibly implemented. The Commission went through a thoughtful, lengthy, deliberative process and now it is time for Congress and industry to do the same in evaluating the Commission’s findings. This report will become required reading for the offshore industry for years to come. “However, the report is not an indictment of offshore oil and gas production. While many opposed to offshore exploration will undoubtedly use the report to bolster their calls to stop offshore oil and gas development…

“On May 22, 2010, President Barack Obama announced the creation of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling: an independent, nonpartisan entity, directed to provide a thorough analysis and impartial judgment. The President charged the Commission to determine the causes of the disaster, and to improve the country’s ability to respond to spills, and to recommend reforms to make offshore energy production safer. And the President said we were to follow the facts wherever they led. This report is the result of an intense six-month effort to fulfill the President’s charge. “From the outset, the Commissioners…

Sen. William K. Frances G. Donald F. Terry D. Cherry A. What:      Presentation of the findings and recommendations in the National Oil Spill Commission’s final report on the causes of BP’s Gulf rig blowout and prevention of future disasters. Viewing:    Credentialed press only. Public viewing available via live stream at www.OilSpillCommission.gov. Broadcast Needs:      Please contact Walton Smith at 703.798.8775 or [email protected].

Engineering professor and petroleum industry veteran Michael J. Economides expressed concern over comments made by President Obama's national oil spill commission co-chair, William K. Reilly, advocating a complete safety overhaul of America's oil and gas industry. "It would be absurd for the administration or the oil and gas industry to satisfy demands of a political activist with an ideological bias against traditional fuel and whose only knowledge of how an offshore rig works comes from studying BP's ill-fated Macondo well blowout," Dr. Economides said. "U.S. "Policies coming from the White House wrongly assume BP was operating inside industry norms," Dr. Economides said. As of September 2010, the administration's drilling ban alone had eliminated 20,000 jobs in the Gulf region.