Web Alert: Final Rule on Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf–Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control (US)

The US Interior Department, through its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, published the Final Rule on Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf – Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control (on 29 April 2016). Its main aim is to avoid another disastrous oil spill incident such as the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico (2010) which was caused by equipment failures/breakdown. In light of this, the “Final Rule focuses on blowout preventer (BOP) and well-control requirements, including incorporation of industry standards and revision of existing regulations, and adopts reforms in the areas of well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time well monitoring, and subsea containment”. 

As the Final Rule became effective on 28 July 2016, operators must ensure that they adhere to most of the new regulations outlined within. A number of provisions however of the Final Rule will be implemented over several years.

For further information and background regarding the Final Rule, please click here.

Category: Offshore & Renewables