The US offshore safety regulator is getting a boost with the hire of 28 more engineers and 48 more inspectors to strengthen safety in the offshore drilling industry.
James Watson, Director Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, says the bureau wants to focus more on industry safety results than on specific rules.
“The first goal of BSEE is to ensure that the equipment is built and maintained to the right standards, that the people are trained and supported by the management and that there is a good monitoring of these activities,” Watson said.
Industry should take a long view of offshore accidents and safety
Watson said safety should go beyond Deepwater Horizon disaster and take into consideration accidents and incidents that have occurred offshore throughout its history.
The bureau was formed in 2011 in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in response to criticism that offshore regulators were failing to enforce safety in the offshore.
