OESC Holds Fifth Meeting in Anchorage

September 5, 2012 

Last week, members of the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee held their fifth meeting, this one in Anchorage, Alaska. The committee previously held meetings in Washington (twice), Houston and New Orleans.

The OESC is a public federal advisory body including some of the nation’s leading scientific, engineering and technical experts. Chaired by former Sandia National Laboratory Director Dr. Tom Hunter, the group consists of 15 members from federal agencies, the offshore oil and gas industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations. The committee provides critical policy advice to the Secretary of the Interior through the BSEE Director on improving all aspects of offshore energy safety.

During the meeting in Anchorage, the committee discussed Arctic offshore development issues, safety management systems, blowout preventers and critical research and development projects. OESC subcommittees also addressed oil spill prevention, containment, and response in addition to safety culture and a proposed Ocean Energy Safety Institute. The committee also discussed several interim recommendations presented by the OESC subcommittees.

The meeting was open to the public with over 50 people in attendance. During the course of the meeting, members of the public were encouraged to submit comments and a time was scheduled towards the end of the meeting for members of the public to speak before the committee. For additional information on the OESC, to include meeting minutes, please visit BSEE's OESC web page here.