On Jan 9th and 10th the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee (OESC) met in Washington, D.C. at the Department of the Interior's South Building. BSEE Director Jim Watson, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Deputy Secretary David Hayes each addressed the Committee during their two-day meeting to express their appreciation for the work the members have put forth to develop recommendations for the Department to improve safety and environmental protection across the offshore oil and gas industry.

The Committee discussed a wide range of topics such as oil spill prevention, containment and response, safety management systems and arctic issues in addition to the path forward for the OESC. The meeting was open to the public with more than 60 people in attendance. Members of the public were encouraged to submit written comments in advance and time was set aside during the meeting for members of the public to address the Committee. For additional information on the OESC, please visit BSEE's OESC web page here.

This was the Committee's sixth meeting since being chartered in 2011. Previous meetings were held in Houston, Anchorage and New Orleans.