BSEE’s regulatory programs evaluate emerging technologies, safety improvements, offshore training, and the development and maintenance of up-to-date regulations, policies, standards and guidelines. Additionally, branches of the Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs (OORP) manage compliance programs governing oil, gas, and mineral operations on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Marine Ecology Program
Marine life comes in many varied and fascinating forms… sometimes simple… sometimes complex… often bizarre. A few of the many thousands of species of marine life have a valuable place in our economy (e.g., shrimp, tuna, snapper), most do not. While most people never see the incredible array of ocean plants and animals, we at BSEE consider them all valuable.
TAP Research Records
| Project Number | Office | Title | Performing Activity | Category |
Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802 | TAP | Renewable Energy Remote Inspections | NA | Renewable Energy | 02/01/2023 |
| 1129 | OSRR | Multi Partner Research Initiative (MPRI) - Comparing Recent Advances in Estimating and Measuring Oil Slick Thickness | BSEE/NOAA/Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) | Remote Sensing | 01/23/2023 |
| 801 | TAP | Freeze-up and Break-up of Arctic Sea Ice in the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas | NA | 01/12/2023 | |
| 805 | TAP | Freeze-up and Break-up of Arctic Sea Ice | NA | Arctic | 01/12/2023 |
| 1130 | OSRR | The Use of Additive Manufacturing to Investigate Novel Surface Geometries for Improved Oil Skimmer Recovery in Thin Oil Slicks | Deep Analytics LLC | Mechanical Containment and Recovery | 01/05/2023 |
Incident Reporting
Incidents on the OCS involve everyday operations and duties. An unsafe act or condition may cause a worker to lose his or her life or be seriously injured. Unsafe acts or conditions may also result in spills or other incidents that have the potential to affect the environment. The Bureau uses the results of incident investigations and data analysis to identify incident causes and trends. Appropriate actions are then identified to prevent the recurrence of these incidents and to enhance safety and environmental protection on the OCS. These actions may include publishing Safety Alerts, initiating technical research, developing new/revised regulations or standards, changing inspection strategies, holding safety workshops, etc. Incident data is also used to calculate performance indicators.
International Engagement
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is a recognized world leader in offshore oil and gas regulation, research and technical assistance. Through various multilateral and bilateral relationships, BSEE is helping to set the standard for safety and environmental protection across a global industry. Bureau experts are routinely sought after to provide technical assistance and training to other nations who are working to develop their offshore energy resources in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.