International Regulators Forum (IRF) is comprised of regulatory agencies with responsibilities for offshore facility safety. The first meeting was held in Houston in 1994, and annual meetings have been held subsequently. Currently, representatives from the Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States participate in the IRF. Participants share information on technological advances, safety issues, accident investigations, regulatory policies, international standards and conventions, performance measurement, and research. Members may also exchange personnel, and establish reciprocal agreements.
International Offshore Petroleum Environmental Regulators (IOPER) is an international forum of offshore petroleum environmental regulators dedicated to the common cause of raising offshore environmental performance. Currently representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States participate in the IOPER. IOPER members represent major oil and gas producing countries focusing on regulatory issues associated with environmental impact, oil spill prevention, and preparedness. Information shared between members and discussions can potentially affect the decision-making of the member regulatory agencies. IOPER does not aim to drive international regulatory or policy actions, but to encourage cross feed of ideas.
The Arctic Offshore Regulators Forum (AORF) addresses the need for further international technical collaboration in a unique and complex region. It is an Arctic forum of technical and operational offshore petroleum safety regulators whose members are dedicated to the common cause of continually improving offshore safety outcomes. The primary scope is the exchange of information, best practices and relevant experiences learned from regulatory efforts related to developing petroleum resources in the Arctic regions. The AORF is composed of technical regulatory representatives from Canada, Finland, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The inaugural meeting of the AORF was held April 30-May 1, 2015, in Washington, D.C.