Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs
BSEE’s regulatory programs evaluate emerging technologies, safety improvements, and the development and maintenance of 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 (OCS).
Our Mission
The Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs (OORP) drives and supports continual improvement in safety, environmental protection, and offshore resource conservation through data and risk analysis, safety improvement initiatives, regulatory development and maintenance, standards and stakeholder engagement, policy development and oversight, and emerging technology evaluations to provide strategic guidance in support of BSEE’s regulatory oversight and enforcement mission.
What is the OORP is responsible for?
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OCS regulations and the associated policy documents Safety management programs Safety and pollution prevention research Technology assessments Best Available and Safest Technology Inspection policies
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Since OORPS’s technical staff manage BSEE’s operational and safety programs, they regularly coordinate and partner with the U.S. Coast Guard, other Federal and State agencies, industry groups, and international regulatory agencies to ensure common goals and objectives are achieved and lessons-learned are shared during safety, environmental and regulatory projects.
Our Branches and Offices
The Emerging Technologies Branch identifies, develops and incorporates those existing, new, or emerging technologies with the potential to address offshore safety issues which support the Offshore Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 directive. These technologies may then be used to support the Bureau's regulatory programs.
The Engineering Technology Assessment Center provides BSEE’s headquarters, regional and district offices with consulting expertise, value-added solutions, and the comprehensive review of new, unused, innovative, and unusual technologies.
The Inspection Policy Branch is responsible for the development and coordination of national-level policies, program administration, and oversight for the Bureau’s Offshore Inspection Program, including both its oil & gas inspection program and renewable energy inspection program.
The Offshore Safety Improvement Branch is responsible for oversight of the Bureau's programs for the National Aviation management and aviation safety management, BSEE’s Medical Standards and Offshore Credentials), Programs, Safety and Environment Management Systems (SEMS) Program, and safety improvement initiatives.
The Regulations and Standards Branch updates existing and develops new regulations; develops and issues regulatory guidance; assesses industry standards for incorporation into BSEE’s regulations; ensures Paperwork Reduction Act compliance; and processes Federal Register Notices for BSEE.
The Risk Assessment and Analysis Branch works with government and industry to capitalize on the best risk-management approaches and risk and safety implications from equipment failures, incidents, and near misses to inform stakeholders, and strengthen worker and environmental safety protections on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The Safety Performance Enhanced by Analytical Review (SPEAR) team is a research and development effort to unearth new data analytic tools and strategic, bureau-wide processes to enable subject-matter experts within BSEE to refine their analysis of data and other information to identify present and emerging safety and environmental hazards related to energy operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. The team’s focus is on priorities designed to help accomplish the following broad goals:
- Survey BSEE programs to assess current data analysis activities and assess the needs of those programs for new or improved tools;
- Identify short-, medium-, and long-term development targets to meet identified program needs; and,
- Seek out collaboration partners to help BSEE evaluate the assortment of machine learning techniques and tools to help BSEE determine precursors to significant incidents on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).