The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announced today a 45-day extension to the public comment period for the proposed rule on offshore oil and natural gas production safety systems. Comments will now be accepted through Dec. 5, 2013.
The proposed rule will revise 30 CFR 250 subpart H, Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems, to address recent technological advances. This section of the regulations has not had a major revision since it was first published in 1988. During that period, industry’s use of subsea trees (the assembly mounted on a well head used to control the flow of oil and gas) and other technologies have evolved or become more prevalent offshore. These devices and materials include foam firefighting systems; electronic-based emergency shutdown systems; subsea pumping, waterflooding, and gaslift; and new alloys and equipment for high temperature and high pressure wells. The proposed rule ensures that the regulations governing their use and maintenance are keeping pace with industry’s advancements and that they address these newer and emerging safety technologies.
The public is invited to submit comments by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled Enter Keyword or ID, enter BSEE-2012-0005 then click search.
• Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the Interior; BSEE; Attention: Regulations Development Branch;381 Elden Street, HE3313; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.
The comment period extension notice can be viewed in the Federal Register’s Reading Room at: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-23520_PI.pdf
The proposed rule can be viewed at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08-22/pdf/2013-19861.pdf
A BSEE fact sheet on the proposed rule is available at: http://www.bsee.gov/BSEE-Newsroom/BSEE-Fact-Sheet/Fact-Sheet-for-Safety-Systems-Proposed-Rule.aspx
