Gulf Operations Still Unsafe Despite Reforms - U.S. Chemical Safety Board

Four years after the deadly Macondo offshore well blowout and explosion, oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico remains unsafe despite scores of reform efforts, an independent federal investigative team warns in a report released here today.

The accident at the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and seriously injured 17 sparked a wide-reaching reform initiative for offshore drilling regulations with authorities dissolving one federal agency and creating three new ones in its place.  And a chastened industry responded by creating two offshore-blowout response teams and promising to double down on safety and assurance systems.

But in a new investigation of the 2010 oil spill that could spark fresh debate over offshore oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board concludes that all these changes aren't enough.

Deepwater drilling remains a risky proposition despite the new safety regulations, including the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's (BSEE) requirement for all offshore drillers to have in place independently audited safety and environmental management systems, or SEMS, says the panel that probes major chemical accidents.

Gulf Operations Still Unsafe Despite Reforms - U.S. Chemical Safety Board