The 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. In addition to the organizing event, the Bureau has hosted three other meetings – one in Houston, one in the Washington area, and one in Santa Barbara. Currently, representatives from the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand 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.

Ongoing Projects

	International Regulators Offshore Safety Conference – 79 nations have ongoing or proposed offshore oil and gas operations. These nations could benefit from the experiences of other regulators and the sharing of accident data, standards, performance measures, and procedures. Consistent procedures would facilitate international commerce and could significantly reduce operating costs. The next International Regulators Offshore Safety Conference, organized by the IRF and hosted by the U.S., will be held in Miami, Florida from December 3 to 6, 2007.
	International Safety Award – Recognize outstanding safety performance internationally. The first award, named after former Bureau Associate Director Carolita Kallaur, was presented at the London Conference in March 2005.
	Cooperation on Standards: Share resources in monitoring international standards activities.
	International Incident Data and Performance Measures: Develop a common set of measures. Develop a common incident database. The IRF has reached agreement on a common set of definitions and measures that will allow us to compare the frequency of accidents from region to region.
	Personnel Exchange: Participate in ongoing personnel exchanges as funds permit. Also, at the request of an IRF member, other IRF agencies have participated in short-term projects to assess regulatory or safety concerns.
	Material Handling and Mechanization of Drilling Rigs: Assess crane safety issues and the need for common policies. Assess the need for international requirements for automated pipe-handling equipment and other worker safety measures. This important effort will lead to common crane safety policies and has drawn worldwide attention to crane and materials handling issues.
	Cooperate on other safety and pollution prevention matters.

The following countries participate in the IRF:

	Australia
	Brazil
	Canada
	Netherlands
	New Zealand
	Norway
	United Kingdom
	United States