Focused Facility Reviews

Ensuring Safe Operations in the Pacific OCS Region

The Pacific OCS Region initiated the Focused Facility Review (FFR) program in 1996. The program is designed to complement Region’s regular annual and other complete and partial inspections by integrating engineers and other knowledgeable professionals with inspectors to form teams with technical expertise in production, drilling, workover, completion, environmental protection, and other areas of offshore operations safety. The FFR's cover all aspects of platform operations and management from a systemic perspective, concentrating on areas such as facility condition, safety systems, environmental aspects, documents, training, hazardous materials handling, electrical systems, and policies/performance.

Each FFR team consists of Office of Field Operations and Office of Leasing and Environment staff, along with representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard. The FFR's are conducted on at least three Pacific OCS Region platforms each year, with facility selection based on operator performance (accidents, INC’s, etc.), operational changes, and other factors. The teams identify required and suggested follow-up actions for the facility operators. The FFR program, given its systemic nature, is intended to go beyond standard inspections and issuance of INC's, but INC's are issued if identified corrective actions are not immediately resolved. Referrals to other agencies can also be made for appropriate action and resolution.

Other important safety and environmental compliance oversight activities include the review of internal and external pipeline inspection results and pipeline leak detection systems, requiring operators to perform pipeline remediation or repairs if determined to be necessary based on such review, and witnessing of meter provings and review of meter site security, as well as analysis of production data and meter run tickets to confirm that production and royalty are properly calculated and reported.