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The Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), Pacific Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Region has an extensive, detailed inspection program with frequent
and regular inspections and additional oversight activities to promote safety of
operations, minimize the potential for adverse effects on the environment, and
conserve natural resources. The Regional Supervisor for Field Operations
provides overall direction, and the California District, located in Camarillo,
California, leads the inspection efforts.
Major elements of the program
include:
The Inspection Program is
designed to provide effective monitoring and enforcement of operator/lessee
compliance with the requirements of the OCS Lands Act and other applicable
Federal laws and regulations; lease terms and stipulations; approved plans and
permits and special conditions of approval; and other directives. The National
Potential Incident of Noncompliance (PINC) and Guideline List (see
Regulatory Compliance
webpage), MMS Manual Part 650, "Inspections,"
and a variety of inspection forms are used in the conduct of the field
inspections. Any observed violation is subject to a written notification of
incident of noncompliance (INC), applicable enforcement actions, and, if
warranted, civil penalty proceedings and referrals to the Department of the
Interior’s Office of the Inspector General for criminal penalties. Annual,
announced inspections and more frequent, unannounced inspections are conducted on
each offshore facility. These field inspections are conducted 7 days a week.
The Pacific OCS Region has
inspectors and engineers offshore on production platforms on a daily basis to
verify operator compliance with comprehensive safety and environmental
protection requirements. The Inspection Program is carried out by District and
Regional personnel with the necessary skills to ensure safe, clean and
problem-free operations: inspectors, engineers, geologists, geophysicists,
physical and environmental scientists, and vital support staff including
secretaries and an inspection data entry clerk.
Annual inspections are complete
production inspections that include 100% of the applicable production, general,
pollution, and hydrogen sulfide PINC’s from the National list. Inspection
personnel develop and use a process-component list unique to each facility to
ensure that every safety feature is inspected. In addition, partial
production inspections are unannounced and conducted on each facility at least six
times annually by the inspection personnel. These inspections include those PINC’s for which the
Bureau has determined that compliance will most likely deviate
between complete inspections, with special attention given to devices and
procedures that have proven troublesome at the facility or other facilities in
the Region. These inspections routinely include at least 25% of the applicable PINC’s, including training requirements. Over the course of a year, the
inspection personnel also conduct multiple complete and partial inspections,
both announced and unannounced, covering drilling, well completion, workovers,
pipelines, production measurement, and pollution prevention.
Pollution surveillance
observations are conducted routinely while en route to and from offshore sites
in conjunction with other inspections and to investigate pollution reports.
Inspection results are entered into a computerized database to facilitate
analysis for potential problem areas and planning for future inspections.
The BOEMRE Pacific OCS Region
inspection program annually undergoes a policies and procedures review to ensure
that the program adheres to the established requirements and is consistent with
emerging direction. The objective of the inspection program is to ensure
operator compliance with safety and environmental protection requirements;
the Pacific OCS Region conducts the program in a diligent and consistent
manner. |
