Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), cited 12 Gulf of Mexico (GOM) operators for failure to comply with the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) requirements of the Workplace Safety Rule, 30 CFR Subpart S regulations put into place during October 2010, following Deepwater Horizon.
Regulations mandated that offshore operators must have completed an initial SEMS audit by November 15.
Of these 12, five operators - Breton Energy LLC, EP Energy, Virgin Offshore USA, Matagorda Island Gas Operations LLC and XTO Offshore Inc. - were ordered to cease operations effective November 16, 2013, for failure to provide BSEE with the audit plan and completed audit by the regulatory deadline. BSEE said that these companies’ failure to comply called into question whether they had implemented a SEMS program at all.
Affected companies were given three days to reach a safe point in their operations before ceasing operations on the Gulf.
"An effective, fully implemented SEMS program is essential to reducing risks across offshore operations," Salerno said. “BSEE must be assured that companies are addressing the key elements of SEMS and that they are not needlessly putting their workers and the environment at risk. We will vigorously enforce compliance with this fundamental requirement."
BSEE said that the impact of this enforcement would be 'minuscule' for GOM production.
Seven companies submitted SEMS-compliant audit plans, but failed to do so before the deadline. These operators are Badger Oil Corporation, Conn Energy Incorporated, GoMex Energy Offshore Ltd., Legacy Resources Co. LP, Monforte Exploration LLC, Petsec Energy and Tengasco Inc.
The seven cited companies must immediately provide BSEE with a copy of their SEMS program and the chief executive officer must certify, under penalty of perjury, that their company has implemented the SEMS program. The SEMS must be completed immediately.
BSEE said that further enforcement could be taken if operators do not meet these requirements, including the assessment of civil penalties for each day of non-compliance.
The companies were notified by letter of their citations; however, BSEE said that all affected companies were repeatedly issued notifications and emails during the past year. This correspondence contained deadline reminders and offers from BSEE to work with them to ensure they understood the requirements. BSEE also offered to waive the requirement to submit an audit plan 30 days before conducting the audit.
Eighty-four operators were subject to the November 15, 2013, audit deadline.
BSEE's predecessor agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), published the Workplace Safety Rule in October 2010, requiring offshore oil and gas operators to develop and maintain a SEMS program.
The SEMS II rule was issued in April, which, among other provisions, extended SEMS to contractors.
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