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INSIGHTS spections. We have a pilot project currently underway to

How do you attract and maintain the talent and ex- pertise that BSEE needs? test the feasibility of conducting risk-based inspections on a broader scale. There are good reasons to believe that risk- While BSEE as a regulatory agency cannot compete based inspections will help improve safety on the OCS. with industry in terms of salary rates, we do offer oppor-

Our analyses indicate that 80% of safety-related incidents tunities for quali? ed professionals to have exposure to a occur on about 20% of facilities. Applying the principles of broad range of industry programs and issues. BSEE has risk assessment and management, it seems clear that BSEE been working with Congress and the Of? ce of Personnel should focus its resources where the problems are located. Management to seek approval of special higher salary rates

In order to improve its risk assessment capacity, BSEE for petroleum engineers, geologists, geophysicists, struc- has partnered with NASA to study their management ap- tural engineers and inspectors working in speci? c regions. proaches to risk. Both BSEE and NASA oversee work in To date we have been able to offer such incentives for some harsh and uncompromising environments, and both rely positions. The opportunity for public service and the abili- on cutting edge technology to go deeper and further than ty to make a difference in an important energy industry are previously thought possible. The BSEE-NASA partnership also two very positive incentives for pursuing a career with brings together technical experts from both agencies to fo- BSEE. BSEE’s staff members have many opportunities to cus on the speci? c risks associated with offshore operations contribute to regulatory work across the industry and gain so that we can continue to ? nd ways to improve safety for valuable experience as employees in government service. offshore workers and protect the environment. NASA will

BSEE’s budget is over $200 million with about 800 share its experiences related to probabilistic risk assessment full-time employees. Are both numbers enough in to- with BSEE. Embracing a probabilistic risk assessment day’s energy and offshore climates?

approach will allow BSEE to quantitatively model risk.

We are an ef? cient agency that tries to leverage its im-

NASA is presently using this approach for the Internation- pact whenever possible. We have ramped up the number of al Space Station and Orion deep space capsule programs. personnel to meet our mission, including inspectors from

BSEE believes that it can more effectively assign risk once below 60 to over 120 in just over ? ve years. At BSEE, we its staff can calibrate the NASA approach so that it can be have created a sense among the offshore industry that the applied to the Outer Continental Shelf energy industry.

Bureau is holding them to a high standard. That is as it should be. Our current resources allow us to adequately ful? ll that mission.

BSEE recently participated in a panel roundtable with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Center for Offshore

Safety (COS) – an industry sponsored organization focused exclusively on offshore safety on the U.S.

Outer Continental Shelf. Describe brie? y the relation- ship of BSEE and the Coast Guard?

BSEE and the Coast Guard share jurisdiction over the

OCS regulatory space. For example, BSEE oversees all oil and gas activities and operations as well as spill prepared- ness and response planning, while the Coast Guard is re- sponsible for most oil spill response activities. BSEE and the Coast Guard have increased the level of coordination through quarterly meetings at the headquarters level and the regional level, an updated Memorandum of Under- standing, and joint training. That increased coordination

Credit: Shell

November 2016

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