USA: Salazar to Host International Forum on Improving Offshore Drilling Safety

On Thursday, April 14, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will convene an international forum to further the Department of the Interior’s efforts to reduce the risks associated with offshore drilling around the world. The forum will focus on how to strengthen containment capabilities for potential deepwater oil and gas well blowouts and on developing global solutions for offshore containment technologies.

The Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment, a day-long event, begins at 9:00 a.m. in the Yates Auditorium of the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building with opening remarks by Secretary Salazar.

Ministers and senior officials from twelve countries and the European Union, along with representatives from industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations, will participate in a dialogue on lessons learned and best practices in cutting edge, effective containment technologies in offshore exploration. Participants from nations conducting offshore oil and gas development include: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, Russia, as well as the European Union.

The forum’s first session, entitled Lessons Learned: The Need for Better Well Containment Capabilities Worldwide, will be moderated by Michael Bromwich, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The forum will feature an interactive discussion on the recent blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Australia with William Reilly, Co-Chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling; Don Winter, Chair of the Analysis of the Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire and Oil Spill Committee; and Martin Hoffman, Australia Deputy Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.

The forum’s afternoon session, Promoting Next Generation Well Containment Technologies, will be moderated by David Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior and will focus on opportunities for international collaboration and research and development regarding oil spill containment technologies. The discussion will feature: James Dupree, BP Regional President, Gulf of Mexico; Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix Energy Solutions; Malcolm Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Oil & Gas UK; and Thomas Hunter, Chair, Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee.

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Source: DOI , April 14, 2011