oil
Offshore operators get more time on new riser rules
BSEE is shelving part of its update to offshore technical rules and will revisit API Standard 2RD later. The move leaves existing references in place for oil, gas and sulfur work on the Outer Continental Shelf.
BSEE is not finalizing some proposed offshore standards right now. It also said two measurement standards do not need to be added to the regulations.
- BSEE is not finalizing API Standard 2RD right now.
- Two measurement standards were deemed unnecessary to add.
- Older offshore references stay in place for now.
- Offshore operators on the Outer Continental Shelf will not have to absorb every proposed technical update at once
- The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, said it will not finalize the proposed incorporation of API Standard 2RD now, and it said two measurement standards do not need to be incorporated by reference into the regulations
Offshore operators on the Outer Continental Shelf will not have to absorb every proposed technical update at once. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, said it will not finalize the proposed incorporation of API Standard 2RD now, and it said two measurement standards do not need to be incorporated by reference into the regulations.
That leaves the older offshore references in place for the moment, instead of swapping in new language across oil, gas and sulfur operations.
The rules that stay outside
BSEE’s decision matters because offshore compliance often turns on technical standards that are folded into federal rules by reference. When those standards are not adopted, operators keep working under the existing language rather than revising equipment, procedures or paperwork to match a new citation.
The agency said it will make a later decision on whether to incorporate some or all of API Standard 2RD in a future final rule.