Safety of Offshore Oil Operations
June 9, 2010
10:58 AM
Opening Statement – June 9, 2010
Administration Actions Regarding
Safety of Offshore Oil Operations
“Today we are holding our fourth Committee hearing on the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As large volumes of oil continue to wreak havoc in the Gulf, our thoughts are first with the people on the forefront of this disaster -- the families of those who lost their lives in this explosion, and those who are working day and night to protect the places and wildlife they care about and often their livelihood as well. I know that all Americans are thinking of the residents of the Gulf region and are grateful to them and to the other responders for their work under these most difficult of circumstances.
“It’s clear that prior to the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig neither the companies involved nor the government adequately appreciated or prepared for the risks involved in a deepwater drilling operation of this type. The results of that failure to properly assess and prepare for risks have been disastrous. Lives have been lost. The livelihood and way of life of many Gulf residents have been interrupted and in some cases destroyed. The environmental damage has been immense. Since BP has so far failed to stop the oil gushing into the Gulf, the extent of the further damage that will be suffered is not known.
“Our purpose today is to review near-term actions that have been taken and are planned to correct this longstanding failure to properly assess risk and ensure the safety of this and other ongoing and future energy operations in the Outer Continental Shelf. According to the Department of the Interior, the Gulf of Mexico has nearly 7,000 active leases on the Federal Outer Continental Shelf, 64 percent of which are in deep water. As a result, there are now about 3,600 oil and gas-related structures in the Gulf.
“In 2009, 80 percent of all U.S. offshore oil production and 45 percent of natural gas production occurred in water depths in excess of 1,000 feet, and industry had drilled nearly 4000 wells to those depths. Operators have drilled about 700 wells that – like the Deepwater Horizon’s well – are in water depths of 5,000 feet or greater on the Outer Continental Shelf.
“In 2009, production from the Gulf accounted for 31 percent of total domestic oil production and 11 percent of total domestic natural gas production. Offshore operations provide direct employment estimated at 150,000 jobs.
“We are all aware of our country’s demand for oil. As a result of this accident we all are aware perhaps in a way that we were not before of the true potential costs of that demand.
“The challenge for regulators, and for Congress in enacting statutory responsibilities and authorities to those regulators, is to put appropriate requirements in place ensuring that this horrible price is not paid again. At the same time we are reminded that we must continue with renewed vigor to find ways to reduce our dependence on oil for both national security, economic and environmental reasons.
“It is particularly challenging to do this while we are still in the midst of a crisis. Investigations are ongoing into the cause of this disaster, and we do not have certainty about what happened. The best minds in the country must be focused on stopping this oil leak and cleaning up the affected areas. And yet we must make sure – as an urgent matter -- that ongoing operations are safe.
“Today we hear from the Secretary of the Interior about the Administration’s actions in this regard. At the President’s direction his team has produced a report – on a 30-day timeline – to identify near-term safety measures that need to be taken. The regulators have acted quickly to impose some of these new safety requirements immediately on ongoing operations. In addition, the Administration has taken measures to halt certain operations to ensure their safety, while allowing others to continue.
“We appreciate the Secretary’s efforts and his work to ensure that there is an adequate response to the environmental and safety crises presented by this accident. We also appreciate his presence here today, and look forward to working together on our shared and urgent goal of ensuring the safety of all these operations.”
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