Fulbright Western Lands & Energy Monthly Update - May 2011

A Safer and Swifter BOEMRE

The national economy continues to feel the effects of the slow pace of federal approvals of new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The problem is not a lack of drilling safety standards or an absence of industry ability to contain blowouts. It is in BOEMRE’s new approach of engineering well containment strategies for each proposed well. It is an approach the federal government is not equipped to undertake.

This article proposes a solution that will speed the issuance of permits and increase BOEMRE’s ability to ensure that drilling will be conducted at the highest levels of safety. See full article and presentation.

Contributors to this issue are Poe Leggette