U.S.

The Trump Administration May Relax Some Offshore Drilling Safety Rules

An Interior Department bureau reportedly proposed a rollback of offshore drilling safety rules that went into place after the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The Trump Administration May Relax Some Offshore Drilling Safety Rules
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Article by Lindsey Pulse
SMS
December 26, 2017

The Trump administration is reportedly proposing a reversal of offshore drilling safety measures put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

The Wall Street Journal reports a U.S. Interior Department bureau that oversees offshore drilling wants to relax some requirements for data reporting and certifying third-party inspectors, among other things.

Specifically, the proposal would get rid of a requirement that the bureau certify people who test safety equipment like blowout preventers — one of the devices presumed to have failed in Deepwater Horizon. The administration says that requirement poses unnecessary burden. 

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The agency says the proposed changes could save more than $900 million over the next decade.

The news follows reports that the same Interior Department bureau paused a study that was looking into how to improve offshore drilling inspection safety. That study is still on hold.