Federal Safety Rules Released For Offshore Drilling

A final set of federal safety regulations were issued last week for offshore drilling . The rules are a fine-tuning of the emergency measures enacted after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill.

The rules deal with how wells are designed and the testing of the cement and barriers that are used to secure them. The goal is to make sure oil flow can be halted in the event of another disaster, but environmental activists say the measures are not enough. Oil industry groups said they are still looking at the new regulations.

“Today’s action builds on the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and is part of the administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to expand safe and responsible development of America’s domestic energy resources,” Jim Watson, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said.

The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 people and resulted in 200 million gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

The offshore injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers represent workers injured while working offshore.