The Agency Formerly Known As MMS

    Sorry to confuse the hysteria with, you know, facts…

    By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  September 3rd at 07:30 PM  | 

    …but the rate of OSHA recordable incidents in the oil and gas extraction industry is considerably less than most industries, including retailing, libraries and tortilla manufacturing. [As an aside, yesterday’s fire on Mariner’s Vermilion Block 380 A Platform sparked renewed calls for the higher levels of government regulation of the rigs (it wasn’t a rig), with some calling for an outright end to offshore drilling | Read More »

    The Shallow Water Non-Moratorium

    By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  August 2nd at 09:00 AM  | 

    Interior Secretary Salazar imposed a moratorium on deepwater drilling until November 30, contrary to the recommendation of a panel of experts from the National Academy of Engineering. For operations on the shallow water Shelf, the administration maintains, no official moratorium is in place. After all, the Shelf still enjoys a forty-year history of relatively safe and clean operations that is still intact, being several orders | Read More »