The International Regulatory Structures for Offshore Exploration
Over the past decade, advances in drilling, production, equipment and robotic technologies have resulted in a growing number of countries opening deepwater offshore areas to petroleum development. Worldwide, deepwater offshore production reached 7 million barrels per day in 2010. Countries around the world have taken a variety of approaches with respect to how they regulate offshore resource management. Norway has been a leader in offshore development and provides an important case study on approach to assuring the safety of offshore petroleum activities.
This session provided an overview of other regulatory approaches around the world, followed by an in-depth examination of Norway’s “safety case” framework which should be useful in evaluating the evolving U.S. regime and a discussion of how industries operate under the safety case.
9:30 am Welcome and Introduction
Frank Verrastro, Senior Vice President and Director, Energy and National Security Program, CSIS
9:45 am Presentations
International Regulatory Approaches
J. Robinson West, Chairman, Founder and CEO, PFC Energy
The Safety Case in Norway
Magne Ognedal, Director General, Petroleum Safety Authority (Norway)
