Skip to main content
Our Work

A Report Series on Progress and Opportunities Toward Decreasing the Risk of Offshore Energy Operations

Completed

Topics

This committee will examine issues related to and assess progress toward decreasing the systemic risks of offshore oil and gas operations, keeping people and the environment safe as the Gulf of Mexico offshore energy industry evolves.

About Past Events

Description

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad-hoc committee to provide an assessment of the risk profile of offshore oil and gas operations over time. Specifically, this committee will examine issues related to and assess progress toward decreasing the systemic risks of offshore energy operations, keeping people and the environment safe as the Gulf of Mexico offshore energy industry evolves. In particular, the panel will:

  • Define the current profile of systemic risks of offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico that could lead to disasters. By systemic risks, we mean defining risks associated with the components of the system, the system itself, and how humans interact with the system, in which a failure of any part could lead to failure of the system as a whole. The panel may consider the risks of a system failure as well as the impact of those risks to humans and natural resources.
  • Assess how various technological, regulatory, environmental, organizational, and process changes have contributed to increasing or decreasing the systemic risks of the offshore oil and gas operations since the release of the report Macondo Well Deepwater Horizon Blowout: Lessons for Improving Offshore Drilling Safety (2012) and other relevant reports. Identify the numerous recommendations made from these post-Deepwater Horizon reports and detail the ones implemented and major ones that were not.
  • Identify critical gaps and prioritize future needs for increased understanding, communication, and management of systemic risks related to the offshore oil and gas industry. This task could build on previous efforts by the industry and regulators.
  • Consider how the regulatory structure motivates or incentivizes technological, environmental, organizational, and process changes that could decrease the systemic risks of the offshore oil and gas operations.
  • If appropriate, assess how activities (including workshops and grants) funded by the GRP and other funders have contributed to a better understanding and reduction of the systemic risks in offshore oil and gas operations.

The offshore energy industry is a high-hazard industry characterized by diverse and complex operations. The panel will rely on available incident, enforcement, and management system data, and regulator and industry input, supplemented by the panel's expertise.

Contributors

Committee

Chair

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Staff Officer

Download all bios

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Charles R. (Charlie) Williams II

The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (https://www.nationalacademies.org/about/institutional-policies-and-procedures) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
Mr. Charlie Williams has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on the Progress and Opportunities toward Decreasing the Risk of Offshore Energy Operations because he serves as a consultant to the Center for Offshore Safety (COS), which was created by the American Petroleum Institute in response to the Macondo oil spill of 2010. Mr. Williams retired as the Executive Director of COS in May 2020.
The National Academies has concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include at least one person who has current experience in industry-led changes in drilling engineering and technology designed to decrease the systemic risks of offshore oil and gas operations. As described in his biographical summary, Mr. Williams has extensive technical experience and specialized expertise in the development of offshore equipment, policies and procedures, and risk management for wells in extreme environments.

The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Mr. Williams is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent experience and expertise who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.
The National Academies believes that Mr. Williams can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.


Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Dwight Johnston

The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (https://www.nationalacademies.org/about/institutional-policies-and-procedures) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
Dwight Johnston has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on the Progress and Opportunities toward Decreasing the Risk of Offshore Energy Operations because he serves as a consultant for clients in the oil and gas industry and has financial holdings in energy companies that exceed $10,000 in value.
The National Academies has concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include at least one person who has current experience implementing safety management systems for the oil and gas industry. As described in his biographical summary, Mr. Johnston has extensive experience and specialized expertise in developing and implementing safety and environmental management systems (SEMS) and process safety management programs for the oil and gas industry.
The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Mr. Johnston is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent experience and expertise who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.
The National Academies believes that Mr. Johnston can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.

Committee Membership Roster Comments

12/03/2020: Lilia A. Abron resigned from the committee.

06/22/2021: Gary A. Reiter resigned from the committee.

Sponsors

Internal Funding

Staff

Mark Hutchins

Lead

Jennifer Cohen

Lead

Stephen Godwin

Lead

Thelma Cox

More like this

Subscribe to Email from the National Academies
Keep up with all of the activities, publications, and events by subscribing to free updates by email.