The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) conducted an unannounced oil spill response exercise in the Gulf Of Mexico Dec. 1, aiming to ensure oil and gas companies may quickly respond to offshore oil spills should the occasion arise.
In a release Dec. 3, BSEE said Government Initiated Unannounced Exercises (GIUE), like the one executed earlier this month, test the ability of an operator to employ the Incident Management Team and execute its oil response plan in a timely manner.
“BSEE plans and executes these no-notice exercises to witness and evaluate an oil spill response plan holder’s ability to employ public and private equipment, resources and staff to respond to a hypothetical oil spill,” Eric Miller, chief BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division, said in the release. “GIUEs are a critical tool for BSEE to gauge current response plans and capabilities."
The exercise took approximately six weeks to plan and included the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, in charge of minimizing oil spills, ensuring effective oil spill response, and compensating those who are affected. Among other responsibilities, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office is also required to conduct public outreach around the issue of oil spills and the response to them.
According to the release, Empire Midstream LLC was required to respond to a simulated oil spill from one of its pipelines traveling through block 110 of the Grand Isle area, about 60 miles off the Louisiana Gulf coast. The drill simulated a helicopter pilot reporting a sheen from an unknown 1.5 mile long by 0.5 mile wide source, noting a 70% silvery and 30% rainbow coloration.
The success of the exercise is determined not by any shortfalls but rather, in the response team’s capacity to learn from any mistakes which may have occurred, Gulf of Mexico Region BSEE Senior Preparedness Analyst John Calvin said in the release. The best time to learn areas that need improvement, he said, is before the actual emergency arises.
