Offshore Operators Committee

At the annual meeting of the Offshore Operators Committee held in December 2010, it was noted that 19.5% of offshore accidents are due to crane movement (closely associated with dropped objects events) and that the number of accidents in this area has not been improving. The favorable trend shown in Figure 1.11 does not apply to such accidents. For this reason, the OOC working the BOEMRE is researching the causes of such accidents so that actions can be taken to reduce their number. 

The API and the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) represent oil and gas companies working in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean (but not in the Pacific Ocean). The organization says the following about itself. 

The Ojfshore Operators Committee (OOC) is a non profit organization comprised of any person, firm or corporation owning offshore leases and any person, firm or corporation engaged in offshore activity as a drilling contractor, service company, supplier or other capacity that desires to participate in the work of OOC or the Offshore Operators Committee. 

Parker, W., 2009. SEMS Workshop Opening Statement. Offshore Operators Committee. 

At the time of writing, various audit tool kits are being published. They are available through the International Association of Drilling Contractors and the Offshore Operators Committee. These documents help establish gap analyses for both operators and contractors. 

NSC (2009). Accident Prevention Manual for Industrial Operations, fifth ed. 2009-Parker W S MS Workshop Opening Statement, 2009 0902, Offshore Operators Committee. 

As a way of providing context to the study, Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of wind turbines and wind farms and presents a short outline of the wind farm development process. It compares tasks common to land-based and offshore development and indicates those that are unique to offshore. The chapter also examines general similarities and differences between offshore oil and gas and offshore wind energy hazards. In addressing Task I (see Box 1-2) of the committee s charge, this chapter briefly describes the hazards involved with the phases of wind farm development and provides background for the more in-depth discussion of offshore hazards in Chapter 4. In addition. Chapter 2 provides an introductory comparison of the relative risk of hazards associated with offshore oil and gas operations that are relevant to offshore wind farms and that will be discussed further in Chapter 4. 

Current regulations require wind farm operators to decommission or remove all facilities and wind farm components at some point in the future.The committee is unaware of any offshore wind projects that have been decommissioned anywhere in the world, but the process is understood to be the reverse of the installation process and could be more hazardous and difficult than the installation phase. This process would include the removal of all underwater cables, wind turbines, towers, ESP, transition pieces, and foundations and would require equipment and vessels similar to those used during installation. 

BSEE s SEMS rule applies to workers in offshore oil and gas operations and incorporates the elements from American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 75. The SEMS rule lays out multiple requirements for safe operations that are consistent with other SMSs reviewed by the committee and are compared in Chapter 5. Since the risk profiles of the offshore oil and gas and offshore wind industries are different, any regulatory framework adapting SEMS for the offshore wind industry would need to be risk-specific and would require less oversight than for the oil and gas industry. 

The Committee s activities are focused on providing its member operators with information and technical support that will assist them in conducting then-offshore activities in a manner that will promote sound safety and environmental operational practice. 

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