The NewsRoom
Release: #4017
Date: July 23, 2009
MMS Gulf Region Observes 20th Anniversary
of Spill Drill Program
Drill Program Continues to
Validate Offshore Operators’ Preparedness to Respond
NEW ORLEANS: Minerals
Management Service (MMS)
Director Liz Birnbaum today highlighted the 20th anniversary
of the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region’s Unannounced Oil Spill Drill
Program. The first unannounced drill with an offshore oil and gas
operator in the Gulf was held on July 25, 1989.
Since the first unannounced drill, an
additional 273 drills have been held in the Gulf. The MMS designs
the drill to exercise an oil and gas and pipeline operator’s Oil
Spill Response Plan and evaluates its spill management team’s
effectiveness in responding to a simulated spill event.
“While preventing oil spills is our
top priority throughout the offshore energy exploration and
extraction process, operators must be ready to respond to a spill
event,” Birnbaum said. “The Unannounced Drill Program enables MMS to
monitor and enhance the operators’ response capabilities throughout
the Outer Continental Shelf.”
In order to test an operator’s
ability and effectiveness in responding, there are different methods
used in a drill. A drill may consist of a table top exercise or the
actual deployment of specific response equipment such as oil spill
response vessels and dispersant aircraft. Every drill tests an
operator’s ability to notify the appropriate contacts including
federal regulatory agencies, affected state and local agencies,
internal response coordinators and response contractors, as well as
an operator’s ability to make decisions, respond properly, and take
appropriate action.
As part of the 20th anniversary
observance, MMS will make available its
250th Unannounced Oil Spill Drill in the Gulf of Mexico
DVD on the MMS Web site.
The DVD chronicles the 250th unannounced drill, which took place in
October 2007 and involved a major oil and gas production facility in
the Gulf of Mexico. As part of the drill, the operator was required
to deploy its aerial dispersant aircraft.
•
2007 Oil Spill Drill Video
Contact:
Eileen Angelico (504) 736-2595
Bill Lee
(504)
736-2597
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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Last Updated:
07/29/2009,
02:28 PM
Central Time
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