Director Watson Participates in Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety in Norway

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY (June 27, 2012)– Director Jim Watson joined Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes, senior officials from 8 countries and oil and gas industry leaders June 27, 2012 in a Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety in Trondheim, Norway, to continue an ongoing global dialogue about safe and environmentally responsible offshore drilling. The forum was hosted by Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe and included senior representatives from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the European Union.

In addition to the Ministerial Forum focused on offshore safety, Director Watson's visit to Norway also included a visit to an offshore oil production facility and a roundtable discussion on sustainable Arctic energy development with senior government and industry officials.

As part of a shared commitment to reduce the risks associated with offshore drilling around the world, forum participants emphasized the need to establish a means of sharing data on incidents, including near-misses, as expeditiously as possible to maximize the opportunity to benefit from lessons learned and in order to identify and react effectively to industry-wide risks.

The participants in the forum affirmed the importance of a Ministerial-level dialogue and committed to meet again in 2013. This commitment was formalized in a joint statement signed by Secretary Salazar and Minster Broten Moe, as prior and current hosts of the forum, available HERE.

The forum builds on last year’s Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment, hosted by Secretary Salazar in Washington, D.C., which included discussions on well containment and lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
 

(L-R) Interior Press Secretary Adam Fetcher, BSEE Director Jim Watson and Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes prepare to board a helicopter after visiting an oil production facility off the coast of Norway.