U.S. Interior Dept. relaxes rules on offshore oil, gas production | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters
▻https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL2N1WD1ZH
The Trump administration on Thursday eased safety rules on offshore oil and gas production put in place after the deadly 2010 BP Plc #Deepwater_Horizon disaster, as part of its effort to slash regulations and boost the energy industry.
The Interior Department revised the 2016 oil and gas production safety systems rule, part of a series of regulations the Obama administration enacted on offshore drilling and production after the drilling well disaster that killed 11 oil rig workers, led to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and cost BP about $65 billion.
The final rule will appear in the federal register as soon as Friday, according to a document seen by Reuters.
It eliminates or changes some safety standards for when a well is producing oil or gas, such as requiring that independent third parties certify devices. Other changes involve when operators have to notify the government about beginning oil and gas production and what they have to report about equipment failures.