All work performed in the energy sector presents its own challenges and hazards, but those are amplified offshore.

Although the ability of the oil industry to respond effectively to a spill has substantially improved – largely due to lessons learned by the industry and tougher government regulations – the job of ensuring safety is far from finished.

The European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have reached agreement on a new Directive that addresses the risks of major accidents from offshore oil and gas operations in EU waters.

If you weren’t able to make it to the Chemical Safety Board’s (CSB) public hearing this week in Houston, Texas, you can now access that papers that were presented at it online.

Safety performance indicators are the best way of preventing catastrophic accidents like the one that struck the Deepwater Horizon in April of 2010.

The board of directors of the American Petroleum Institute (API) has formally endorsed the industry’s steps to create a Center for Offshore Safety.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) says its investigation into the April 20, 2010 Macondo well blowout, explosion and fire in the Gulf of Mexico is progressing and will be completed in early 2013.

A new report from the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Research Council (NRC) on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill says offshore regulators need ongoing training, recruitment, funding and research and development in order to be effective.

The recent reorganization of ocean-related U.S. agencies should help eliminate one of the problems that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to the head of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).