Carlton Carroll | 202.682.8114 | carrollc@api.org 

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2011 – America’s oil and natural gas industry is working hard to ensure the highest level of safety in offshore drilling operations, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard told a Portland, Oregon audience on Tuesday.

"As an industry, we are committed to producing energy safely and in a manner that protects people and the environment," Gerard said in an address at the International Oil Spill Conference.  "Today, we have more than 20 industry groups working together to improve spill prevention and response. Oil companies are committing resources in the form of dollars, time and expertise to ensure that these improvements are implemented."

Gerard said that immediately after the accident, the industry formed task forces to examine every aspect of its offshore safety systems. Two task forces developed more than 50 recommendations for the Interior Department, he said. These recommendations are reflected in their new regulations.

"In order to succeed, our oil spill response system must be a collaborative one between the public and private sector," he said.  "In March, the industry announced the creation of the Center for Offshore Safety. It creates a system bring together the best experts across the industry to further help operators achieve the highest levels of safety and performance."

Gerard said the center will bring together operators, drilling contractors and service and supply companies to work collectively at enhancing safety in offshore drilling, completion and production operations. The center will be supported by the separately funded standards and certification arm of API and will apply the best elements of the most successful existing safety programs.

He also noted that while the industry has met every requirement for resuming operations in the Gulf, permits and leases have been issued too slowly, which is costing jobs, hurting the Gulf Coast, the national economy and reducing energy security. This year may be the first without a Gulf lease sale since 1964 and the first with no federal offshore lease sale since 1957, he said.

"We have worked hard to meet the requirements for resuming operations in the Gulf of Mexico," said Gerard. "If the permit process is not improved, as much as 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent Gulf production a day could be at risk in 2019, and job losses could reach 125,000 per year by 2015."

The full text of the speech, as prepared for delivery, is available online.

API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.