Offshore Pipeline Safety Act
The Offshore Pipeline Safety Act would require the Interior Department to finalize and implement updated regulations for offshore oil and gas pipelines, focusing on active pipeline integrity and environmental risks from decommissioning. Building on older rules from 2007, the bill would compel more frequent inspections (every two years by a non-owner, i.e., third party) and mandate leak-detection systems with continuous volume monitoring. It also creates a comprehensive framework for decommissioning decisions, ongoing monitoring of decommissioned pipelines, and a new annual fee on pipeline owners to fund future decommissioning or removal if a company goes bankrupt. Additionally, the act directs studies on the environmental risks of decommissioning versus removal, and on the environmental risks of chemical products used in offshore operations (including umbilicals). The act includes provisions to consider safety, navigation, fishing, and environmental impacts when permitting decommissioning and to address exposed pipeline segments. The effective date is conditioned on not harming reef fish habitat.
Key Points
- 1Final regulations update: Within 18 months, regulators must issue updated offshore pipeline rules (based on 2007 regulations) requiring third-party inspections at least every two years and requiring leak-detection systems with continuous volumetric monitoring and alarms.
- 2Decommissioning and environmental study: A joint study by BSEE and BOEM to compare environmental benefits/risks of leaving pipelines in place versus removing them, identify high-risk decommissioned pipelines, and make revenue-use recommendations from pipeline fees. A report is due within 18 months.
- 3Decommissioning review and monitoring: When reviewing decommissioning requests, the agency must weigh navigation, fishing, other uses of the outer continental shelf, and environmental effects; ongoing monitoring of decommissioned pipelines must occur and records kept.
- 4Annual pipeline owner fee: By 180 days after enactment, the agency must establish an annual fee to fund decommissioning/removal if a company goes bankrupt. Fees start no less than $10,000 per mile for deep-water pipelines (500+ feet) and $1,000 per mile for shallower pipelines.
- 5Studies on chemical products and reef habitat considerations: The agency must study environmental risks of chemical products used in offshore oil/gas operations (including umbilical lines) with industry input, and report within two years. The effective date must consider potential impacts on reef fish habitat.