Latest Updates

• ISD Phase I participating companies agreed on the value of sharing data for both consequential and lesser events which had the potential to lead to a major event.
• Legal and confidentiality concerns expressed by participating companies were satisfied with the protections afforded under the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) and with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between BTS and individual participating companies.
• A process was developed to map data from individual companies to a single database thereby successfully addressing the technical challenge associated with collecting, mapping, and aggregating data from different company-specific databases.
• The Phase I participating companies collectively identified core data fields to be shared in order to generate meaningful learning opportunities for industry to further improve safety.

Although the results described in this report represent only nine companies and thus should not be interpreted as being representative of the entire offshore industry sector, they illustrate the data analysis process that could be implemented for the industry-wide ISD Program.

Two identical training sessions were hosted in February. If you missed these prior sessions, please follow the registration instructions below and share this announcement with others in your organization who may benefit from this training.

Registration Instructions:
Email petrina.collier@dot.gov with your name, company/organization, and which session you wish to attend. After your registration is processed, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to connect to the session.

** Note: The training session for both days are the same. Please select the one that best suits your schedule. **

If neither of these times works for you, please email petrina.collier@dot.gov to schedule a separate training session.

Share the news about the form update with interested parties within your organization and across the industry. Interested parties include anyone who may be responsible for reporting an SPPE failure.

Where can I find the form?
You can download the form here: SPPE Failure Form

Why was the form updated?
The form was updated to improve the following:

• Data quality
• Data collection consistency
• Data analysis and identification of learnings

How was the form changed?
This is an overview of the types of changes made to the form.

• Added a header
• Regrouped fields to create logical sections and better overall structure
• Clarified text for often misused fields
• Provided additional and remove unnecessary drop-down choices
• Modified input field type (e.g., offer drop-down choices when appropriate)
• Added key fields such as failure type and contact information
• Cleaned up acronym list

Will there be training sessions?
BTS will hold a webinar (date TBD) to review the new form, highlight changes, and answer any questions. More information on the webinar, including information on how to register, is forthcoming.

Where do I submit completed forms?
Do not email completed forms. All forms must be submitted through the SafeOCS secure portal: https://safeocs.gov/sdp/sppe_home. If you do not already have an account, click "Create an Account." Once logged in, click "Upload Word Form" to submit your completed form.

In early 2021, you will be able to submit an online form rather than a word form. The online form is currently under construction.

Who should I contact with questions or concerns?
Please respond to this e-mail or send a message to the SPPE Program e-mail at SafeOCS@dot.gov.

Registration Instructions:
Email petrina.collier@dot.gov with your name, company/organization, and which session you wish to attend. You will receive a confirmation email with information on how to connect to the session.

** Note: The training session for both days are the same. Please select the one that best suits your schedule. **

If neither of these times works for you, please email petrina.collier@dot.gov to schedule a separate training session.

• The top four reporting operators represented 81.8 percent of reported component events and 32.7 percent of new wells spud in the Gulf of America for 2017.
• There was a decrease in overall reporting from 2016 to 2017. The event reporting rate adjusted for rig activity (defined as events per 1,000 BOP days) decreased from 122.3 in 2016 to 59.8 in 2017.
• There was an increase in reporting equipment component failures while not in operation for rigs with subsea BOP stacks. The percent of subsea, not-in-operation notifications for 2017 was 86.4 as compared to 79.8 percent for 2016.
• There was a decrease in the rate of unplanned stack pulls for rigs with subsea BOP stacks. In 2016 the rate was 7.2 percent and in 2017 it was 5.6 percent.
• Based on follow-up documents submitted to SafeOCS, only 12 of the 18 components involved in unplanned stack pulls were sent to shore for further analysis by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a third party, despite the expectation of a root cause failure analysis (RCFA) for every stack pull.
• Of 1,044 subsea events in 2017, one reported loss of containment of synthetic oil based mud (drilling fluid) during in-operation rig activity. No surface stack events resulted in loss of containment.
• Leaks remained the most frequently reported observed failure and wear and tear remained the most frequently reported root cause of failure events in 2017 as they were in 2016.

Effective immediately, the offshore oil and gas industry will have the option to submit equipment failure reports for well control equipment, required under the Well Control Rule (30 CFR 250.730(c)), directly through SafeOCS. Effective Nov.7, industry will be required to submit reports for pollution prevention equipment, required under the Production Safety Systems Rule (30 CFR 250.803), through SafeOCS as the Chief's designee. All reports submitted through SafeOCS are collected and analyzed by BTS and are protected from release under the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA).

"We are encouraging industry to quickly begin taking advantage of the SafeOCS expansion," said BSEE Director Brian Salerno. "Shared awareness of safety trends better equips us all to quickly focus on emerging issues and thereby drive down the risk of serious incidents."

In August 2013, BSEE and BTS signed an interagency agreement to develop and implement SafeOCS, as a voluntary program for confidential reporting of 'near misses' occurring on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Today's expansion enables the SafeOCS system to be used to submit these required regulatory reports.

For notification forms, guidance, and additional information - or to submit reports, go to www.safeocs.gov.