API applauds passage of new pipeline safety legislation
     
 WASHINGTON  - American Petroleum Institute supports The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act to reauthorize the nation’s pipeline safety program.
“This bill takes important strides to better protect pipelines from excavation damage,” said Peter Lidiak API pipeline director. “The oil and gas industry remains committed to continuous improvement in pipeline safety, while efficiently delivering more than 70 percent of the petroleum needed to run our country each year. We look forward to working with DOT, the States and other stakeholders to implement the new law.”
The legislation will enhance pipeline safety and prevent spills. API thanked House Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce and Senate Commerce Committee Leadership for their bipartisan framework to ensure the industry continues to supply energy responsibly. We applaud the Senate for quickly passing this important legislation and we look forward to the president’s signature on the bill.
“Pipelines continue to be one of the safest modes for transporting energy across the country,” said Lidiak. “Preventing accidents is our number one priority and we will continue to invest in technology and improve standards to further that mission and provide Americans with the energy they need.”
 
Lease sale shows path for economic recovery through investment in U.S. energy resources
     
WASHINGTON —Erik Milito, API’s group director of upstream and industry operations, today issued the following statement on the federal government’s lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Western Gulf since August 2009: 
“Holding the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Western Gulf of Mexico in two years is a positive step. If given access with a dedicated approach toward increasing domestic offshore oil and natural gas production, our industry can generate more than $300 billion in additional revenue for the government by 2030 and add to the 9.2 million American jobs that we already support. 
“This is an opportunity to build the foundation for our nation’s economic recovery and encourage investment in U.S. energy resources. We look forward to seeing the results of this lease sale and to working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the administration towards a more robust national energy plan.”  
 
Oil and natural gas industry has led the way in offshore safety improvements
     
 WASHINGTON —API Group Director of Upstream and Industry Operations Erik Milito highlighted the oil and natural gas industry’s significant and ongoing commitment to safe and responsible operations, following the release of a report today on recommendations for offshore drilling by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council.
“We look forward to reviewing the report and combining this knowledge with the ongoing efforts by the industry to continuously improve operations. The industry has already taken significant steps to enhance the capability to prevent, contain and respond to a potential spill. Through API’s standards process and the Center for Offshore Safety, the industry is leading the way in applying the best elements of the most successful existing safety programs, including the use of independent auditing and certification by third parties,” said Milito.
“The industry moved quickly and effectively after the 2010 Gulf spill to assemble four task forces to examine all aspects of offshore safety systems and to issue recommendations for improvements to offshore industry equipment, procedures and response capabilities,” said Milito. “The actions of these task forces have led to improvements in the capability to prevent, contain and respond to a potential spill.”
The industry’s commitment to safe and environmentally responsible operations is evident in new technologies such as the Marine Well Containment Corporation and the Helix Well Containment Group, which provide the capability to address the unique challenges of capping a well that is releasing oil thousands of feet below the water’s surface.
The API Standards Program – accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – dates back to the 1920s and provides an opportunity for continuous improvement through collaboration among companies, regulators and other stakeholders. The industry has 240 exploration and production standards, which raise the safety performance level across the industry, to maintain and improve operational safety.  API is working on completing two new documents that will help enhance deepwater operations. These standards will continue to be periodically evaluated and upgraded as appropriate.