Boom floating barrier used to contain oil spills. (Source: Shutterstock)
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) conducted a Government Initiated Unannounced Exercise (GIUE) on Aug. 29-30 to assess offshore energy company DCOR LLC’s ability to activate its incident management team and carry out procedures in its approved oil spill response plan.
The exercise involved setting up and running an incident command post at DCOR headquarters in Oxnard, California, and deploying a rapid response vessel from Ventura Harbor to respond to a simulated oil spill from a subsea pipeline eight miles offshore.
“GIUEs are an important exercise tool to test an operator’s Oil Spill Response Plan and their ability to respond to a hypothetical spill scenario,” said Bruce Hesson, BSEE Pacific Region director. “These exercises provide an opportunity to ensure everyone is prepared in an event requiring emergency response off the Southern California coast.”
BSEE and its interagency partners from the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation, California Coastal Commission and California Fish and Wildlife assessed DCOR’s ability to make timely notifications to emergency officials, mobilize and organize staff to respond to the simulated spill, plan for and implement shoreline protection and oil recovery strategies and establish effective communications within a unified command.
The two-day exercise was part of BSEE’s mission to protect the environment and ensure offshore oil and gas operators are prepared to respond rapidly and effectively to oil spills. After a GIUE, BSEE collects and documents lessons learned and shares any corrective actions needed with the operator.
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