HOUSTON, July 18 (UPI) -- BP said it adopted new drilling standards for work in the Gulf of Mexico based on lessons from last year's disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
A failure at the Macondo well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico last year caused an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and led to one of the worst oil spills in the history of the industry.
BP announced in a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said it adopted new drilling standards for operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
"BP's commitment in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident is not only to restore the economic and environmental conditions among the affected areas of the Gulf Coast, but also to apply what we have learned to improve the way we operate," BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a statement.
BP said its voluntary standards go beyond existing regulatory obligations.
The new standards include the mandatory use of better and more closely monitored blow-out preventers and cement, both culprits in last year's spill. BP said it also required a more comprehensive oil spill response plan from contractors.
