WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- "The bar continues to rise" in terms of industry efforts to ensure the safe development of offshore oil and gas reserves in the United States, the API said.
Erik Milito, director of upstream operations at trade group American Petroleum Institute, said there were major enhancements and commitments made in offshore safety following the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He said the industry reviewed safety and oversight standards to ensure offshore oil and natural gas development was carried out responsibly.
A report from U.S. regulators determined that the blowout that led to an explosion that sunk the Deepwater Horizon platform came from the failure of a cement barrier.
Milito said prevention, intervention and response were integral components of offshore safety, which includes "a multilayer system with redundancies."
The offshore oil and gas industry, he said, has "always" demonstrated its commitment to safety and that commitment has increased since the 2010 tragedy killed 11 rig workers and devastated the coastal economy.
"The bar continues to rise, the commitment is stronger, and the mechanisms are in place to support the strongest safety standards possible," he said in a statement.
