VALDEZ, ALASKA
On April 29 -30, 2015, Christy Bohl and Steven Pearson from the BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division, Alaska Section, traveled to Valdez, Alaska to observe oil spill responder training and deployment of oil spill response equipment.
This equipment is a critical component of Shell’s Chukchi Sea Regional Exploration Program Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP). Equipment deployed during the visit is owned and/or operated by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Energy Services (AES), and Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) Artic Response Services, two of Shell’s oil spill removal organizations listed in the company’s OSRP.
All operators are required to have an OSRP reviewed and approved by BSEE. BSEE conducts a variety of equipment inspections and deployment exercises, some of which may be unannounced, to validate the tactics, logistics, resource availability, and personnel proficiency identified and relied on in the approved oil spill response plan.
Equipment preparedness and personnel training verifications are important regulatory tools for ensuring that an OSRP is sound and effective. The inspections help to confirm that the nation’s offshore resource explorers and petroleum energy providers are ready to respond when a discharge of oil occurs from any of their offshore facilities.
These visits and inspections echo BSEE Director Brian Salerno’s recent comments when he viewed Shell’s deployment demonstration of its undersea containment dome. After the demonstration, he stated, “Arctic operations require extra effort to prevent safety or environmental incidents.
We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure operators have addressed all relevant risks. It is equally important that operators be prepared to respond in the event of an incident, especially in a scenario which threatens the environment. This exercise is part of a comprehensive effort to verify the readiness of the necessary response capability.”
 Steve Pearson (right) from the BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division Alaska Section inspects components of an oil skimming system with Shell contract employee Branlund Holmes. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl) | |||||||||||
 Shell contractors hoist a rope skimmer for inspection by BSEE personnel. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl) |
 BSEE inspector Steve Pearson observes the operation of a brush skimmer on board the Oil Spill Response Barge Endeavor. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl) |
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 Shell's Oil Spill Response Barge (OSRB) Endeavor demonstrates oil spill response skimming tactics near Valdez, Alaska. Skimming units from the OSRB Klamath are deployed in the foreground. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl) |
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 Shell's oil spill response vessels demonstrate coordinated skimming operations near Valdez, Alaska prior to deployment to the Chukchi Sea in support of 2015 exploratory drilling operations. (BSEE photo by Christy Bohl) | |||||||||||