BP announced today that it has joined Chevron, ConocoPhillips ExxonMobil and Shell as a member of the Marine Well Containment Company LLC (MWCC). BP brings its marine response experience and equipment to the MWCC.
“Last autumn we made an ongoing commitment to share what we’ve learned and the experience we gained during the Deepwater Horizon incident response with the world,” said James Dupree, regional president for BP’s U.S. Gulf of Mexico business. “We have shared our insights with regulators, participated in public forums, worked directly with industry bodies and published our lessons learned. Joining the MWCC and bringing our capabilities and equipment to an interim response system is another important part of that commitment.”
Among the equipment BP will bring to the MWCC are riser, manifold and containment systems deployed for use during the Deepwater Horizon response. In addition to the transfer of equipment, BP also will bring to MWCC the company’s information and supporting records, drawings, permits, licenses and other technical information it developed throughout the spill response.
These items will be part of the MWCC interim response system aimed at enhancing deepwater safety and environmental protection in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for 30 percent of U.S. oil and gas production and supports more than 170,000 American jobs. MWCC companies are involved with the engineering, procurement and construction of equipment and vessels for the system.
BP is also actively involved in significant industry efforts to improve prevention, well intervention and spill response. This includes rig inspections and implementation of new requirements on blowout preventer certification and well design. The industry has proactively formed several multi-disciplinary task forces to further develop improved prevention, containment and recovery plans.
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Source: BP, February 1, 2011; Image: Exxon