A State's Response to Oil Spill Preparedness How the Texas General Land Office built and maintains one of the premier oil spill response organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2017031
Author(s):  
Steven Buschang
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
State Response ◽  
General Land Office ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
State Of The Science ◽  
Index Maps

Texas produces nearly twice and much oil as the next highest producing U.S. state and has approximately 3300 miles of sensitive jurisdictional shoreline boarding the second highest area of our nation's oil production, the Gulf of Mexico. It is home to over 27 operating refineries and hosts 3 of the top 10 busiest ports in the nation. Since 1991, the Texas General Land Office (TGLO) has built an oil spill prevention and response program that is arguably the premier state oil spill program in the nation; one that responds 24/7 to over 600 reported spills per year, certifies, audits and inspects over 600 oil handling facilities, administers an abandoned vessel removal program, an oily bilge facility program, and has an ongoing oil spill R&D program and its own state Scientific Support Coordinator, ensuring that prevention, planning and response activities are state of the science. The TGLO produces the Texas Oil Spill Toolkit, now in its 17th edition, which is a spill planning and response resource for the western Gulf of Mexico, and houses a collection of plans and documents in a single, easy to use online/off-line .html format. Plans include up-to-date Area Committee Plans (ACP) and pre-planning documents, all aligned with the National Response Framework (NRF). Included are Regional Response Team VI (RRT) documents and guidance, pre-authorization plans and mapping for alternative spill response, Priority Protection Areas (PPA), Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps (ESI), and site specific Geographic Response Plans (GRP). This paper describes the conception, history and evolution of the building and operation of a state response organization in an era of “less government”.

MARINE INDUSTRY GROUP (MIRG)

1983 ◽  
Vol 1983 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-194
Author(s):  
Robert J. Meyers ◽  
Michael R. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Industry Group ◽  
Resource Information ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Marine Industry ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Resource Data ◽  
Verification Process

ABSTRACT Eleven companies involved in the marine transportation of petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico have established the Marine Industry Group (MIRG). MIRG is not an oil spill response organization, nor an oil spill cooperative. Rather, it is a group with the primary purpose of enhancing oil spill response capability in the Gulf of Mexico. Toward this end, MIRG has funded two oil spill contingency planning information projects which will:Identify the location of specific cleanup equipment and resources and provide information concerning the logistical requirements to deploy such equipmentProvide a survey which will identify and give information on the economically and ecologically sensitive areas in the Gulf of Mexico Both projects use available data and organize it into a format which can be useful for the broad area of interest where marine transporters operate. This paper describes the organization and objectives of MIRG, defines the area of interest, describes the resources and logistics and the environmental survey projects, and outlines other activities of the group. The resources and logistics project is discussed at length. The method of assembling the resource information, the verification process, and the updating methods are discussed. The use of this resource data is demonstrated for a hypothetical oil spill scenario.

ECOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE COASTS OF THE KARA SEA TO THE OIL SPILL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ermolov ◽  
Alexander Ermolov
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
International System ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
International Systems

International experience of oil spill response in the sea defines the priority of coastal protection and the need to identify as most valuable in ecological terms and the most vulnerable areas. Methodological approaches to the assessing the vulnerability of Arctic coasts to oil spills based on international systems of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and geomorphological zoning are considered in the article. The comprehensive environmental and geomorphological approach allowed us to form the morphodynamic basis for the classification of seacoasts and try to adapt the international system of indexes to the shores of the Kara Sea taking into account the specific natural conditions. This work has improved the expert assessments of the vulnerability and resilience of the seacoasts.

Adaptation of the Incident Command System to Oil Spill Response During the American Trader Spill

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-272
Author(s):  
Robert G. Rolan ◽  
Keith H. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Crisis Management Plan

ABSTRACT While developing its new crisis management plan in 1989, BP America (BPA) modified the incident command system (ICS) for use as the organizational structure of its oil spill response team. This was done to be compatible with the post-Exxon Valdez organization of the Alyeska response team and for certain advantages it would provide for responses in other locations and in other types of crisis situations. The ICS was originally developed for fighting wildfires in California and has since been widely adopted by other fire and emergency services in the U. S. While retaining most of the ICS structure, ?PA developed modifications necessary to fit the unique requirements of oil spill response. The modified ICS was used during a full scale test of ?PA's draft crisis management plan in December 1989, and thus was familiar to ?PA's top executives and other participating response team members. When the American Trader spill occurred in February 1990, BPA's management used the modified ICS organization even though the crisis management plan had not been finalized or widely distributed within the company. Details of the organizational structure evolved as the spill response progressed, in part due to the changing requirements of the response over time and in part because of previously unrecognized issues. This paper describes that evolution and the resulting final structure. Essential differences between the original ICS and BPA's oil spill version of it are highlighted. Despite the unrecognized issues and the unfamiliarity of some team members with the ICS, the organization worked well and can be credited with a share of the success of the American Trader response.

NATIONAL DRILL OF THE VENEZUELAN OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Villoria ◽  
Elia Gomez ◽  
Nelson García Tavel
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Contingency Plan ◽  
Field Response ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Evaluation Decision ◽  
Flow Charts ◽  
Intensive Work ◽  
The Given ◽  
Response Capability

ABSTRACT In November 1993, the first drill of the Venezuelan national oil spill contingency plan (VNCP) was carried out to evaluate both the response capability of the plan to cope with an emergency and the effectiveness of the regional response organization to manage the given scenario. During four days of intensive work, 800 participants, evaluators, and controllers of the drill made decisions and took actions to mobilize resources and pollution countermeasure equipment for cleanup operations. To measure the effectiveness of the response actions, 23 oil spill response processes were evaluated based on flow charts or decision trees designed for each process. In summary, the drill covered all areas related to response actions in the case of an oil spill (alert, notification, evaluation, decision-making, mobilization, field response, and postmortem), evaluating the ability of the VNCP to cope with a major emergency and identifying weaknesses in order to improve the response capability.

OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT—BOHAI SEA—CHINA

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 905-908
Author(s):  
Mark Boben ◽  
Liu Yuheng
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Bohai Sea ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
The Bohai Sea ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
Offshore Oil

ABSTRACT Oil spill response along the coast of China has been recognized as an important issue by the Chinese government. The Bohai Sea in particular, is an area of high oil exploration and production activity, with offshore developments comprising platforms and FPSO's (floating, production, storage and off-loading) together with associated vessels and pipelines. Major shipping lanes from the East China Sea into China also pass through the offshore oil fields. For the oil companies operating in the area, the prospect of an accidental oil spill is a concern from both a domestic and international perspective. In 2000, the companies involved in upstream activities in the Bohai Sea began discussions with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to develop an oil spill response capability. Led by ConocoPhillips, the international oil companies worked with CNOOC to build a framework for developing an oil spill response organization (OSRO) to provide appropriate services within the Bohai Sea. The key tenet for this OSRO, was to be able to perform to international standards. In 2002, the CNOOC executive management, through its subsidiary, Bohai Corporation(COOBC) committed to establishing a commercial oil spill response organization, Bohai Environmental Services Ltd. (BES). The BES remit is focused on the Bohai Sea, but with the eventual goal of providing response services along the wider China coastal region and eventually fulfilling a longer term vision of expanding into the international market. This Paper describes the standards required by the international oil companies and how BES was conceived and organized to meet them.

Incorporating Well Control Support Functions into a Broader Oil Spill Response Organization

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 2098-2111
Author(s):  
Kelly Lynn Schnapp ◽  
Joseph Leonard ◽  
Michael Drieu ◽  
Bryan Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Support Functions ◽  
Well Drilling ◽  
Well Control ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to better prepare the oil spill response community for incorporating well control into a response organization, based on conditional considerations rather than long and firmly held assumptions. Techniques used to control a well, after a blowout, are more closely related to technical well drilling and control activities rather than to operations intended to address oil in the environment. When oil is released from a well in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), response organizers need to consider various factors influencing the organization that may exist at the time. These include a working knowledge of well control by response leadership; strength of responder relationships; and response complexity (to include authority, stakeholder and public expectations). This is particularly true when incorporating the well control support function in the oil spill response operational planning processes, usually facilitated by the Incident Command System (ICS). Within the last three years, complex well control operations were uniquely incorporated into response organizations during two Government Initiated Unannounced Exercises (GIUEs) and during the DEEPWATER HORIZON incident. Three options will be presented. Considerations for incorporating well control into a response organization will be presented using the case studies noted previously and by comparing similar lessons learned from the salvage industry in the late 1990's. Options presented help demonstrate that response organization flexibility is key to a successful response. This paper seeks to illuminate options surrounding placement of well control within an incident command structure based upon unique incident situational realities.

scholarly journals TEN YEARS OF REALTIME, NEAR-SURFACE CURRENT OBSERVATIONS SUPPORTING OIL SPILL RESPONSE1

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 541-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Martin ◽  
Norman L. Guinasso ◽  
Linwood L. Lee ◽  
John N. Walpert ◽  
Leslie C. Bender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Surface Current ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Real Time Analysis ◽  
General Land Office ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Regional Component ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Ocean Observing

ABSTRACT Trajectory modeling is one of the few tools that allow spill managers to get ahead of an oil spill. To that end, the Texas General Land Office is committed to maintaining and improving the Texas Automated Buoy System (TABS) and its associated modeling efforts to ensure a reliable source of accurate, up-to-date information on currents along the Texas coast. As the nation embarks on the development of an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), TABS will be an active participant as a foundational regional component to the national backbone of ocean observations. The lessons-learned from TABS’ ten years of spill response operations will provide a valuable roadmap for the operators of new ocean observing systems to ensure that they understand and meet the unique needs of the oil spill response community. This paper describes the circumstances which led to the creation of TABS; the unique, spill response-driven philosophy behind the development and operation of the system; lessons-learned and the resulting modifications to the system; examples of TABS’ service; new TABS forecasting models and real time analysis tools; and the future direction of TABS in the context of a national Integrated Ocean Observing System.

scholarly journals Current and Proposed Efforts to Resolve HSPD-5 and NCP Authorities (NIC and PFO)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
LCDR John LaMorte ◽  
LT Rebecca Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
National Guard ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Environmental Disasters ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Oil Rig ◽  
Exercise And Training

ABSTRACT During the evening of 20 April, 2010 U.S. Coast Guard District Eight Command Center watch standers received a report of an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon (DWH), an oil rig working on the Macondo oil well approximately 42 miles Southeast of Venice, LA (OSC Report, 2011). The explosion on board the DWH and resulting fires eventually destroyed the oil rig and caused it to sink into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven crewmembers lost their lives in the tragic events that unfolded that night, and one of the nation's largest environmental disasters would soon follow. Estimates of the oil discharged from the Macondo oil well were between 12,000 and 25,000 barrels per day, and the response involved approximately 47,000 oil spill response personnel, 6,870 vessels, approximately 4.12 million feet of boom, and 17,500 National Guard personnel, five states (OSC Report, 2011). The massive oil spill lasted 87 days and estimates suggest that more than 200 million gallons of oil was discharged into the Gulf of Mexico, which stands as the largest oil spill event in U.S. history. From these massive response operations came important lessons learned for SONS event planning, preparedness, and response, as it became apparent during DWH response operations that oil spill response governance and doctrine was not well understood across the whole-of-government. This issue was well documented in the National Incident Commander's report and several recommendations were identified to address this issue. This paper will explore the steps taken within the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) SONS Exercise and Training Program to promote a better understanding of oil spill response governance and doctrine among Cabinet-level senior leadership and the interagency representatives that will ultimately be involved when the next SONS event happens.

ECOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE COASTS OF THE KARA SEA TO THE OIL SPILL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ermolov ◽  
Alexander Ermolov
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
International System ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
International Systems

International experience of oil spill response in the sea defines the priority of coastal protection and the need to identify as most valuable in ecological terms and the most vulnerable areas. Methodological approaches to the assessing the vulnerability of Arctic coasts to oil spills based on international systems of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and geomorphological zoning are considered in the article. The comprehensive environmental and geomorphological approach allowed us to form the morphodynamic basis for the classification of seacoasts and try to adapt the international system of indexes to the shores of the Kara Sea taking into account the specific natural conditions. This work has improved the expert assessments of the vulnerability and resilience of the seacoasts.

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