After several weeks of intense study into the Deepwater Horizon accident, two industry task forces released their recommendations today.

These task forces, which have focused on subsea well design and oil spill response, are two of the four task forces formed by the oil and natural gas industry to examine deepwater drilling, identify any gaps that might exist affecting safety, seek solutions, and improve industry operations. The two other task forces delivered their reports to the government in May.

Today the Subsea task force announced 29 recommendations, including 15 immediate action items, that could be helpful in controlling the release of oil from its source. Many of the action items involved equipment changes and a new Containment Company (CC) formed to build and deploy a rapid respo... more »

The oil and natural gas industry is forming two new task forces to address both short-term and long-term issues involving subsea well control and spill response and cleanup.

The task forces will be developed by API, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and will provide recommendations which will be presented to the presidential commission on the Deepwater Horizon accident.

"We will be working across our industry, bringing together experts and specialists, to improve safety and environmental performance by learning from any gaps identified in the handling of this spill," said API President and CEO Jack Gerard in a news release.

The findings and recommendations will assist industry to identify best practices to incorpora... more »