IADC CONNECTION • WIRELINES
US Department of Labor expands requirements to submit injury and illness data
The US Department of Labor announced
a final rule that will require certain employ-
ers in designated high-hazard industries
to electronically submit injury and illness
information to the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA). The
final rule will take effect on 1 January 2024
and includes the following submission
requirements:
Establishments with 100 or more
employees in certain high-hazard indus-
tries must electronically submit informa-
tion from their Form 300-Log of Work-
Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form
301-Injury and Illness Incident Report to
OSHA once a year. These submissions
are in addition to the submission of Form
300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries
and Illnesses.

■ Establishments are required to include
their legal company name when making
electronic submissions to OSHA from their
injury and illness records.

OSHA will publish some of the data col-
lected on its website to allow employers,
employees, potential employees, employee
BOEM proposes new requirements for offshore decom
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) has proposed
changes to modernize financial assur-
ance requirements for the offshore oil
and gas industry, covering the costs
associated with the decommissioning of
offshore wells and infrastructure.

The proposed rule would establish two
metrics by which BOEM would assess
the financial risk. First, the bureau would
use credit ratings from a nationally rec-
ognized statistical rating organization, or
a proxy credit rating generated through
a statistical model. BOEM would require
companies without an investment-grade
credit rating to provide additional finan-
cial assurance.

Second, BOEM would consider the
current value of the proved oil and
gas resources on the lease itself when
determining the overall financial risk of
decommissioning, given that any lease
with significant reserves still available
would likely be acquired by another
operator, which would then assume the
liabilities in the event of bankruptcy.

The bureau said in a statement that
the proposed regulatory changes would
“provide additional clarity and reinforce
that current grant holders and lessees
bear the cost of ensuring compliance
with lease obligations, rather than rely-
ing on prior owners to cover those costs.”
Scan me to read the
BOEM’s proposed
requirements. bit.ly/3Qv9h45
North Sea database adds application to drill CO 2 wells
The UK North Sea Transition Authority
(NSTA) launched a revamped version
of the Wells Operations Notifications
System (WONS) in July. Among the
changes is a new function that allows
companies to apply to drill a wellbore
specifically linked to a carbon storage
license. The system has also made it a higher
priority to consider reusing or repurpos-
ing wells as part of the decommission-
ing process, with system amendments
allowing the NSTA to gather more accu-
rate information on final well abandon-
ment. There are more than 12,500 well-
46 bores in the UK North Sea, with around
5,500 wells plugged and abandoned.

Further, the system now allows users
to record more detailed information
on the identity and role of companies
responsible for the wellbore.

The WONS was originally launched
in 2002.

Scan me to access
the NSTA’s Wells
Operations Notification
System. bit.ly/3Qwhfdj
representatives, current and potential cus-
tomers, researchers and the general pub-
lic to use information about a company’s
workplace safety and health record to
make informed decisions.

The final rule retains the current
requirements for electronic submission
of information from Form 300A from
establishments with 20-249 employees in
certain high-hazard industries and from
establishments with 250 or more employ-
ees in industries that must routinely keep
OSHA injury and illness records.

IADC comments on BLM
leasing recommendations
On 24 July, the US Department of the
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) published recommended revisions
to the Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Rule.

The proposed changes would impact
the BLM’s oil and gas leasing regulatory
framework by modifying current fiscal
terms and leasing processes.

If put into effect, the proposed modifi-
cations would make oil and natural gas
exploration more expensive. Royalty rates
for drilling on public lands would increase
from 12.5% to 16.67%, as per provisions in
last year’s climate and tax reconciliation
law. The rule also proposed increasing the
minimum lease bond amount from $10,000
to $150,000.

While IADC respects the BLM’s efforts in
modernizing its regulatory framework and
preserving public lands, these changes
would increase the economic and logisti-
cal obstacles involved in developing new
energy projects. Domestic oil and natu-
ral gas supply may diminish as a result,
decreasing the ability of the US to meet
national and global demand.

In response to the proposal, IADC
President Jason McFarland said in a state-
ment issued on 27 July, “The increased
costs to drilling contractors is an obvious
detriment to oil and natural gas explora-
tion and will affect our members unfavor-
ably. As a voice for the drilling industry,
IADC looks forward to collaborating with
industry stakeholders in providing feed-
back to BLM in order to seek balance in
how this ruling is developed.”
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR




UPCOMING IADC EVENTS • IADC CONNECTION
IADC/SPE MANAGED PRESSURE
DRILLING & UNDERBALANCED
OPERATIONS IADC
Annual General
MEETING MEETING
Conference & Exhibition
3-4 OCTOBER 2023
G R A N D H YAT T D E NVE R
D E N V E R , C O L O R A D O
8-10 NOVEMBER 2023
H YAT T
IADC DRILLING
MIDDLE EAST
REG ENCY
A U S T I N ,
AUSTIN T E X A S
6-7 FEBRUARY 2024
NORRIS CONFERENCE
CENTER, CITYCENTRE
H O USTO N , TE X AS
Conference & Exhibition
IADC HEALTH
SAFETY ENVIRONMENT
& TRAINING
Conference & Exhibition
14-15 NOVEMBER 2023
LE A L
MÉRIDIEN K H O B A R ,
AL S A U D I
KHOBAR A R A B I A
IADC DRILLING
CASPIAN Conference & Exhibition
IADC DRILLING
AFRICA Conference & Exhibition
7- 8 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 24
F O U R S E AS O N S H OT E L
B A K U ,
A Z E R B A I J A N
20-21 FEBRUARY 2024
HILTON W I N D H O E K ,
HOTEL N A M I B I A
To register for these and other conferences please visit us online at www.iadc.org/conferences/upcoming.

DRILLING CONTRACTOR • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
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