According to a recent article from the Houston Business Journal “Energy industry considers offshore-drilling safety institute,” on March 18^th, energy leaders will decide upon forming an industry run offshore-drilling safety institute in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Reilly — who sits on the board of directors at Houston-based ConocoPhillips — called for a framework of continual learning among companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. An industry organization should conduct routine safety audits of its members and “discipline or reject” companies that do not comply, he said. The government should support the organization and make its membership a prerequisite for operating in the Gulf, he said.

Here is some food for thought:

• So is this a redundancy to the federal law recently passed –Workplace Safety Rule?
• Will the costs of joining and complying with a offshore-drilling safety institute be too high for smaller or even large operators?
• Will the standardization of “best practices” ultimately improve company margins while reducing health, safety, environmental and operational risks?