WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is weighing more safety standards for blowout preventers on oil-drilling rigs, after a probe uncovered a possible design flaw that may have helped to cause last year's massive Gulf oil spill, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday.
The Interior Department has imposed new testing requirements for blowout preventers since the spill, but Salazar said recent findings from an investigation of the drilling disaster may prompt further reforms.
Salazar's comments come about two weeks before the first anniversary of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that ruptured BP's underwater Macondo well, killing 11 workers and unleashing more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
"As a result of the investigation that was just concluded through the forensic examination, we'll also be looking to develop some additional improvements with respect to (blowout preventers)," Salazar told a conference call after meeting Mexican officials to discuss drilling safety.
Salazar said any new rules would most likely focus on instruments, and the department would also look at the effectiveness of using dual shear rams in blowout preventers.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said the department would consult the recently established federal Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee on new standards for blowout preventers.
The department will also seek public comment in coming months about what upgrades would be appropriate for blowout preventers, Hayes said.
In an emergency, the shear rams in blowout preventers are supposed to cut drill pipe to seal a leaking well.
A forensic review of the blowout preventer from BP's Macondo well found an off-center pipe stopped the fail-safe device from operating properly.
The pipe disabled the blowout preventer, which was supposed to act as a last line of defense against a catastrophic spill, according to the report commissioned by the Interior Department and Coast Guard.
The report by Norwegian-based Det Norske Veritas recommended that the industry study ways to make sure shear rams can completely cut pipes regardless of their position and said any findings should be incorporated into the design of future and existing blowout preventers.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Dale Hudson)
Photo Credit: The damaged blow out preventer from Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig is extracted by the Q4000 vessel from Gulf of Mexico.
Reuters/Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas Blue/US Coast Guard/Handout
