Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling

The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster undermined public faith in the oil and gas industry, in government regulators, and even in America’s ability to respond to crises. The disaster raised serious questions about our nation’s ability to manage and protect for current and future generations the invaluable natural resources of the outer continental shelf and the multiple uses they sustain—the patrimony of all Americans. Based on the Commission’s thorough and vigorous accounting of this tragedy, the central lesson to be drawn from the catastrophe is that no less than an overhauling of both current industry practices and government oversight is now required. The changes necessary will be transformative in their depth and breadth, requiring an unbending commitment to safety by government and industry to displace a culture of complacency. Drilling in deepwater does not have to be abandoned. It can be done safely. That is one of the central messages of this report. The reforms proposed herein are intended to do for this industry what new policies and practices have done for other high-risk industries after their disasters.