US to convene meet on offshore drilling risks and safety

The US will convene a ministerial level meeting of 13 nations, including India, to address risk issues concerning offshore drilling. This meeting of nations, all of whom are engaged in offshore drilling, would look at ways to reduce risks associated with it.

According to US interior minister, Ken Salazar, the meet, which will be attended by ministers and senior government officials, is "part of a commitment to reduce the risks associated with offshore drilling around the world."

He added that the 'Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment' would also discuss development of cutting-edge technologies for containing potential deep water well blowouts on the outer continental shelves.

"Those of us engaged in offshore energy exploration and production have a collective responsibility to strengthen our capabilities for containing potential deepwater blowouts and promoting international collaboration, research and development going forward," Salazar said.

"Just as we share oceans with our neighbours, we have an interest in sharing best practices for how all of us can develop our resources safely and responsibly," he said.

Two panels of experts from industry and academia would present lessons learned from instances of blowouts and offer suggestions for the promotion of cutting-edge containment capabilities in future.