The Interior Department finalized the merger of its offshore agencies last week, cementing a move planned since this spring to recombine bureaus that monitor the leasing and safety of energy operations in the ocean.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday signed an order creating the Marine Minerals Administration, a new bureau that “reunifies” the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
BOEM currently manages offshore oil and gas leasing and environmental reviews, while BSEE oversees safety operations and other enforcement.
The two separate bureaus were created after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2010 disaster that put a spotlight on federal regulation of the offshore oil and gas industry. Former investigators of the regulatory environment during that period have cautioned that recombining the agencies could spell trouble for safety and environmental oversight.
