The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop standards and guidance for the development of offshore wind energy, API revealed this week.
Under the MoU, both parties will leverage their expertise and existing natural gas and petroleum industry standards to develop a Safety Management Systems (SMS) standard for operations and offshore wind assets, API noted, adding that the initial Recommended Practice (RP) would provide guidance for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of an SMS for offshore wind operations in the United States. United.
The RP would be based on API RP 75, Safety and Environmental Management System for Offshore Operations and Assets, according to the API. Now in its fourth edition, API RP 75 provides systemic guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving safety and environmental management systems (SEMS) for offshore oil and gas operations, a pointed out the API.
As part of an ongoing relationship, API and OOC plan to develop additional guidelines and standards on offshore wind energy and other related topics, API said.
“The natural gas and oil industry has decades of experience operating offshore under highly technical and complex conditions,” said Anchal Liddar, API’s senior vice president, Global Industry Services, in a statement. statement from the organization.
“It’s a natural progression to apply this expertise to the wind sector and reinforce API’s leadership in developing standards to ensure safe and environmentally responsible operations across the energy sector.” , added Liddar.
OOC Executive Director Evan Zimmerman said, “Our members wanted to build on the tremendous efforts put into API RP 75, 4th Edition, by a wide range of offshore safety management experts and develop a similar standard on safety management systems for offshore wind applications”.
“This collaboration will allow companies engaged in offshore oil and gas development to use the same management systems and associated interfaces for our rapidly growing offshore wind market,” he added.
In a separate statement posted on its LinkedIn page, the OOC said it looked forward to continuing its collaboration with API, impacting the rapidly growing offshore wind market in the United States.
According to BP’s latest Global Energy Statistical Study, installed wind capacity in the United States stood at 132.7 gigawatts (GW) in 2021. This figure has increased every year since 2011, which is the first year of data available for installed wind capacity in the United States in 2021. The latest advice from BP. Capacity figures for those years, as shown in BP’s review, can be viewed below.
- 2020 – 118.7GW
- 2019 – 104.1GW
- 2018 – 94.5GW
- 2017 – 87.6GW
- 2016 – 81.3GW
- 2015 – 72.6GW
- 2014 – 64.2GW
- 2013 – 60.0GW
- 2012 – 59.1GW
- 2011 – 45.7GW
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