1.

Notifying Member: United States of America

If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):

2.

Agency responsible: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Department of Interior [1390]

Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above: Please submit comments to: USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point, Email: usatbtep@nist.gov

3.

Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [X], 5.7.1 [ ], other:

4.

Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Blowout preventer systems

Environmental protection (ICS 13.020), Extraction and processing of petroleum and natural gas (ICS 75.020), Equipment for petroleum and natural gas industries (ICS 75.180), Petroleum products and natural gas handling equipment (ICS 75.200).

5.

Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf—Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Revisions (35 page(s), in English)

6.

Description of content: The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is proposing to revise existing regulations for well control and blowout preventer systems. This proposed rule would revise requirements for well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time monitoring (RTM), and subsea containment. These revisions modify regulations pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning in accordance with Executive and Secretary of the Interior's Orders to ensure safety and environmental protection, while correcting errors and reducing certain unnecessary regulatory burdens imposed under the existing regulations. Accordingly, after thoroughly reexamining the original Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control final rule (WCR), experiences from the implementation process, and BSEE policy, BSEE proposes to amend, revise, or remove current regulatory provisions that create unnecessary burdens on stakeholders while ensuring safety and environmental protection. The proposed regulations would also address various issues and errors that were identified during the implementation of the recent rulemaking on these issues.

7.

Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: Protection of human health or safety; Protection of the environment

8.

Relevant documents: 83 Federal Register (FR) 22128, 11 May 2018; Title 30 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 250. Will appear in the Federal Register when adopted.

Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf­—Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control, Final Rule published 29 April 2016:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-04-29/html/2016-08921.htm

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-04-29/pdf/2016-08921.pdf

9.

Proposed date of adoption: To be determined

Proposed date of entry into force: To be determined

10.

Final date for comments: 10 July 2018

11.

Texts available from: National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2018/TBT/USA/18_2494_00_e.pdf