What We Do / Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs / Emerging Technologies / Best Available and Safest Technologies
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Best Available and Safest Technologies (BAST)

Best Available and Safest Technologies (BAST)

The Bureau's Best Availalable and Safest Technologies (BAST) Program establishes a process for fulfilling the provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Helicopter landing on offhsore platform(OCSLA), Amendments of 1978 through 30 CFR 250.107(c), which requires offshore operators to use BAST whenever practical on all exploration, development, and production operations when failure of equipment would have a significant effect or impact on safety, health, or the environment.

In accordance with the Act, BSEE may initiate a BAST Determination Process to evaluate safety, health or environmental concerns. 

The BAST Program objectives include:

  • Developing a nationally recognized process for implementing BAST provisions of the OCSLA through a partnership with affected parties.
  • Overseeing the BAST process when safety critical equipment issues have been identified that point towards regulatory gaps in the BSEE program.
  • Using a performance based program rather than a prescriptive program to determine BAST technology solutions.
  • Relying on consistent and verifiable testing and evaluation of a technologies operational history as a cornerstone to determining BAST performance levels.

WHAT IS BAST? 

The BAST Program includes commercially available technologies that meet a specified safety performance level(s) as established by the BSEE Director. 

BAST Determination Process

BSEE has developed a three-stage process to identify candidate technologies for BAST determinations.

  • During stage 1, the process begins when BSEE's director evaluates data sources, such as an incident, accident and/or near-miss report, which reveals a safety issue involving critical equipment and the potential for further study through the BAST Determination Process.
  • Once an issue is identified by the agency, a qualified-third party is identified by BSEE to oversee stage 2 of the process. During stage 2, candidate technologies are then evaluated using consistent and verifiable testing protocols, and an evaluation of the technologies operational history, which determines an appropriate performance level.
  • During stage 3, the process requires the agency to conduct a full benefit-cost analysis that is consistent with OCSLA standards. All candidate technologies must meet or exceed the performance level, and expectation to provide safety, health or environmental benefits. The benefits must outweigh their costs.

Recent and ongoing activities:

  • National Ocean Industries Association Annual Meeting
    April 22, 2016, Washington D.C
    Presentation
     
  • Offshore Operators Committee General Meeting
    December 2, 2015 at New Orleans, LA
    Presentation  
     
  •  BAST Conference
     November 12, 2015 at Hilton Houston North, Houston, Texas
     Agenda
     Presentation
     
  • BAST Determination Process
    BSEE has developed a three-stage process to identify candidate technologies for BAST determinations. Stage 1 of the process starts when the Director evaluates various information streams available to BSEE (incident reports, accident reports, near miss reports….) pointing towards a safety issue with critical equipment that has the potential to be addressed through the BAST Determination Process. Once an issue is identified by the agency, a Qualified Third Party (QTP) will be identified by BSEE to oversee Stage 2 of the process by evaluating candidate technologies to determine their Performance Levels (PL) through consistent and verifiable testing and evaluation of a technologies operational history. Stage 3 of the process requires the agency to conduct a Benefit Cost Analysis consistent with OCSLA to ensure candidate technologies meeting the PL provide safety, health or environmental benefits which outweigh their costs. BSEE BAST Determination Process document.
     
  • Candidate Technologies
    Early Kick Detection (EKD)
    Vented Gas Detection (VGD)
     
  • Availability of EKD and VGD Statement of Work
    As established in Step 1.8 of the BAST Determination Process (BDP), BSEE has drafted a Statement of Work (SOW) that conveys the Technology Improvement Objectives for the EKD and VGD BAST Evaluations, the required tasks and the timeline to complete the work under Stage 2 of the BDP. As established in Step 1.9 of the BDP, the BSEE Director expects to announce and provide this draft SOW for public comment in the near term.
     
  • National Academy of Engineering (NAE):
    BSEE contracted with NAE in 2012 to provide BSEE with expert advice and recommendations on how the BAST program can be modified to improve the agency's oversight of the OCS industry to better protect the environment and make operations safer. The NAE provided BSEE with a pre-publication of their findings on September 30, 2013. NAE's final report was published in January 2014.

See the presentation on the BSEE BAST Determination Process from December 2015 for more information.