Secretary Salazar, Deputy Secretary Hayes, BSEE Director Watson to Visit Norway for Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will travel to Trondheim, Norway, on June 25-28 to continue his ongoing dialogue with international counterparts, government officials and oil and gas industry leaders regarding the safe and responsible development of offshore energy resources.

The discussions and meetings Secretary Salazar will hold in Norway, at the invitation of Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe, are geared toward informing the Obama administration's goals of expanded safe and responsible production of our domestic resources while ensuring the strongest possible safety and environmental oversight of offshore oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

In response to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration undertook the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. As part of a shared commitment to reduce the risks associated with offshore drilling around the world, Secretary Salazar will meet with ministers and senior government officials from nations engaged in offshore oil and gas operations to discuss these historic reforms and share best practices and lessons learned in offshore oil and gas development, including in the Arctic.

Secretary Salazar will be joined by a U.S. delegation including Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director James A. Watson. Their trip will include a visit to an offshore oil facility and a roundtable discussion on sustainable Arctic energy development with international counterparts and other officials and stakeholders.

The trip builds on last year's Ministerial Forum on Offshore Drilling Containment, hosted by Secretary Salazar in Washington, D.C., which included interactive discussions on well containment and lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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