Interior Department-funded study calls for standards for offshore drilling equipment

A report funded by the Interior Department is recommending that the agency work closely with the oil industry to establish standards to prevent spills from bolt failures on undersea safety equipment used in deepwater drilling.

The National Academies of Sciences issued the report Friday, raising concerns about the potential for oil spills that could result from bolt failures on such equipment as blowout preventers. A failed blowout preventer caused the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil spill, the largest in the industry’s history.