Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/578020
73 Fall 2015 Proceedings www.uscg.mil/proceedings Recent natural disasters, fuel supply disruptions, and unprecedented production increases in shale-based crude oils have highlighted diffculties for federal regulatory and response organizations like the U.S. Coast Guard to insti- tutionalize a system that consistently connects with the dynamic nature of the oil and gas supply chain. After all, there are more than 1,305 petroleum product terminals, 142 refneries, 8,000 independent marketers, 2.1 million miles of natural gas utility distribution and service pipelines, 306,000 miles of high pressure intrastate pipelines, and 192,000 miles of crude oil and petroleum product pipelines. 1 Add onto those numbers ever-increasing barges, oil tankers, liquefed natural gas (LNG) ships, rail cars, and road trans- portation mechanisms, and you have an incredibly complex and robust system. Consequently, the Coast Guard can't regu- late, prepare, or respond effectively without interagency and industry cooperation. Fur- thermore, initiating programs that enhance shared interagency and industry informa- tion is not an end in itself, but rather a pre- requisite for the Coast Guard to establish and maintain active engagement with the multifaceted oil and gas supply chain. An Expanding Challenge While the Coast Guard excels in oil spill response, it is important to remember that the challenge is not just the pollution, but also its subsequent ramifcations. For example, we must consider how the spill or release impacts the waterway and if there is an impact to the regional or national oil and gas supply chain. We must also factor in which other federal, state, and local agen- cies have a stake in the spill. Making the environment even more challenging, the U.S. has become the number one oil producer in the world, 2 causing a rapid expansion in the oil and gas supply chain infrastructure and growing asset ownership diversifcation and increasingly complex market structures. Coast Guard expertise can expand as quickly as the industry itself by aligning its prevention and response strategy and doctrine with the energy supply chain structure, its interdependen- cies, and regulatory framework. A Specifc Crude, A Specifc Supply Chain To garner a comprehensive understanding of the different types of crude oils, like Bakken, Eagle Ford, or Alaskan Northern Slope, our primary focus should be the supply chain and its associated regulatory agencies and trade-based Crude Transport Coast Guard connectivity to the oil and gas supply chain. by lt brAndon AtEn U.S. Coast Guard Offce of Marine Environmental Response Policy Adapting to New Crude Image courtesy of the American Petroleum Institute.