Incorporate American Petroleum Institute Hurricane Bulletins

The direct final rule will incorporate by reference three American Petroleum Institute hurricane bulletins into MMS's regulations. The three bulletins supplement the American Petroleum Institute's Recommended Practice 2A-WSD, Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing, and Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms--Working Stress Design, which contains engineering design principles and good practices for new platforms and assessments of existing platforms. These bulletins are needed to increase survivability during hurricane events by imposing more stringent design and assessment criteria for both new and existing structures located within particular Gulf of Mexico areas. By increasing survivability during hurricane conditions, fewer platforms will be damaged, thereby, protecting critical oil and gas resources and making those resources available after hurricane events.