David Bernhardt dbernhardt@bhfs.com Intertek: Trends in Energy Conference Exploring the Changing Landscape of Offshore Regulatory Frameworks David Bernhardt dbernhardt@bhfs.com Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

A KEY PROBLEM “One of the key problems that we are addressing – and that cannot be avoided – is this:  how will government and industry make the fundamental reforms necessary to improve the safety and environmental protection in this massive industry, while at the same time allowing for the continuity of operations and production?”-- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

The Changing Landscape Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

MMS/BOEMRE’s EIS Timelines Subject/Project Year Started Length Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas, Multi-Sale EIS 2007 20 Months OCS Western and Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales for Years 2009-2012 12 Months Cape Wind Offshore Wind Development 2006 32 Months Programmatic EIS - Alternative Energy and Alternate Use of Facilities on the OCS 18 Months OCS Western and Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales for Years 2007-2012 13 Months Eastern Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sales 2002 16 Months Cook Inlet Planning Area Lease Sales 2001 23 Months Beaufort Sea Multi-Sale EIS 17 Months Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Recent Story “NEPA has long been a potent weapon for environmental groups and activists skeptical of drilling in Alaska and the Rocky Mountain West, but such groups had rarely turned to it in the Gulf.” “In the eight years of the Bush administration, only one lawsuit was filed by an environmental group to challenge Gulf drilling under NEPA. Compare that to 388 NEPA suits filed during the same time against the Forest Service.” “A dozen or more NEPA cases have been filed since the spill by environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, Gulf Restoration Network and Sierra Club.” "There were many people who thought of it as America's industrial sacrifice zone," said Regan Nelson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "I don't think you'll see the same inattention in the future.“ Greenwire 2/3/2011. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

A Cautionary Quote to Policy Makers "I think you're caught in a little bit of tension. There's an urgency because we've had a major event. But I'm not sure you want to leap completely until you know what all the details and the facts are that will be generated.”--Thad Allen, Coast Guard Retired Admiral. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP