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February 3, 2011

Bureau ofOcean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich 1849 CStreet, N. W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Director Bromwich, Apache Deepwater LLC ("Apache") takes this opportunityto urge thatthe Bureau ofOcean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement act promptlyto correct what we and the industry believe to be a serious error in the proposed Interim Final Safety Rules. That error is manifest in 30 CFR 2S0.198(a)(3) where it is stated thatfor purposes ofdocuments incorporated by reference, all references to should means mustfor purposes ofthese regulations (emphasis added). Atfirst reading and given thatthe BOEMRE intended the interim final rules to enhance and improve drilling operations it seemed reasonable to adopt the change in meaning by regulation. However, after more extended review we conclude thatthis seemingly minor change in meaning will have unintended consequences extending to nearly all operations on the OCS. The Interim Final Safety Rule's "should" to "must" issue is a critical one that needs to be remedied as the rules are finalized. Apache supportsthe efforts of Louisiana DNR Secretary ScottAngelle and the Back to Work Coalition to work with you on swiftly adopting a solution. The Coalition members have identified a numberof key points which identifythe problems posed if"should" to "must" language prevails in the final regulations:

• The change from "should" to "must" fordocuments incorporated by reference is unnecessarily burdensome to operators and results in some cases ofincreased safety risk and some cases where compliance is impossible. • The purpose ofthe Interim Final Rule is to improve drilling safety- and we believe thatthe compromise proposed bythe Coalition in the recently submitted white paperdoes this - it sharpens the focus ofthe rule to drilling safety and the specific areas ofconcern that were the cause forthe rule. • We are not aware ofany added safety benefitto be gained from revising the language from "should" to "must" in over 14,000 provisions. We are aware ofseveral instanceswhere safety would be compromised or compliance would be impossible. We urge you to consider the solution putforth by the Back to Work Coalition so that we can safely return to work in the Gulf ofMexico. • The drilling safety rule is intended to promote drilling safety enhancements. However, the rule as nowwritten actuallycompromises safety and requires a practice irrespective ofsound engineeringjudgmentor specific circumstances.

"'" APACHE CORPORATION 2l1li0W SAM HOUSTON PKWY SI SUITE 1600 I HOUSTON, TX 771142-3622 TEl (713)954-5500• The "should" language in the API standards, recommended practices and specifications is intended to allow operatorsthe discretion to adopt the appropriate optionsthat best fittheir circumstances - so as to not undermine good engineeringjudgment, require suboptimal practices orstifle innovation. • The API standards setting process is incredibly thorough and generally involves awide range of expertsin the drafting ofanyone standard. The word "should" was not used arbitrarily. The term "should" allows operators to avoid unsound practices, as well as apply improved deSigns, techniques, processes and materials. Apache agrees with the above points and we urge youroffice to adopt a narrowerfocus in the final regulations. Industry has worked hard to proactively provide a practical solution tothese issues and recommends deleting 30 CFR 250.198(a)(3) and modifyingthe rule to require operators toverify and document compliance with API RP 65 Part 2 and API RP 53 and showing demonstrative proofas to how they are considering and applyingthose documents to theirwell plans and operations. We believe this to be aviable approach and would hope that the BOEMRE can adoptthe recommendation. Sincerely,

Region Vice President Apache Deepwater llC