Cheryl Anderson
Cheryl Anderson, the world’s leading authority on offshore oil spill occurrence rates and causes, has retired from the US Department of the Interior after an exceptional career. Cheryl developed and maintained comprehensive oil spill data bases, and authored numerous reports on spill risks and occurrence rates.
Because of her meticulous attention to detail and unbiased analyses, both supporters and opponents of offshore oil and gas operations trusted Cheryl’s data. Her reports have been widely referenced in energy policy documents, environmental reviews, and professional papers published in the US and around the world. Lease sale areas were revised and operating regulations were updated as a result of Cheryl’s statistics and analyses.
In recent years, Cheryl’s leadership in improving the accuracy and credibility of hurricane spill statistics was particularly noteworthy. She developed a process for gathering information on the amount of stored oil that could have been lost when platforms were toppled and pipeline segments were damaged. Previously, only spills that appeared on the water surface were included, which meant that total hurricane spillage volumes were significantly understated.
Cheryl worked for the Minerals Management Service since its inception in 1982. Given the sensitivity of oil spill statistics, there was a tendency on the part of some officials to want to “spin” Cheryl’s statistics. Cheryl had the highest professional standards, and firmly resisted such attempts. Her only concern was the accuracy of the data and the credibility of the reports. For this she was greatly respected by all of her MMS colleagues. She received numerous honors, most notably the Distinguished Service Award, the Department of the Interior’s highest honor award.
Cheryl was universally admired by her MMS colleagues and was a great friend to all. She warmed hearts with the charming trinkets that she would distribute on holidays and helped everyone stay healthy with the wonderful apples that she would bring to the office (in great quantities) from the orchards west of the metropolitan Washington DC area. BOE wishes Cheryl great success in her future endeavors. No matter what she chooses to do, we know she will do it with great integrity, commitment, and enthusiasm.
All the best to Cheryl!
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Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
Regulatory reform comments
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged comments, Department of the Interior, drilling Safety leaders, pilot program, regulatory burden, regulatory fragmentation, regulatory reform on July 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
My comments in response to the Dept. of the Interior’s regulatory reform notice are attached. First and foremost, I believe these recommendations would reduce safety and environmental risks. Second, I am confident that they would also reduce governmental costs and the regulatory burden on industry.
The first attachment discusses regulatory fragmentation and recommends actions to reduce the complexity and redundancy of the offshore regulatory regime. The second attachment proposes a Drilling Safety Leaders Pilot Program as a means of evaluating a more adaptable framework regulatory framework for operators with outstanding performance records.
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