Bloomberg News An oil rig off Santa Barbara, Calif. 
American companies involved in offshore oil drilling are moving to set up a safety institute modeled on those established by foreign oil companies and the nuclear power and chemical industries, the American Petroleum Institute said on Thursday.
The new safety board, to be known as the Center for Offshore Safety, will attempt to improve the offshore industry’s management and operations and will be financed by the companies, Jack Gerard, president of the petroleum institute, said in a statement. The size, scope and budget of the new board have not yet been determined.
The move is intended to improve the industry’s self-regulation, even as federal officials move to tighten government oversight of the industry in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill nearly a year ago. Oil companies have chafed at some of the new safety and environmental regulations, saying they have slowed the permitting process and depressed oil production.
The presidential panel that studied the BP accident recommended the creation of an independent safety body that would review all phases of drilling operations to assure they met the highest international standards. They cited the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, an industry-financed group formed after the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident, as a potential model.
This new oil industry group will be based in Houston and operate under the umbrella of the petroleum institute. The charter and level of independence have yet to be worked out, a spokesman said.
“After extensive review and development, the oil and natural gas industry has approved the creation of the Center for Offshore Safety, which will promote the highest level of safety for offshore operations, through an effective program that addresses management practices, communication and teamwork, and which relies on independent, third-party auditing and verification,” Mr. Gerard said. “The board directed A.P.I. to further develop the operational framework and time line for the center—working with other industry stakeholders—to enhance industry safety and environmental performance.”