Green finance group seeks greater SEC disclosure of offshore drilling risks

Green investing advocates are urging the presidential commission probing the BP oil spill to recommend that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate greater disclosure from oil companies about the risks of offshore drilling.

The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is slated to present a report on its probe to the White House next month.

Ahead of those findings, the Investor Network on Climate Risk said in a letter to the spill commission that it should “recommend that the SEC develop rules or guidance under its existing regulatory authority to ensure consistent disclosure of material offshore drilling risks.”

“These regulations or guidance would help protect investors from future losses by allowing investors to understand the quality of oil and gas companies’ risk management policies and practices, and seek to improve them where they are deficient. In addition, new regulations would reinforce any Commission recommendations in its final report regarding practices at other federal agencies overseeing offshore drilling, by improving transparency of corporate health, safety and environmental policies and practices,” the Dec. 7 letter released Tuesday adds.

The investor group — which is a project of the nonprofit organization Ceres — says the oil companies’ disclosure should cover data on safety and environmental performance and violations; levels of investment in drilling safety and spill response technology; and several other matters.