[1] Established in 2011, BSEE is an agency responsible for improving safety and ensuring environmental protection in the offshore energy industry, mainly natural gas and oil, on the United States Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

[1] The creation of the three independent entities was designed to carry out three missions:[4] On June 18, 2010, Secretarial Order 3302[5] briefly renamed the MMS to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).

[8] On August 14, 2013, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell named former Coast Guard Vice Admiral Brian Salerno as the BSEE's third director.

[9] In 2013, the BSEE and the U.S. Department of Transportation Statistics (BTS) signed an Interagency Agreement (IAA) to create SafeOCS, for voluntary confidential reporting of ‘near misses’ happening on Outer Continental Shelf.

[13] In February 2016, the Government Accountability Office determined that the reorganization had made only limited progress in enhancing BSEE's investigative and enforcement capabilities.

Additionally, programs cover safety management, pollution prevention research, technology assessments, inspection policies and development of BSEE's technical training.

Other responsibilities include coordination with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and other Federal, State and local agencies; and public outreach regarding environmental compliance.

Engineers and scientists working under the ECD, are BSEE's national coordinators for various environmental programs including Air Quality, Archaeological and Cultural Resources; Marine Ecology, Marine Trash and Debris Oversight; and the Rigs-to-Reefs (R2R) Artificial Reef Program[20] The Safety and Incident Division (SIID) is responsible for establishing national policies relating to the conduct of investigations of safety incidents happening on the OCS.

NTLs and LTLs are formal documents that clarify, describe and interpret BSEE regulations or Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) standards.