Hazard communication duties for oil and gas producers

February 16, 1996

Laurence R. Durio, CIH
Durio Consulting Services
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Durio:

Thank you for your letter of October 6, 1995, addressed to Mr. John B. Miles, Jr., Director of Compliance Programs for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), concerning the coverage of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas condensate. Your question was related to OSHA's position on application of the HCS for oil and gas producers as manufacturers and employers. You cited two previous OSHA letters of interpretation from 1989 (enclosed) that you believed contradicted the standard.

Oil and gas producers are covered by the HCS and are considered chemical manufacturers. Paragraph (d)(1) of the standard states that "Chemical manufacturers and importers shall evaluate chemicals produced in their workplace or imported by them to determine if they are hazardous." The standard defines "produce" to mean "manufacture, process, formulate, blend, extract, generate, emit, or repackage." Further, OSHA has stated in the current HCS compliance directive (CPL 2-2.38C, October 22, 1990) that "Oil and gas producers are chemical manufacturers for the purposes of the HCS because they produce hazardous chemicals for use or distribution." As a consequence, crude oil, natural gas and natural gas condensate producers referenced in your letter are required to meet the standards requirements including hazard determination and therefore, development of a MSDS.

Please disregard the statement in the letter of January 11, 1989 to Mr. Donald P. Schnacke (enclosed) which states "...OSHA does not consider oil and gas producers to be chemical manufacturers of the crude oil or natural gas." This is an erroneous statement, and we regret any confusion it may have caused. As stated above, they are considered chemical manufacturers under the standard. They can continue to use "generic MSDS" as described in the third paragraph of the letter to Mr. Schnacke.

We hope this letter has met your concerns. Should you have further questions, please contact [the Office of Health Enforcement at (202) 693-2190].

Sincerely,
Ruth McCully, Director
Office of Health Compliance Assistance

Enclosures

[Requester letter and earlier OSHA correspondence reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]

[Corrected 12/6/2024]