Europe opts for offshore safety directive

May 22, 2013
Industry association Oil & Gas UK has welcomed the European Parliament’s planned introduction of a directive on offshore safety and environment.

Offshore staff

LONDON – Industry association Oil & Gas UK has welcomed the European Parliament’s planned introduction of a directive on offshore safety and environment.

Robert Paterson, the association’s health, safety and employment director, said: “Oil & Gas UK has worked hard to campaign for this directive in place of the European Commission’s original proposition of a regulation and the very real danger to our workers’ safety that this would have brought.

“In this, the 25th anniversary year ofPiper Alpha – which was the world’s worst offshore disaster – we are heartened that the world-class goal-setting regulatory safety regime put in place after the disaster will be protected.

“In addition, we believe the directive will be the best way to achieve the objective of raising standards across the EU to the high levels already present in the North Sea. DECC [Department of Energy and Climate Change] and HSE [Health & Safety Executive] will shortly begin transposition of the directive into UK law.”

5/22/2013