Offshore staff
LONDON – Oil & Gas UK has issued its latest annual Health & Safety report for the UK offshore sector. Among the findings are:
- A 48% reduction in the number of reportable hydrocarbon releases over three years
- A steady reduction in the incidence of more-than-three-day duration injuries to a new low
- No fatalities and fewer combined fatal/major injuries, and fewer incidents of dangerous occurrences
- An all-time low in Level 3 verification non-compliances, which relate to performance standards of safety-critical equipment identified by an independent competent person.
Oil & Gas UK’s health and safety director, Robert Paterson, said the reduction in hydrocarbon releases was just short of the target set by the industry in 2010 to halve releases.
“However there is no room for complacency. While the review that followed the Piper Alpha disaster [in the UK North Sea in 1988] provided the foundation for what is now one of the most robust offshore health and safety regimes in the world, the approaching 25th anniversary of that tragedy only serves to remind us that we must never stop at striving to make things safer…
“I am particularly proud of the part played by Oil & Gas UK in persuading the European Commission to drop its proposed regulation on offshore oil and gas safety and instead proceed with adirective. Again, the involvement of regulators and trade unions in this proved to be of huge importance and worth. The result leaves our world-class regulatory framework largely intact and enables the industry and regulators in the UK to continue on the path of continuous improvement without the major distraction of having to dismantle the existing safety system.”
6/14/2013
