HSE cites major increase in injuries and unplanned hydrocarbon releases
The offshore oil and gas industry in the UK has been warned about its safety record.
According to new figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there has been an increase in major injuries and unplanned hydrocarbon releases.
There were 50 major injuries reported in 2009-10 − up 20 on 2008-09 and higher than the average of 42 over the previous five years. No workers were killed during activities regulated by HSE for the third year running. The combined fatal and major injury rate almost doubled to 192 per 100,000 workers in 2009-10, compared with 106 in 2008/09 and 156 in 2007-08.
In 2009-10, there was a significant reduction in the minor over-three-day injury rate, maintaining a downward trend - 414 workers per 100,000 reported an injury, compared with 496 in the previous year.
The HSE emphasised that the fact that 17 workers tragically died in other offshore related travel incidents in the year is a stark reminder that hazards are ever present offshore. Although the overall numbers of injury and dangerous occurrences are comparatively low, considering a workforce of almost 27,000 and the numbers of rigs and the continuous operations undertaken, this does not excuse the fact that the fatal and major injury rate has almost doubled, said Steve Walker, head of HSE’s offshore division.
A marked rise was also recorded in 2009-10 of the combined number of major and significant hydrocarbon releases, regarded as potential precursors to a major incident, with a provisional total of 85. There were 61 in 2008-09 − the lowest since HSE began regulating the industry.
443 dangerous occurrences were reported, 34 fewer than in 2008-09. The main types reported were hydrocarbon releases (42%), failure of equipment offshore (23%) well-related incidents (6%) and failures relating to lifting operations (9%).
HSE has already pointed out that ageing offshore installations run the risk of deterioration, which can have serious consequences for installation and asset integrity. A new inspection programme of offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf is underway to ensure that ageing infrastructure does not adversely affect safety.
After 40 years of oil and gas production in the UK sector of the North Sea, more than half of fixed platforms have exceeded their original design life or soon will. Many are expected to remain operational for the foreseeable future and inspectors from the HSE will visit installations and check safety management plans to ensure that ageing is taken into account.

Oil & Gas UK opposes North Sea deep water drilling moratorium
Industry body Oil & Gas UK has refuted Greenpeace’s claims that the UK oil and gas industry operates recklessly and that there should be a moratorium on deep-sea drilling in UK coastal waters.
Oil & Gas UK highlighted that almost 7,000 wells have been successfully drilled, including several hundred in the west of Shetland area under a regulatory regime which has set an example for the rest of the world to follow.
The body asserted that the UK offshore industry has a “good track record and strong regulation”. In the UK there are strong and competent regulators in the Department for Energy and the Offshore Safety Division of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who preside over a robust, fit for purpose regulatory regime.
It added that offshore oil and gas activities are subjected to extensive environmental assessment and are strictly regulated by European and UK legislation. The regulations that are already in place to protect the environment more than meet the requirements of the Habitats Directive.
Oil & Gas UK believes a moratorium on drilling would be a wholly unjustified reaction to the events in the Gulf of Mexico.
At the same time, it was also mentioned that the industry is not complacent on these matters and the UK’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) in which industry, the regulators and the trade unions are all engaged, is already carrying out a thorough review of UK procedures and practices.
On the other hand, the situation in the US has been far more complex. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been asked about further dangers posed by abandoned offshore oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
An investigation by the Associated Press found that more than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells beneath the Gulf of Mexico have been ignored for decades. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is being urged to quickly address any of the valid issues posed by abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

Preparing for North Sea decommissioning projects
Decom North Sea (DNS), an Aberdeen-based forum established last year to help UK industry capitalise on the North Sea decommissioning market, has suggested that North-East companies should work with Norwegian firms on North Sea decommissioning projects.
DNS estimates that decommissioning activity will ramp up significantly over the next 18 -24 months. These latest market projections indicate that the first major portion of decommissioning activity in the North Sea is forecast to ramp up quickly within the next year or two.
According to DNS, there is potentially going to be a about massive demand – a £25bn-£30bn programme that will require all available resources, such as engineering contractors and operators, onshore facilities, specialist services such as cutting, safety and environmental specialists, vessels and other offshore equipment.
DNS chief executive Brian Nixon, according to a report by the Northern Echo, highlighted that it is vitally important that the industry and supply chain is prepared to secure maximum benefit from the wider North Sea programmes.
In this context, DNS emphasises that now is absolutely the right time for Decom North Sea to begin its work with the supply chain, and to stimulate the preparation, collaboration and innovation needed to secure this vital market opportunity.
DNS has embarked on the ambitious quest of mapping the existing supply chain to better facilitate supply and demand. It has undertaken a major work to map out the supply chain in order to identify where the capability resides, to enable operators to access services quickly.

UK recruiters warn of pending shortage of engineers
Aberdeen-based recruitment company Thorpe Molloy Recruitment’s engineering division, says that a talent shortage in the UK's engineering sector makes it vital that engineering is positively promoted to young people as early as possible.
Simon Chinn, head of Aberdeen-based recruitment company Thorpe Molloy Recruitment’s engineering division, says: “Our experience is that unlike the oil and gas engineering market, permanent roles rather than contract roles are on offer. However, there is a talent shortage in the 25 – 45 age group and succession in the oil and gas industry has long been a concern, so where is the home grown talent going to come from, in a country historically proud of its engineering triumphs?”
The company says it has entrepreneurial renewable energy clients, which have branched out from the oil and gas industry and are using innovative compensation packages to attract talent. With transferable skills in project management, design, manufacture, service, sourcing, quality and safety the oil and gas industry is an obvious talent pool.
But Chinn says demand for talent will not just come from the renewables market. He says there are decades of life left in the North Sea through incremental development of existing fields, E&A activity, maximising hydrocarbon recovery and the massive decommissioning market. Considering this, there is a need for greater collaboration between industry and further education; and for more apprenticeship places and graduate training programmes.
“With a growing international subsea market, decommissioning work in the North Sea, wind energy high on the agenda and wave technology following close behind the engineering career potential is exciting and energising,” says Chinn.