Offshore Drilling Safety Subject to Scrutiny In U.K.
British lawmakers questioned leading oil industry executives in mid-September after the release of disturbing reports by Britain’s safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). At issue was whether the U.K. should consider a deepwater drilling moratorium in the North Sea, much like that imposed by the United States in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. Rather than imposing such a moratorium, the British government earlier opted to heighten inspection practices in the North Sea, allowing oil production and drilling to go forward in the meantime.
The backdrop to the British inquiry included the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, reports from the HSE reflecting problems in BP’s emergency response chain of command, a litany of safety warnings from the agency to BP and other oil companies operating in the North Sea, and the safety agency’s most recent analysis of accident statistics in the North Sea oil industry.
As recently as last month, for instance, the HSE issued a warning to oil companies in general concerning North Sea accidents. The agency cited accident figures compiled for 2009 to 2010, noting that while no workers had been killed during regulated activities for three years, the “combined fatal and major injury rate” almost doubled from the period in 2008 to 2009. Steve Walker, head of the HSE’s offshore division, observed that 17 workers had died in other offshore-related travel incidents. And while the overall numbers of injuries and incidents was low, Walker chastised the industry for allowing the fatal and major injury rate to skyrocket. Walker expressed additional disappointment that major and significant hydrocarbon leaks were up by more than a third since the previous year.
Malcom Webb, chief executive of Oil and Gas UK, dismissed calls for a moratorium or for the establishment of a European regulatory authority. Webb and other industry representatives asserted the safety of their operations, and their interest in protecting workers.
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