The head of oil and gas’ industry body has called for calm thinking in the aftermath of the fatal North Sea helicopter crash.
Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil and Gas UK, told Energy Voice it was important energy industry leaders keep workers in touch with what was going on, as confidence in the offshore helicopter industry suffered in the wake of the tragedy
But he insisted it was important that action was only taken once the full facts of Friday’s crash off Shetland were available.
“I think we in the industry have got a role to play in being open with our communications as much as we can, but we are faced with a very difficult situation,” he said.
“Nobody knows yet what happened in this latest incident. We are still waiting for the reports and we must wait for those reports. Speculation now is not a good idea. Let us wait to hear what the true facts are and when we are appraised of the true facts, then we can take concrete action.
“But until we know those facts, unfortunately, there is very little we can do.”
Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, Hampshire all lost their lives in Friday’s accident after their Super Puma AS332 L2 crashed two miles off the Shetland coast.
Super Puma flights to and from UK offshore installations have been suspended, prompting a meeting of oil and gas industry chiefs today to discuss the impact on platform workers.
Webb, in Aberdeen for Oil and Gas UK’s report into the future of the offshore industry, will be back north next week in his role as chairman of the Offshore Europe conference.
And he admits he expects the mood at the four-day event to have been changed by the tragedy off Shetland.
“People will come to Offshore Europe mindful of what has just happened here,” he said.
“This is a very close-knit industry and nobody going will be insensitive to that fact. At the same time Offshore Europe is an event that is looking out towards the next 50 years – those are a very important 50 years for people that work in this industry, and I would say in this country. It’s important we carry on thinking about the future and I think in that regard Offshore Europe is an important event.
“But I do think you can expect people to be sensitive to what has happened here, and will proceed accordingly.”
Watch our full video interview with Malcolm Webb below:
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