Repsol has been told to clean up its act over poor toilet facilities on its Arbroath platform which have been “in desperate need of replacing” since 2020.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served Repsol Resources UK with an improvement notice to remedy the lacklustre restroom aboard the installation.
According to HSE, Repsol failed to provide suitable, sufficient, and necessary lavatories and washbasins in the vicinity of work areas.
It noted that during its inspection of the Arbroath installation between 21-23 February this year, only one external toilet was available for use by the 27 personnel on-board.
“This single toilet is not deemed suitable for the use by 27 persons or the maximum POB of 33,” HSE said.
It added that the external toilet was sited in or next to a permitted smoking area, resulting in non-smokers being exposed to tobacco smoke.
HSE noted that Repsol knew about the poor facilities on board the platform in 2020 and assured HSE of its plans to improve the area, which has not been completed.
“There is only a single external toilet on Arbroath and is in desperate need of replacing,” the company reported to HSE. “This is in need of repair/upgrade”.
A Repsol UK spokesperson told Energy Voice: “We can confirm we have received an Improvement Notice from the HSE requesting we undertake a review of sanitary facilities on the Arbroath installation.
“We will implement the necessary improvements to meet the requirements of the Improvement Notice.
“Safe operations in all company activities are a priority and we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all personnel who work on our sites.”
Repsol has until the end of August to comply with the order.
Arbroath Platform
The Arbroath installation is a production platform on Block 22/17s east of Aberdeen in the Central North Sea.
The platform was installed in 1989 and commenced production drilling in early 1990, with production start-up following later that year.
The position of the toilet near smoking rooms, and the exposure of occupants to second-hand smoke, reflects an ongoing debate about smoking on oil platforms.
Some companies, such as Harbour Energy, have been considering the possibility to ban smoking from their assets.
Official statistics say that 30% of offshore workers are smokers, though those could be closer to 50%.
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