There has been a sharp increase in the overall number of UK North Sea hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) over the past year, though the number of major and significant incidents did drop significantly.
The HSE records that there were 115 HCRs in 2013/14. This was an increase of 19 from the 96 HCRs in 2012/13.
This is a reversal of a downward trend of the prior four years.
Despite the 20% rise in oil and gas escapes for the period April 1 2013 to March 31 2014 being attributable to what the Health & Safety Executive classes as minor, the regulator’s Energy Division chief, Susan Mackenzie warned that the offshore industry must get its act together and sort out this critical safety issue.
“I’d hope these latest statistics act as a wake-up call to industry and I expect to see a reduction in the coming year,” she said. “As we know HCRs are a primary precursor to fire and explosion offshore.”
Oil & Gas UK was quick to rebuff the Mackenzie warning.
Health, safety and employment issues director Robert Paterson said: “I am disappointed at the Health and Safety Executive’s reference to these statistics as a wake-up call, as this implies the oil and gas industry has been slumbering.”
Overall HCRs had dropped by nearly half (188 to 96) in the three years from April 1 2010 to March 31 2013.
Industry then set itself a new target to reduce these by a further 50% (from 96 to 48) in the following three years from April 1 2013 to March 31 2016.
Mining the HSE’s latest data, we can report that the number of minor HCRs rose from 50 to 77 in 2013/14.
But the number of major and significant HCRs dropped from 46 to 38 in 2012/13. Significant and major HCRs has dropped year-on-year for the last five years.
In 2012-13, there were nine major releases versus three for 2013/14.
The number of significant releases has been slashed almost 60% over the last five years.
Mrs Mackenzie continued: “It is clear that while hydrocarbon release (HCR) performance has improved significantly over the past decade, the rise in HCRs in 2013/14 following a reduction in the previous four years is concerning,”
“Late last year I asked the offshore industry to review its current approach to the prevention of HCRs in the light off this potentially worrying reversal of the industry’s improving record.
“While there is no obvious reason why the number of reported HCRs has increased, industry needs to address these increases and investigate common causes or underlying issues which need to be addressed.”
Though defending the track record of the offshore industry further, Mr Paterson acknowledged that the increase in the number of hydrocarbon releases was “disappointing” but that the sector was determined to deal with the problem.
“The decrease in major and significant releases (which has steadily continued over the last five years) is however encouraging,” he said.
“I also see the increase in the number of minor releases as a positive indication of the extra vigilance of the industry to identify small leaks, and acting before these become more significant, with potential for escalation.”
“If we continue to be vigilant and apply current good industry practices diligently, then I firmly believe the numbers will respond to our actions and we will see a reducing trend once more.
“Oil & Gas UK fully supports Step Change in Safety in its collaborative efforts with HSE, the trade unions and workforce in understanding the underlying causes of all loss of primary containment events so we can all share and learn from these and hence, strive to achieve the release reduction target.”
North Sea trade union leader, Jake Molloy of RMT appeared unfazed by the figures.
He stressed the reduction in significant releases, reinforcing this by saying that April and May have seen further improvement on the same time last year.
Whilst welcoming the increasing emphasis on training members of the offshore workforce on how to keep an eye out for hydrocarbon leaks, he said too that this still new-found reporting power had yet to mature.
Those involved would over time learn to differentiate between inconsequential evidence … such as a lubricating oil seep and loss of produced hydrocarbons.
“I advocate mining down into the data collected by the HSE to help with this process of learning that the real focus has to be on safety-critical elements with the potential to escalate.”
While welcoming the HSE’s drive to eliminate hydrocarbon leaks offshore, Molloy said the setting of specific reduction targets (currently 50%) had to be tempered by commonsense.
“Targets are good but they’re not the be-all and end-all.”
Molloy added that there were still North Sea operators that were reluctant to share safety-relates incidents and learnings and this had to be sorted out. He added too that there was still a laxness among certain managers towards safety.
“We need greater collaboration and sharing to enable better learning and the elimination of incidents with the potential to escalate.”
Under Mrs Mackenzie, the HSE has further toughened its stance on North Sea safety.
In December last year, she wrote to offshore operators expressing her concern over the increasing trend in HCRs and asked them to respond in writing on steps they were taking to improve performance. The Energy Division is currently assessing the responses to decide on the next steps.
In March the HSE published the Offshore Oil & Gas Sector Strategy 2014 – 2017. A core aim is to slash hydrocarbon releases in a systematic way and the HSE says it and industry are now working to develop the programme.
In April, OGUK published revised guidance on the reporting of RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) hydrocarbon releases. Its aim is to improve consistency in determining the reportability of HCRs.
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