Maersk have launched a new training facility in Kingswells, providing additional training opportunities to oil and gas workers in Aberdeen. Launched this week, the centre aims to complement the training facilities that already exist in the north-east, including the survival centre in Portlethen and the boat training facility in Stonehaven.
BW Offshore said three remaining crew missing after an explosion had been recovered. The announcement means the total number of fatalities following the incident stands at nine workers. Last month an explosion occurred on Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de Sao Mateus.
A map of the world has been created to help keep oil and gas companies updated on regions that pose the most risks to their staff. International SOS has released its Health Risk Map 2015, which helps oil companies, non governmental organisations, educational institutions and governments understand health threats around the world. For Aberdeen-based oil companies in particular, it helps employers ensure that their staff are safe ahead of overseas assignments.
A verdict will be recorded later in the inquest of British victims of a bloody terrorist siege at an Algerian gas plant. Six Britons and a UK-based Colombian were among 40 hostages who were killed by al Qaida-linked Islamists during a four-day stand-off in January 2013 at the In Amenas complex. Assistant Coroner for West Sussex Nicholas Hilliard QC will hand down a verdict and narrative conclusions at the Old Bailey this afternoon. At the start of the inquest last year, the Recorder of London had said: “Each was wholly innocent of events which unfolded when a group of heavily armed went into the In Amenas gas facility. “Forty innocent people lost their lives, such was the scale of events. Each and every death is a wholly separate tragedy and leaves family and friends devastated and bereft.”
An investigation is underway by Talisman Sinopec over an alleged dropped object on the Claymore platform in the North Sea. It is understood a cable snapped as a 22-tonne blowout preventer was being lifted late last week in what has been described as a "near-miss". Production was temporarily shut down as a temporary measure on the Claymore platform, which is 100 miles north east of Aberdeen, following the incident.
Safety remains an "absolute priority" one year on from the publication of a report addressing issues on offshore helicopter flights. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)'s CAT-1145 report was released on February 20, 2014 and listed 61 actions and recommendations aimed at addressing accident prevention for workers travelling offshore by helicopter. It comes one month after the CAA said there is still work to be done to improve flight safety.
Staff have been taken off the Ninian Central platform following a suspected drinking water contamination. The platform, which is operated by CNR International, is 249miles from Aberdeen. There are 192 personnel onboard the Ninian platform.
Production at Statoil’s Gudrun oil and gas field has been halted following a suspected gas leak. The company said it was unsure when the platform, in the Norwegian North Sea, would resume output.
BW Offshore said six people are now confirmed to have died following an explosion onboard an FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading ) unit in Brazil. Three crew members are still missing following the incident one week ago with search and rescue operations continuing. Another five personnel are continuing to receive medical attention in hospital, the company said.
An investigation has been launched after a North Sea worker was exposed to radiation. The incident happened 145 miles east of Aberdeen on the Lomond Installation. The worker, who is employed by offshore firm Sparrows, has undergone medical evaluations both offshore and onshore and has been confirmed as safe from any potential harm.
An offshore was seriously injured after a gas cylinder shot through the air and hit him on the leg last November.
Emergency services have been called to Aberdeen International Airport due to fears for an incoming helicopter. The Bristow EC225 Super Puma aircraft was due in at around 10.05am and has triggered a response from police, fire and rescue and ambulance teams. There were 19 passengers on-board the aircraft along with two crew members.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said improvements have been made to offshore helicopter flights, but there is still more to be done. The body said many of the safety objectives it had set last year had already been met such as emergency breathing systems and cancelling flights in the most extreme sea conditions. It said the safety of those who travel in offshore helicopter flight is “paramount”.
A Super Puma has made an emergency landing at Aberdeen International Airport. The CHC Super Puma L2 helicopter had two crew on board and no passengers when the incident happened. The flight had been coming into Aberdeen when it made a request for priority landing.
Total has signed its first global agreement with IndustriALL Global Union as it aims to strengthen its commitment as a responsible employer. The agreement includes gender equality, health and safety and insurance coverage.
An investigation has been launched after a suspected gas leak in the North Sea. Oil major Shell, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will review the incident, which happened earlier this week close to the Curlew Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO). Specialist divers from the Bibby Polaris Dive Support Vessel (DSV) are currently on site to close two vales which will isolate the vessel from the Fulmar pipeline.
An investigation has been launched into a fire at a US refinery operated by Canadian oil firm Husky Energy. The Husky Lima Refinery produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel , residual fuels and petrochemical feedstocks which produces two billion gallons of refined petroleum products every year. A spokesman said the company is investigation the cause and impact on operations.
Statoil has flown home more than 100 workers from seven installations in the North Sea. The company said the measure had been taken as a precaution due to "limitations" to lifeboats on board. The staff are expected to resume work this weekend and will be flown back out to work.
More than 60,000 offshore workers are to have the span of their shoulders measured ahead of new regulations on body size coming into force in April. Industry group Step Change in Safety has revealed its measurement strategy for helicopter passengers travelling to and from offshore installations that will ensure all can escape from windows in the case of accidents. Workers whose shoulders measure greater than 22in will be classified as “extra broad” (XBR) and will be required to sit in a helicopter seat that’s closest window is compatible with their shoulder size.
Industry group Step Change in Safety has revealed its measurement strategy for helicopter passengers travelling to and from offshore installations. The move comes after Step Change announced last year that passengers will be measured by the width of their shoulders for flights. Those whose shoulders measure greater than 22inches (55.9cm) will be classified as extra broad.
A North Sea helicopter was forced to return to an airport after it was struck by lightning on its way to an oil platform, it has emerged. The Bond-operated EC225 was carrying 11 passengers and two crew at the time off the incident, off the coast of Aberdeen. The helicopter has now been taken out of service until it is examined by engineers to see if the aircraft was damaged during the lightning strike.
A leak on a major Russian oil pipeline has caused a spill in the Black Sea. Officials said stormy weather had hampered efforts to assess the incident.
Oil workers have been evacuated from a North Sea rig after a power outage. Operator Marathon Oil said all non-essential personnel on the Brae Alpha and Bravo rigs were transferred yesterday. The field is located 155 miles north-east of Aberdeen.
CNOOC’s Nexen unit has shutdown its operations at an oilfield in Yemen due to a security threat. The company made the move because of safety fears related to terrorist group Al Qaeda.
A UK Government minister was under fire last night for refusing to meet the widows of the oil workers who died in the 2013 Super Puma crash. Labour MP Frank Doran said he was “extremely disappointed” Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin had declined an invitation to meet families and the survivors who were on-board the doomed flight. Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, George Allison, 57, from Winchester and Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland died when the aircraft plunged into the sea near Sumburgh in Shetland in August last year.