Labour praises quick thinking of platform workers
Labour praised the "quick thinking" of workers on the North Sea's Elgin platform yesterday for preventing an even more serious incident.
Health, Safety & Environment
Call for more evacuations
A trade union has renewed calls for the evacuation of up to 200 more people working within a few miles of the North Sea platform at the centre of a gas leak.
Total find source of gas leak
Total said yesterday that it had found the source of its leak on the Elgin platform - but has yet to decide how to stop it.
Firms should fix damage
Europe wants to change compensation rules to make offshore companies liable for environmental damage they cause at sea.
Timeline: How events unfolded over the past week
Sunday: Total launches an emergency evacuation of about 200 staff from the Elgin/Franklin platforms and the Rowan Viking drilling rig after gas is found to be leaking following a "well control problem". Initially 27 workers are left but all are later evacuated. A three-mile no-fly zone is put in place around the platforms.
Total says it’s found leak
French energy company Total has said it has identified the source of its leak on the Elgin platform in the north Sea.
Offers of help to battle incident
First Minister Alex Salmond said last night that public organisations had met to discuss how they could help Total stop the gas leak on the Elgin platform.
Plea to come clean on leak
The Scottish environment secretary has called for "absolute transparency" over the gas leak on the Elgin platform.
Total ponders sending own teams to restricted area
Total is considering sending its own teams into the exclusion zones around the Elgin platform despite fears it could explode.
Reporting system reveals extent of previous leaks
A hydrocarbon release (HCR) reporting system was set up in 1992 by the Health and Safety Executive following a recommendation made by Lord Cullen in his report on the Piper Alpha disaster. HCR information is regarded within the industry as an offshore installation management performance indicator.
Swift evacuation shows safety regime works
The swift evacuation from the Elgin platform shows the UK offshore safety regime works and should not be changed by Brussels, an MP said last night.
Firms join forces to fund mobile blood bus
An Aberdeen firm which specialises in workplace health and nutrition is working with an oil and gas service group to raise funds for a new mobile blood-donation bus for the north and north-east
Safety awards finalists
Trade body Oil and Gas UK and Step Change in Safety have announced the finalists for next month's UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards.
Crane safety gets lift
Marine personnel-transfer specialist Reflex Marine said yesterday it would present new technology at an exhibition in Aberdeen next month.
Hazard reporting shake-up would cost industry £146m
Preparing new major-hazard reports in proposed EU offshore safety regulations would cost the industry £146million, it has been estimated.
Emergency shutdown at Statoil’s Statfjord C
Production was shut down at a North Sea platform today after a toxic gas leak.
Arctic oil spill response plans ‘guesswork’
Oil companies yesterday defended their plans for how they would respond to a oil spill in the Arctic in the face of accusations they were just "guesswork".
Risks to workers are too great
Oil firms should not be sending workers to places as dangerous as Nigeria, a north-east union official said last night.
Concern over EU offshore safety move
The UK Government fears that EU plans to shake up offshore safety rules will increase the risk of a major North Sea "disaster".
Oil giant could tap into £8bn fund to settle gulf claims
BP could tap into an £8billion fund to settle claims filed by a group of fishermen and businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The UK oil giant is due to go on trial in the US with two contractors on Monday to find who was responsible for the huge spill in April 2010, but it could agree compensation before the case starts.
Macondo partners ‘facing billions in fines’
BP and Anadarko Petroleum have been exposed to billions of dollars in potential fines after the judge who will oversee the Deepwater Horizon court case ruled they were liable for civil damages under federal pollution laws.
Safety report on pipeline was overdue by three years
An inspection report on the safety of a pipeline at the centre of the UK's biggest oil leak in a decade was overdue by three years, officials revealed.
Netherlands shares safety concerns
The Netherlands shares the UK's concerns about EU plans to shake up safety regulations in the oil and gas industry.
Industry unites against EU plans for North Sea safety
Oil and gas firms and their workers united against EU plans to seize regulatory control of the North Sea industry yesterday and warned it could damage the UK's safety regime.
Drilling firm ‘is not exempt’
Oil major BP said yesterday that contractor Transocean could not avoid responsibility for its part in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.