The offshore oil and gas industry was warned about its safety record last night after a damning report revealed there nearly 100 major oil and gas leaks from UK platforms in the past year.
Just months after the huge BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the number of potentially dangerous hydrocarbon releases in British waters had reached a five-year high.
And the number of major injuries suffered by workers on British rigs soared from 30 to 50 in 12 months.
But it is the number of leaks – each with the potential to trigger a disaster like that of Piper Alpha – which caused most alarm.
The provisional total between April 1, 2009, and March 31 this year was 85, against 61 over the previous year. In total there were 443 “dangerous occurrences” which included equipment failures and well problems.
Steve Walker, head of HSE’s offshore division, said companies now needed to “up their game”.
He said: “This year’s overall health and safety picture is simply not good enough.
“The industry has shown it can do better, and it must do in future. I am particularly disappointed, and concerned, that major and significant hydrocarbon releases are up by more than a third on last year. This is a key indicator of how well the offshore industry is managing its major accident potential, and it really must up its game to identify and rectify the root causes of such events.”
He added: “We will continue to take a tough line on companies who put their workers at risk. The challenge to improve safety will be ever greater as more offshore installations exceed their original design life.”
Jake Molloy, regional spokesman for the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), said that every major hydrocarbon release had the potential to cause “another Piper Alpha”.
He added: “After a couple of years of moving in the right direction, to have this upturn is very concerning indeed.
“It is not uncommon to see this kind of increase when we have seen a dip in the oil price. We had a low of $40 a barrel last year and there was a knee-jerk reaction in the industry to shelve and delay work. Whether that is a factor or not, I cannot prove. But it fits with historic data.”
For the third year running, no workers were killed during activities regulated by HSE – but the figures exclude incidents which occur during marine and transport activities, such as the helicopter crash in the North Sea last April which claimed 16 lives.
The combined fatal and major injury rate almost doubled to 192 per 100,000 workers in 2009-10 compared with 106 in 2008-09.
The main causes were slips, trips and falls (26), workers being trapped or struck by moving objects (11), or injuries associated with moving heavy loads (5).
Robert Paterson, director of industry body Oil and Gas UK, said companies must “reflect” on the alarming figures from the HSE.
“The increase in hydrocarbon releases is a concern for the industry,” he said.
“Reducing the number of hydrocarbon releases remains a top priority and is a key focus of the industry’s absolute commitment to continuously improving process safety standards.”
He added: “The HSE figures also show an increase in the number of major injuries and these are all things which we can’t – and won’t – be complacent about.
“The industry will now reflect on these statistics and seek a way forward, by identifying the things which we can do better.”
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Sir Robert Smith said: “The fact that we haven’t had a major incident is welcomed, but these major releases can be the first step towards such incidents. The HSE needs to work with the companies to find out why there has been an increase and address the problems.”
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne announced in June that Britain was doubling the number of inspections of drilling rigs after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing 11 and setting off one of the worst offshore oil spills in history.
Ben Ayliffe of Greenpeace said the HSE report proved all new drilling should be halted until the probe into that disaster is completed.
“This is further evidence, if the government needed it, that there should be a moratorium on new drilling until we know what caused the Deepwater Horizon incident. The government says it is happy with the health and safety regime in place here, but now we have its own safety regulator saying there are serious problems.”
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