Oil major BP has been handed an improvement notice after a suspected leak on its ETAP (Eastern Trough Area Project) platform in the North Sea.
The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) has issued an improvement notice following the incident which happened in October last year.
It comes a day after the company said it would be reducing its headcount by 600 staff from its North Sea operations.
BP said the incident had occured after the platform was shut down to enable maintenance work to take place.
The notice from the HSE to BP, said: “You failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable gas from the Mungo riser lift gas line on level 1 of the ETAP PDR platform in the early hours of 1st October 2015.
“The release occurred when you pressurised the riser lift gas line to 60 bar pressure.
“You failed to take appropriate measures to control maintenance activities in that you had previously checked this line section by line walking on the 11th September 2015, following your Turn
Around activities, but had since then conducted pressure testing which involved isolations and related modifications to valve positions in the early hours of the 26th September.
“You failed to adequately record and monitor those isolations and modifications and you fail.”
The company has been told it has until February 29th to compley with the notice.
Last year BP revealed it was investing $1billion in the ETAP field as it looked to secure its future through to 2030.
A spokeswoman for BP said: “As part of our ongoing $1bn programme of investment in ETAP to secure the life of the field until 2030 and beyond, the platform was shut down to enable maintenance, integrity and renewal work to take place.
“During the re-start of the platform, and at the point at which gas was reintroduced to the system, a leak was identified and quickly stopped. An investigation was immediately launched to understand the cause of this incident.
“As we respond to the current business environment and work to ensure a competitive long-term future for BP in the North Sea, safety continues to be our number one priority. Our ongoing programme of investment across the region in both new infrastructure the renewal of existing assets, demonstrates our commitment to keeping safety at the forefront of everything we do. We will never compromise on the safe operation of our assets.
“We are committed to complying with the HSE’s improvement notice as a priority.”
A spokesman for the HSE said: “An investigation is underway conducted by specialist inspectors and we are aware that BP is conducting its own. BP has until 29 February to comply with the notice.”
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