The son of a worker kidnapped in Libya has spoken of his shock at the incident. The man's father Fausto Piano was taken earlier this week along with his three colleagues Gino Pollicardo, Salvatore Failla and Filippo Calcagno. The men, who work for Bonatti construction company, were kidnapped near an industrial complex owned by energy company Eni in the western city of Mellitah.
The number of oil and gas leaks occurring offshore is at its lowest ever level, a new report says. Injury rates were also lower than in many other sectors, including construction, transport and manufacturing, according to industry body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK)’s Health and Safety Report 2015, published today.
A tornado in Texas has left three people injured after hitting a natural gas drilling rig in Texas. According to reports, one victim suffered minor injuries, another had non-life threatening injuries to his face and a third had suffered an injury to their abdomen.
More than 80 crew were evacuated from an offshore support vessel after a blaze broke out in its generator room. Thirty-five firefighters were called to Peterhead harbour after the alarm was raised on board the 426ft Fugro Symphony. Two units from Peterhead, two from Ellon and one from Maud went to the scene. A specialist foam unit from Aberdeen was also called and three firefighters wearing breathing apparatus along with a member of the ship’s own fire team pinpointed the blaze in the ship’s generator room on one of its lower decks.
Regulators have proposed strict new safety rules for helicopters flying to unmanned oil and gas platforms in the North Sea. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) wants to tighten up procedures for trips to the 116 installations which are normally unattended offshore. The newly-announced plans would mean that helicopters would only be able to go to such platforms if they have full capability to fly safely on one engine following loss of power of its other engine.
The North Sea oil and gas industry raised a toast to its champions of safety at an awards ceremony in Aberdeen yesterday. Six awards were handed out at this year’s UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards to people and companies who went the extra mile to keep employees out of harm’s way. Vic Retalic, HSE and security manager of Premier Oil, was recognised for his creative approach to communicating health and safety messages, which includes the use of cartoons. He took the Safety Leadership Award home from the event at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).
The PSA (Petroleum Safety Authority Norway) has warned a man who fell overboard from a mobile drilling unit could have been killed. The safety body has been investigating how a worker fell through a gap directly into the sea 13.5metres below from the drilling unit Scarabeo 8 in February this year. The incident had occurred when subsea personnel were preparing to bring the blowout preventer (BOP) back into service after about four weeks of maintenance. Two subsea engineers, who were working in the moonpool area at the time of the incident, entered the BOP carrier used to move he unit between the well centre and the parked position.
A search for three missing workers following a fire on a Pemex oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico is still underway. The incident, which happened last Wednesday, killed four people and left dozens of other workers injured. The state-owned company said repairs have begun to resume production at the facility while the search for the missing workers continues. Pemex said it expects it will meet its output target of 646,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the region despite it being shut down on the platform following the fire.
A fire on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving four workers dead, was the most read story on Energy Voice this week. The incident happened on Wednesday, as 302 workers were evacuated and dozens were taken to hospital to be treated. Mexican state-owned Pemex said the fire on the Abkatun Permanente platform in the Bay of Campeche had since been put out. One of the workers killed was from Pemex, while another was a contractor working for services firm Cotemar. Two others killed in the fire have yet to be identified.
An oil worker has died and more than a dozen others have been injured after a fire broke out on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident happened on the Pemex operated Abkatun Alpha platform in the Bay of Campeche earlier today. A spokeswoman for Pemex confirmed one person had been killed while 16 others had also been hurt. Two of the workers are believed to be in a serious condition.
An energy industry safety group has moved to allay fears that offshore workers could be left stranded at sea if they don’t comply with new rules for helicopter flights. In line with size restrictions that come into force today, passengers need to have had their shoulders measured so that they can be assigned a seat next to a window large enough for them to crawl through in the event of a ditching. On Monday, an Aberdeen-based workplace healthcare provider, RPS, said workers whose measurements have not been recorded will be allocated an “extra broad” seat by default. It went on to warn that unmeasured workers might find that there is not enough room for them, as there are a limited number of XBR seats on a helicopter.
International Well Control Forum (IWCF) has announced a workshop and networking event for Aberdeen next month ahead of Offshore Well Intervention Europe 2015. The event will take place on Tuesday April 14, and will focus on the best practices for global safety, new initiatives that are being launched to drive up well control competency, and operators, contractors and service companies will be on hand to explain how to get more involved.
The UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards finalists are ready to be announced exclusively on Energy Voice. Established in 2010, the awards celebrate the work done by staff and companies to make offshore operations ever safer. The event is jointly organised by Step Change in Safety and Oil & Gas UK. Last year, nine awards were presented to companies and individuals for their dedication to health and safety in the offshore industry.
An investigation has been launched by the Petroleum Safety Authority in Norway over an incident involving a dropped object on the West Venture drilling facility. The incident happened earlier this week in the Norwegian North Sea.
An offshore worker has been airlifted to hospital from a North Sea platform following a medical emergency. The crewman was working on the Tiffany platform which is 155 miles north east of Aberdeen. A Bond 1 helicopter from the Miller Platform flew to the Tiffany platform after the alarm was raised.
A submersible drilling unit which drifted towards a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant has been moved away from the infrastructure. Woodside Petroleum temporarily shut down its $15billion plan after the Atwood Osprey rig drifted near to its flowlines. The move was made after the rig, which had been drilling at Chevron's Wheatstone LNG project, was torn from its moorings in a cyclone.
Offshore training provider Survivex has appointed a business development director as it looks to attract international clients in “difficult times for the sector”. Chris Bews has been promoted to business development manager, leading the sales team and meeting pre-defined revenue targets. Before joining the Aberdeen firm in 2011 he held an account management position for an electrical and engineering consumables supply company.
Oil at $50 a barrel or less is having a huge impact on the North Sea industry. Thousands of jobs have been shed already or are vulnerable. Cutbacks are to the fore . . . capex and opex and while it is claimed that safety will never be compromised, offshore workers are worried and, as should be clear from this exclusive Q&A with Susan Mackenzie, director of the Hazardous Installations Directorate, the HSE will be uncompromising. Mackenzie: Our basic approach won’t change. The key objectives in our strategy including asset integrity, competence, workforce engagement and leadership are as important now as they have ever been. Operators and contractors must still control risks to their workers, especially those risks that could give rise to a major accident. Failure to do so threatens workers, production and profitability. My inspectors will continue to focus on major accident risk control and take action if they find standards are inadequate. I want to see safe production maintained, and I believe my inspectors have a key role in stimulating the industry to achieve this.
The deadline for this year’s entries into the Oil & Gas UK Industry Safety Awards has been extended. Following a request from potential entrants, the closing date for submissions has been extended to Friday, February 27. The award categories include Safety Leadership, Innovation in Safety and Workforce Engagement.
The Environment Secretary has called on the UK Government to review the provision of emergency tugs after several shipping incidents in Scottish waters. Richard Lochhead urged Westminster to extend funding for emergency towing vehicles beyond March 2016 during a debate at Holyrood on Scotland’s draft national marine plan. The move follows the grounding of the Lysblink Seaways cargo ship at Ardnamurchan Point yesterday and the overturning of the Cemfjord, which sank in the Pentland Firth with eight sailors on board last month. In a third incident last October, the Danish ship MV Parida carrying radioactive nuclear waste caught fire and began drifting in the Moray Firth.
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.
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.
A hearing over legal action for access to voice recorder data from accident investigators following a fatal helicopter crash is to be held. Four people – three men and a woman – died when a Super Puma crashed off Shetland in 2013. Sarah Darnley, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, from Winchester, all lost their lives.
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.