HSE RECEIVES AWARD FOR FACILITATING EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL OFFSHORE REGULATORS

HSE press release E067:03 - 25 April 2003

Taf Powell, head of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Offshore Division (OSD) is to receive an International Leadership Award from the US Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS).

Mr Powell will receive the honour at the MMS Industry Awards Program in Houston, Texas next week. The Award is granted in recognition of his outstanding leadership of OSD in facilitating the exchange of information among offshore regulatory agencies.

The MMS Award committee were particularly impressed with HSE's involvement in encouraging co-operation on offshore safety and pollution prevention issues, co-ordinating participation in the development of international standards, co-operating on safety audits and research projects, compiling incident data, exchanging training information and discussing materials and equipment issues.

MMS Director Johnnie Burton said "The HSE shares our commitment to offshore safety achievement. We benefited greatly from exchanging information and ideas, and jointly addressing common concerns. MMS regulates an international industry. By co-operating with other regulatory agencies on safety issues, we can facilitate international commerce while minimizing risks to personnel and the environment."

Other International Leadership Award recipients next week include Gunnar Berge, Magne Ognedal and Odd Bjerre Finnestad of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Notes to editors

1. HSE's Offshore Division (OSD) ensures that risks to people who work in the oil and gas extraction and diving industries are properly controlled. OSD's regulatory tasks range from providing advice and guidance on operational and technical matters to working closely with industry on reducing releases of hydrocarbon. OSD has staff in four locations across the UK in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Norwich and London.

OSD work includes:

• visiting offshore installations regularly;
• enforcement of offshore health safety and welfare regulations;
• inspecting and auditing offshore operations and onshore oil and gas well operations;
• enforcing diving legislation, both off and onshore;
• investigating incidents, dangerous occurrences and complaints;
• assessing safety cases and other notifications, eg well operations and some construction operations;
• providing technical information and statistical intelligence and
• liaising with industry and workforce representatives.

2. The Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses more than $5 billion per year in revenues from federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.

3.The 2003 Industry Awards Program and Luncheon are scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 2003, at The Westin Galleria, Houston, Texas. This is the 20th year that MMS has honoured outstanding organisations for their exemplary safety and pollution prevention records.

4. If you have any questions or need more information concerning the event please contact Debbie O'Brien at (00 1) 703 787 1579, deborah.o'brien@mms.gov

5. For MMS press enquiries please contact Rebecca Phipps on (00 1) 208 3985, becky.phipps@mms.gov

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