Annual offshore injury figures continue improvement

Date:

1 August 2012

The number of offshore oil and gas leaks that could potentially lead to a major incident continues to fall, new safety statistics revealed today.

But the head of offshore safety at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned industry not to be complacent following the encouraging figures.

Steve Walker, the head of HSE's Offshore Safety Division (OSD), welcomed the continuing decline in hydrocarbon releases but expressed regret at the first work related deaths to be recorded in HSE's statistics for the offshore sector since 2007.

Provisional figures released in HSE's Offshore Safety Statistics Bulletin revealed a reduction in the total number of major and significant hydrocarbon releases in 2011/12 to 52 compared to the previous year's total of 73. The number of minor hydrocarbon releases also fell from 93 to 75. In both cases these were the lowest figures in the last ten years.

Head of OSD, Steve Walker said:

"While we welcome the continued downward trend, industry will need continued focus to achieve its target of halving the number of hydrocarbon releases by April 2013. The major gas release from the Elgin platform at the end of March was a salutary reminder of the potential consequences that such releases can present

"The deaths of offshore workers are always unacceptable. Although those in 2011/12 are the first ones to be recorded in our statistics since 2007, they are a tragic reminder that this is a high risk industry and safety must remain a priority."

Despite the two fatalities, the combined fatal and injury rate fell to 131 per 100,000 workers in 2011/12 from 152 in 2010/11 - the second lowest rate over the last 10 years.

There were 425 reported dangerous occurrences, seven fewer than last year - with equipment failure accounting for 30 percent, hydrocarbon releases 29.9 percent, well-related incidents made up 10.1 percent and fire offshore 6.8 percent.

The annual report also contains figures collected by Oil & Gas UK monitoring key performance in third party verification of safety critical equipment and the level of outstanding safety critical maintenance.

Steve Walker added:

"While these industry figures showed a significant reduction in the number of times independent verification identified serious matters of concern offshore, inroads to reducing the backlog of safety critical maintenance show little movement. This requires sustained improvement of planned safety critical maintenance programmes. The industry needs to address this area and ensure issues are tackled in a timely manner."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. The offshore statistics bulletin is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/statistics/stat1112.pdf
3. The Offshore Safety Statistics Bulletin is designed to show provisional headline figures before a more detailed statistical analysis is published in December. It records fatalities, reportable injuries, occurrence of ill health and dangerous occurrences reported to HSE between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
4. Hydrocarbon releases are RIDDOR reportable dangerous occurrences (RIDDOR Schedule 2, paragraph 73) occurring on an installation that take the form of unintended petroleum hydrocarbon releases from within the contained process operating system that cause fire or explosion, or require action to prevent or limit the consequences of a potential fire or explosion, or have the potential to cause death or major injury. Liquid releases do not necessarily result in a spill to sea and frequently are contained entirely or partially within the installation.
5. One fatality was a confirmed fall from height, while the second fatality occurred during a diving operation in 2011/12 but this recorded death should be considered provisional as the investigation is continuing.
6. On 25 March 2012 a major gas release occurred on the Total E&P UK Ltd (Total) Elgin offshore wellhead platform. Personnel on the platform and the adjacent Rowan Viking jack-up drilling rig were all subsequently evacuated without injury. The well was successfully 'killed' on 15 May 2012 and the gas release stopped with mud pumped via the West Phoenix drilling rig. HSE's investigation continues.

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office