Cloak of secrecy surrounding North Sea oil and gas leaks to be scrapped

THE government’s health and safety watchdog is poised to begin “naming and shaming” the oil companies responsible for potentially catastrophic releases of oil and gas in the North Sea.

Until now, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has only published an annual report containing a set of statistics, detailing the “dangerous occurrences” offshore – including hydrocarbon releases, weather damage and equipment failure.

But Steve Walker, the head of the HSE’s offshore division, revealed yesterday at Offshore Europe – the industry’s biennial showcase – that the possibility of identifying the companies responsible for leaks and escapes was being discussed with representatives of Oil & Gas UK, the pan-industry trade body.

He stressed there had been a “significant reduction” in hydrocarbon releases since a peak in escapes and spills in 2000, but said the number of releases had plateaued in the past five years with very little change.

He said there was now a need for the industry to “up its game” to protect offshore workers and its reputation. Mr Walker said: “There has to be a step-change in the way in which the industry approaches hydrocarbon releases. But there is no silver bullet. Every duty-holder has to have a bespoke solution for their own problems.”

There was, he said, a need for a greater sharing of information among companies about both their successes and failures in grappling with the problems of oil and gas releases. Mr Walker revealed that, only last week, he had been in discussions with Oil and Gas UK about the possibility of publicly identifying the companies involved in oil and gas escapes for the first time.

The HSE was considering making the data on gas and oil releases “attributable rather than anonymised”.

Mr Walker said: “I think we have shied away from the temptation of sort of naming and shaming within the industry. I think it is a very sensitive issue for the industry. But there is a continued drive for us to be even more transparent – not just from the media, but also from the European Commission. It is a sensitive issue and we are going to change that. We are gathering views from the industry and I think they are pretty supportive of that. Certainly, that would help us – if the industry say they don’t mind.”

Robert Paterson, the health and safety director with Oil & Gas UK, said he was in favour of great transparency about oil and gas releases in the North Sea.

He said: “I wouldn’t see it as naming and shaming. I would see it very much as being more open. And by being open we can share more information between our member companies and help those who are in a poorer position to achieve higher standards.” Mr Paterson continued: “The industry is less than a year into the three-year challenge it set itself to reduce the number of hydrocarbon releases by 50 per cent.

“The HSE’s most recent offshore safety statistics showed we have managed to reduce the number of major and significant releases significantly in the last year – down to 73 from 85 the previous year. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s clear that information-sharing and learning can help play their part.”

Earlier, delegates at a breakfast seminar were told by Eric Sirgo – general manager of operations at Chevron Upstream Europe – that hydrocarbon releases showed a “failure in performance” by both oil companies and the regulators.

He continued: “These are very difficult things to change overnight. If you think you are going to get on top of this by putting together a procedure and sending that by e-mail, it is not going to happen.”