Staying true to the principles established by the Cullen report into the Piper Alpha disaster, while adapting to a changing offshore environment, will be “key to a successful and safe North Sea”.
This was the message from Energy minister Michael Fallon MP, who addressed a parliamentary reception in the House of Commons last night (2 July) to mark the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster.
As well as paying tribute to the 167 men who lost their lives on the North Sea oil rig on 6 July 1988, the parliamentary event, hosted by IOSH, reflected on the Cullen Inquiry and its recommendations, and the progress the industry has made on safety over the last quarter of a century.
Mr Fallon applauded the industry’s “tireless” efforts on safety, but warned that it must overcome new challenges, particularly in respect of ageing infrastructure, as about half of the fixed platforms on the UK Continental Shelf have exceeded their original design life.
Said the minister: “With 20 billion barrels, or more still to be drawn from the UK’s North Sea fields we must never — and I emphasise never — become complacent, where safety is concerned. The continued need to ensure that we have a robust health and safety regime in the North Sea is extremely important and it is a responsibility that is shared by both industry and government. By working together we can prevent future catastrophes like Piper Alpha.”
He continued: “I believe that one of the key challenges the industry, workforce and regulators face today, and longer-term, is how do they stay true to the abiding principles introduced by Lord Cullen, but in a world that is substantially different from that in 1988 and which continues to change and develop at an even faster pace. For example, new technologies have to be adopted and new, inexperienced companies are coming into the UKCS to work.
“Maintaining continuity with those things from the past, which still hold true, but adapting to this ever-changing environment, will be key to a successful and safe North Sea.”
Prior to the minister’s speech, guests heard from Brian Appleton, one of three assessors in the Cullen Inquiry, who recalled some of the stories of the 61 survivors. One man — who had only joined the oil rig six hours before the explosion and who, as a result, had little knowledge of the work environment — decided to jump from the platform, as he felt it was better to die hitting the deck than being burnt alive.
Mr Appleton said during the 21 months of the inquiry, he “contributed more to the sum of human happiness than I did in all my working life”. However, he played down the significance of the roles he, his fellow assessors and Lord Cullen played, stressing that safety management was transformed “not by the inquiry but by the operators and the HSE working together in the direction we had proposed. Those are the organisations that have transformed offshore safety.”
In a message to the politicians present, he added: “The industry and the regulator do face new challenges. Back them politically and they will deliver what is needed — as they have over the past 25 years.”
Commenting on the progress the industry has made since Piper Alpha, Ken Robertson, co-chair of offshore safety initiative Step Change in Safety, pointed out that hydrocarbon releases — a major indicator of safety performance — had fallen by 48 per cent over the last three years. But, stressing that the industry should always have a “chronic unease about current performance”, he also reported that the industry has recently committed to reducing hydrocarbon releases by a further 50 per cent over the next three years.
Richard Jones, IOSH head of policy and public affairs, also spoke at the event and reflected on how the anniversary could give “fresh impetus” to address the new challenges in the North Sea and the offshore industry worldwide.
Said Richard: “This milestone must serve as a reminder of the devastating human and financial consequences of failing to manage health and safety properly and the need to prevent such disasters. These lessons cannot be forgotten in these austere and deregulatory times, nor as we emerge from recession into growth.”
