BP criticised for inadequate training procedures on North Sea installations

More revelations of safety lapses on BP installations – this time in its UK operations – have emerged just as outgoing chief executive Tony Hayward (pictured) prepares to face a grilling by MPs on the risks of deepwater drilling.

Following separate Freedom of Information Act requests by the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times, both newspapers published reports yesterday (14 September) on evidence of the oil giant’s lack of attention to basic safety matters at several of its installations in the North Sea.

The Telegraph obtained a letter that was sent last October to BP executives from the HSE, in which the regulator concludes – as a result of an investigation into complaints by workers on the Clair rig off the Shetlands – that “training of some new personnel to basic safety standards was ineffective”.

The letter goes on to highlight “evidence of a culture among [BP’s] contractor, Seawell – up to senior levels of management – of working outside of procedures, permit, or permit conditions”.

The Telegraph also revealed that these allegations were “strongly refuted” by BP; nevertheless it did report back to the HSE that its processes had been reviewed and improved by November of last year. Seawell told the paper that the HSE investigations did not result in any enforcement action being taken against it, and that it has the highest regard for health and safety.

Inadequate training of personnel was also cited in offshore inspection records obtained by the Financial Times. Inspectors from the Department of Energy and Climate Change had found that BP had not complied with rules for regular training of offshore operatives on how to respond to incidents, or carried out adequate oil-spill exercises.

Again, BP responded to the DECC to say it had rectified the situation and was now in full compliance with the rules on oil-spill exercises.

The revelations come just as the Energy and Climate Change Committee is about to question Tony Hayward as part of its inquiry into deepwater drilling in the UK, in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster earlier this year. The committee, chaired by Conservative MP Tim Yeo, has already questioned Paul King, MD of the North Sea operations of Transocean (the drilling contractor involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion).

Mr Yeo told the Telegraph that training of North Sea staff will be a key area of interest. He said: “There are some extremely important aspects of training that do need improving.” The head of the HSE’s offshore division, Steve Walker, added that training is a “pretty central part of major-hazard control”.

In BP’s own report of its internal investigation into the Deepwater Horizon incident, personnel competence was one of 25 areas recommended for action if another Deepwater Horizon is to be prevented.

See also Paul Verrico and Kevin Elliott’s SHP feature on the Deepwater Horizon incident and what would happen if a similar disaster occurred in the UK.