UK to take on board Deepwater Horizon findings

Offshore staff

LONDON -- Following BP’s report earlier this week into the cause of the Deepwater Horizon accident, Oil & Gas UK says the British offshore sector will scrutinize the conclusions to determine the relevance for activities on the UK continental shelf.

It says the industry already is working with regulators and the trade unions through the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG), established in May.

Trisha O’Reilly, Oil & Gas UK’s communications director, said: “OSPRAG has been undertaking a comprehensive review of industry practices and procedures in the UK and BP’s report will now form an important part of this work going forward. OSPRAG will be keen to identify any relevant lessons for implementation here.

“The UK’s Safety Case regime obliges the industry to examine its existing arrangements in light of incidents around the world and put into action any consequent improvements that can be made. We firmly believe that the UK industry operates under a robust, fit for purpose regulatory regime with almost 7,000 wells having been safety drilled over the last 20 years.”

09/10/2010