Reports shine light on offshore oil and gas health and safety

Fiona Cameron and Rachel Trease of Pinsent Masons were commenting after an overview of the offshore oil and gas sector’s health, safety and environment (HSE) performance for 2022, published last month by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) (52-page / 11MB PDF), found that 2022 was the safest year to work in offshore oil and gas since records began.

According to the report, the total number of process safety-related ‘dangerous occurrences’ reported in 2022 fell 22% to the lowest level recorded. Employers are obliged to report certain dangerous occurrences under the 2013 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

Hydrocarbon releases accounted for the most common form of dangerous occurrences in 2022, with 52 of the 77 releases reportable under RIDDOR. The OEUK’s director of HSE, Mark Wilson, described the number as “unacceptably high” and warned of their potential to lead to loss of life. Dropped objects, well-related incidents, and fires and explosions were among the other common dangerous occurrences reported in 2022, according to the data.

Certain personal safety incidents are also reportable under RIDDOR. These include specified injuries and fatalities, and injuries that result in seven or more days off work. The OEUK said the data shows a “gradual creep upwards of accidents” in recent years, with 72 such incidents recorded in 2022.

“Bone fractures, strains/sprains and lacerations continue to account for majority of accident outcomes, with hands and fingers being the most frequently injured parts of the body,” the report said.

The OEUK said, however, that the UK offshore oil and gas industry compares favourably with European neighbours according to the standardised lost-time injury (LTI) frequency data published by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).

Cameron said: “The OEUK has made clear in its report that the overall health and wellbeing of offshore workers will be a focus of its going forward, not just issues relating to traditional occupational health. Mental health is another focus area, with the body reminding employees that their health and safety duties extend to the area of worker mental health.”

The OEUK report follows on from a report published in October 2023 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (22-page / 1.26MB PDF), which highlighted health and safety risks arising in the context of maintenance work.

There were 1,083 non-compliance issues identified during HSE inspections of offshore oil and gas facilities in 2022, up from 757 in 2021. Of those issues, 158 related to maintenance. Other common non-compliance issues were identified with emergency arrangements, safety critical systems, and in relation to control of work.

Trease said: “It is evident from the number of maintenance non-compliance issues that industry is still grappling with maintenance backlogs resulting from Covid-19 lockdowns. This is reflected in the OEUK’s own data, which found that the overall safety and environmental critical element (SECE) preventative and corrective maintenance backlog decreased just 4% in 2022.”

Cameron said that whilst the HSE did not issue prohibition notices in either 2022 or 2021, the non-compliance areas it identified would inform its future inspections. She said the HSE is “likely to take a dim view of repeat offenders”.

The HSE said: “Delivering and properly prioritising inspections is a high priority activity for HSE in ensuring it implements its major hazard strategy while supporting businesses to grow. Therefore, HSE’s Energy Division Offshore aims to ensure its regulatory activity is proportionate to the risks to people, taking into account the operator’s performance in controlling risks. This means that ED Offshore will inspect higher hazard installations and operators with poorer performance with greater frequency and in greater depth than installations and operators where risks are perceived to be better managed.”

Trease added that the rise in the rate of non-fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers from 2021 to 2022 identified in the HSE’s report should serve as a reminder to employers in the UK offshore oil and gas industry that risk assessments must be subject to proper scrutiny to ensure that health and safety risks are properly managed, and health and safety policies and procedures kept under continuous review. 

Almost half of the injuries suffered by workers in the industry in 2022 were sprains, strains or fractures. The most common kind of accident was slips, trips and falls, followed by injuries sustained while handling, lifting or carrying.