Wednesday 16 September 2009

Oil and gas industry seminar underlines continued commitment to safety

Underlining the industry's continued focus on offshore safety, Oil & Gas UK's process safety seminar on 24 September 2009 will bring together a wide range of companies and organisations, including safety authorities, Oil & Gas UK member companies, and associations from the UK, Norway and worldwide to address issues relating to process safety, looking into the management systems which can protect people and equipment from offshore hazards, accidents and catastrophic failures.  

The one-day event, which will be held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, will enable delegates to hear from a wide spectrum of speakers through presentations and case studies on how they approach process safety issues.

Robert Paterson, Oil & Gas UK's health, safety and employment issues director, said: "The HSE's recent KP3 progress review showed that the industry has made substantial improvements in asset integrity since the 2007 KP3 report. However, as the HSE outlined to us recently, significant challenges remain, and the HSE has questioned the industry's ability to maintain the significant improvement in hydrocarbon release numbers achieved last year. The process safety seminar provides an excellent opportunity for everyone involved in offshore safety, including the regulators, to come together and learn about what is being done to continue to improve the safety of everyone working offshore."

The event will include a presentation by Rick Cohagan, co-chair of Step Change in Safety and managing director of Chevron Upstream Europe who will provide an update on the work of the Step Change in Safety Asset Integrity work group, in particular looking at future projects and how these can help control the number of hydrocarbon leaks on offshore installations. Rick Cohagan said: "In order to effectively address safety issues and concerns, it is important that we not only examine practices in the UK, but also look beyond our shores to share lessons learned with other nations such as Norway and fully understand their approaches to safety. This event will provide delegates with a broad range of information relating to process safety, which is essential in promoting safety offshore."

Also speaking at the event will be Steve Walker, the new head of the HSE's Offshore Division, who will outline the industry's response to KP3 and the regulator's plans for the future.

Topics to be discussed at the event will include the benefits of interactive training in the workplace and natural human strengths and weaknesses which can impact process safety. Delegates will also have the opportunity to learn about past incidents which have shaped the way organisations manage process safety now, and hear from international associations about their experiences, review processes and action plans for the future.

Bookings are open for the seminar which will enable delegates to share, discuss and learn about methods which could support process safety management systems. To book a place, go to www.oilandgasuk.co.uk

For more information, please call 020 7802 2400.