Offshore maintenance backlogs threaten crisis

News | HSW
01.10.2006

Offshore oil companies are failing to keep up with vital maintenance work, according to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Offshore Division. Confirming what offshore unions have claimed for several years, head of the division Ian Whewell said the volume of work needed was posing "a tremendous challenge".

The backlog of delayed maintenance that built up when the oil price was weak is now reaching crisis levels for some companies, which could lead to safety problems. Whewell said: "There is always some backlog, but I have seen between 20,000 and 30,000 man-hours of work needed at one installation. I think there are installations where the company needs to think seriously whether any solution other than shutting the platform is enough."

The main concern is rust and corrosion on pipelines, stairways, safety and process equipment. According to Whewell: "The platforms are like old cars, if you don't carry out maintenance every 12,000 miles, you have a backlog. The design life is less relevant than 'intended life', which is now being exceeded." He acknowledged that companies are under "tremendous pressure to keep oil flowing" but said they "had to reflect whether their maintenance shutdowns are long enough. Unless they have proper shutdowns, things will go wrong."

Graham Tran, Amicus regional officer for offshore oil and gas, said: "The only thing that surprises us about this news is that the HSE is finally admitting there is a big safety management backlog in the offshore industry." He accused some operators of using "sticking plasters to fix problems that require major surgery," leaving problems "to fester" rather than face the short term cost of shutting down platforms to maintain them properly.

Recently released offshore statistics for 2005-06 show that two workers died and 50 suffered major injuries. This compares with no fatalities and 48 major injuries in the previous year.