Oil & Gas UK commended the European Parliament for working together to achieve the EU Council of Ministers’ June 10 final adoption of the EU directive on offshore safety.
Robert Paterson, Oil & Gas UK’s health, safety, and employment director, said, “Oil & Gas UK has worked hard to help the European Commission achieve its objective of improving and strengthening offshore safety standards. “We now feel that this directive complements the world-leading health, safety, and environmental standards already in place in the North Sea that were developed from the lessons the industry learned following the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988.”
The European Union reached preliminary agreement Feb. 21 on toughened rules for offshore oil and gas operations that comprise the directive.
The new regulatory framework seeks to reduce the occurrence of major offshore drilling incidents. It establishes minimum conditions for safe offshore environment and coastal economies against pollution and establishes minimum conditions for safe offshore exploration and production. It also improves the response mechanisms in the event of an incident (OGJ Online, Feb. 21, 2013).
