AEA Technology plc, Didcot, U.K., is planning a joint industry project to study options for reducing risk of explosions on offshore oil and gas installations.
The plan follows an announcement last year by U.K. Health & Safety Executive (HSE) that methods used to calculate blast resistance to meet Britain's offshore safety case regulations were inaccurate.
At the time of this disclosure, an HSE official said a small number of installations, particularly older and more cramped platforms, may require upgrading (OGJ, May 13, 1996, p. 38).
AEA, a privatized engineering services company with roots in Britain's former Atomic Energy Authority, is seeking backing for a 9-month study into applicable explosion prevention and mitigation measures.
An AEA official said U.K. offshore operators were told by HSE to examine the explosion analyses in their safety cases for each installation and review the implications.
"Many operators have completed this work," said the official, "while for some, the reviews are ongoing. A big exercise is also under way by operators in the Netherlands, following a similar request by authorities there."
Sponsors sought
The AEA official said the company is looking for six sponsors for the study. Two oil companies were said to have confirmed sponsorship, while two more were "waiting in the wings."
The official said AEA would like HSE to be one of the sponsors and is waiting for the safety regulator's response. AEA hopes to begin the study in February for completion in November.
However, there is potential for conflict with HSE over AEA's proposal, because the regulator is believed to be conducting its own research into the issue.
AEA plans to study explosion risk reduction techniques used by operators in U.K. and Norwegian oil and gas industries, along with ideas from international petrochemical and mining companies, research institutions, and manufacturers.
AEA said, "The project will provide a comprehensive review of existing and emerging measures, guidance on applicability and potential benefit of measures offshore, an independent review and assessment of performance, an independent estimate of costs of implementation and maintenance, and information on areas where further 'offshore-specific' experiments may be of benefit."
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