Health & Safety Report 2016

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4.1.3 Hydrocarbon Releases
The HSE set up the HCR reporting scheme in 1992 in response to Lord Cullen’s recommendation following the
Piper Alpha disaster. Data are supplied to the HSE by duty holders of offshore installations and relate to incidents
that are reportable under RIDDOR. HCRs are classified as major, significant or minor10 based on their potential to
cause a major accident if ignited.
Since a peak in 2004, there has been an overall sharp decline in the total number of HCRs by almost 70 per cent
from 273 to 87. 2015 saw a nine per cent increase in total HCRs on the previous year, the majority of which were
minor releases. Major releases remained unchanged at three.
The fact that HCRs remain largely minor reflects the many control measures employed to respond to and limit the
effect of releases. It should be noted that in the second half of 2015, the EU Implementing Regulation introduced
new reporting criteria and this may have contributed to the increased number of minor releases, which were
not deemed reportable under previous legislation. Oil & Gas UK will analyse the HCRs further to determine any
common or recurrent issues where improvement efforts may be focused.
Figure 11: Number of Hydrocarbon Releases Occurring Offshore
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
19961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015
Number of Hydrocarbon Releases
Total HCRs
Major and Significant HCRs
Source: The Health and Safety Executive
10 The definitions of HCR severities can be found on the HSE website at
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