W I R E L I N E
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NEWS ROUND-UP
OIL & GAS UK
1. HELICOPTER EMERGENCY BREATHING SYSTEM TRAINING
STEAMS AHEAD
Nearly 60,000 offshore workers have now received training on the new emergency
breathing system (EBS) to be used on all offshore helicopter flights, developed with
the support of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Step Change in Safety and
manufacturer Survitec.
The CAA certified the new EBS in July as part of a series of measures to improve safety
for offshore helicopter passengers announced following the accident off Sumburgh
Head on 23 August 2013. From 1 September, unless an improved EBS is provided, only
passengers seated next to a push-out window exit can fly offshore. The EBS has now
been rolled-out on flights from all offshore helicopter bases.
MalcolmWebb, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, says: “We warmly welcome the
progress made here; it’s a significant step forward for the safety of helicopter operations
in the North Sea. The development of this breakthrough lifesaving equipment is the
result of intense, close collaboration between the CAA, the UK offshore oil and gas
industry led by Step Change in Safety, and the manufacturers, Survitec.”
Oil & Gas UK will continue to collaborate with the CAA on the implementation of other
recommendations and actions outlined in its safety review released earlier this year.
For more information, please contact Robert Paterson on
.
2. INDUSTRY RESPONDS TO EU OFFSHORE
SAFETY DIRECTIVE CONSULTATION
Oil & Gas UK’s Health and Safety and Environmental Directorates
have consolidated industry views in a response to regulators as part
of the formal consultation on the transposition of the EU Offshore
Safety Directive into UK law. The formal consultation closed on
21 September.
Oil & Gas UK organised a series of industry/regulator meetings
during the consultation period, where officials from the Health and
Safety Executive and the Department of Energy & Climate Change
discussed the practical implementation of the proposed regulations,
which is scheduled for July 2015.
For more information, please contact Robert Paterson on
.
3. UPDATES TOWELL-RELATED GUIDELINES
Oil &Gas UK has published a new edition of its
Well Life Cycle Integrity
Guidelines
and revised its
Guidelines on Blowout Preventer (BOP) Systems for
Offshore Wells
to improve cross-industry understanding of well-related
issues on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and to help companies
incorporate the latest developments in good practice.
Produced by members of Oil & Gas UK’s Well Life Cycle Practices
Forum (WLCPF), the publications align with the goal-setting
philosophy of the UK offshore safety regime. TheWLCPF has a
number of work groups committed to reviewing all aspects of well
practices to improve safety and performance.
OonaghWerngren, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, says:
“This is an excellent example of what can be achieved through
collaborative work across the industry. These updated guidelines
collate the latest expertise.”
The Well Life Cycle Integrity Guidelines are available
to download at
and the
Blowout Preventer Systems Guidelines are available at
. For more information,
please contact
.
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Nearly 60,000 offshore workers have
received training on the new emergency
breathing system
