01 March 2007

A £400,000 penalty for an offshore operator after a massive offshore hydocarbon leak that put rig workers' lives at risk has been criticised as too small by trade unions. No one was injured in the incident at Nexen Petroleum UK's North Sea Scott platform, but the HSE said it was only by chance that the cloud of gas did not ignite and cause serious or fatal injuries.

The leak happened on 5 September 2005 while two technicians were removing a pressure safety valve connected to the live pressure flare system. Following the initial release just after 11am, it took the company nearly eight hours to identify the disconnected valve and make it safe. More than eight tonnes of gas produced a huge cloud above the platform, causing Nexen to down-man 138 non-essential personnel.

HSE investigators found that the rig operator had failed to provide a safe system of work for the valve's removal.

Canada-based Nexen admitted breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to ensure the safety of employees and others. At Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 24 January, sheriff James Tierney fined the company £200,000 for each offence.

Unions representing oil workers criticised the penalty, arguing that senior managers need to be brought to account. Amicus regional officer Graham Tran told HSW that anyone who believes this is "a just penalty" is not living in the real world. "This was a very serious incident that had the potential to be another Piper Alpha if it had ignited," Tran argued. "In the HSE's own words, it was only luck that it didn't ignite. Again a company goes to court and walks away with a slap on the wrist."

Highlighting oil firms' massive profits, he said a £400,000 fine is "not the answer to these unfortunately recurring incidents. We need proper accountability in the boardroom. It is no longer good enough to say lessons are being learned; they have to be learned. And with the safety statistics in the North Sea going in the wrong direction, you don't have to be a genius to work out that lessons are not being learned."

Comparing the £400,000 fine to "pitifully low" fines in the past, Jake Molloy of the OILC union said the Scottish judiciary does finally seem to be acknowledging the seriousness of such incidents. But he too believes that no fine on its own is a sufficient deterrent. He told HSW that senior management needs to be held to account in some way, which would provide a greater deterrent than just increasing fines. This might involve striking directors off the board or disqualifying them from holding other directorships.  

Categories:
Chemicals, Enforcement (prosecutions), Prosecutions, Work equipment, Enforcement (prosecutions)