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Our Vision Health and safety risks in the Australian offshore petroleum industry are properly controlled. This series of messages is aimed at keeping you informed of the operations of NOPSA. Please let us know if you would like to be added to the distribution list PERSONNEL: A further round of interviews for OHS inspectors has been conducted, from which NOPSA intends to make three appointments. Two positions are currently open for applications: a part time Finance Officer vacancy closes 6th July, and the position of Chief Information Officer closes 13th July. INDUSTRY MATTERS: A series of presentations will be given to senior management of service companies that work on drilling rigs, regarding the duty of care of employers and how the Australian offshore health and safety regime operates. The first session will be held in Perth on the 20th of July and limited places are available. Invitations have been sent to all of the service companies NOPSA are aware of. Any service companies not contacted who wish to attend should contact Melanie Jones <melanie.jones@nopsa.gov.au>. Stakeholders located in Victoria who would be interested in attending a corresponding event in Melbourne or Sale should contact Karin Illenberger on (03) 8866 5700 or <karin.illenberger@nopsa.gov.au>. Subject to the level of interest a date and venue will then be decided. Andrew Chandran will be presenting NOPSA’s risk-based approach to “Occupational Health regulation in the offshore petroleum industry” in Melbourne on Friday, 1st September 2006 commencing at 10:30 am. An invitation to attend the presentation is extended to all interested parties. If you wish to register your interest, please contact Karin Illenberger on (03) 8866 5700 or <karin.illenberger@nopsa.gov.au> as seating may be limited (venue details will be advised when booking). To view a copy of the presentation please visit regulation of occupational health in the offshore petroleum industry presentation. This presentation was given to Perth-based industry representatives on 19 June, when approximately 60 people attended. STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS: NOPSA participated in a meeting in Canberra, to discuss future Guidelines to Industry on decommissioning of offshore facilities. Also present were APPEA, Industry representatives, DA’s, DITR, and Dept of Environment & Heritage, (DEH), fishing industry representatives, AMSA, and environmental NGO’s. The group reviewed recent Australian offshore decommissioning projects, and current worldwide experiences, as well as International (IMO) legislation and guidance. The aim of the group, led by DITR, is to publish Guidelines, (including Decommissioning Safety Case requirements), for endorsement by Government in 2007. NOPSA was also involved in a further meeting held in Canberra, attended by DITR, the DA’s, Geoscience Australia, APPEA, and APIA. This was to discuss an Upstream Petroleum Subcommittee (UPS) proposal to review Governmental responsibilities for the future regulation of offshore pipelines technical integrity, and the interface between Well Operations Management Plans, (WOMP’s), and the Safety Case. Pipeline technical integrity currently is reviewed by the DA’s, not NOPSA, who are only responsible for the OHS aspects of pipeline operations, (chiefly the pipelay stage). The proposal, supported by the DA’s, is for NOPSA to regulate ongoing, through life, technical integrity of offshore pipelines. The meeting also examined a proposal for downhole safety aspects to formally be handled by NOPSA. This proposal is also supported by the DA’s. NOPSA is reviewing the recently issued APPEA Upstream Oil & Gas Industry Strategy issues paper with a view to commenting on the role that robust OHS management and leadership can play in realising the APPEA vision . Comments can be made to: industrystrategy@appea.com.au On 8 June the NOPSA Perth Office was visited by Minister Kon Vatskalis MLA, NT Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries WORKFORCE: NOPSA has been invited to sit on the Woodside Health & Safety Awards Adjudication panel. Fire Safety Training & Management Services Pty Ltd, trading as Red Alert Australia, a training provider operating in Victoria, has been accredited to provide offshore HSR training. Provider contact details are available from the NOPSA website. CONFERENCES: NOPSA presented on ‘Offshore Emergency Response – a Regulators View’, at the recent inaugural IFAP Emergency Response / Crisis Management Conference at Joondalup, attended by over 140 delegates from on and offshore companies, FESA, AFP, and others. An inspector attended the IADC World Drilling 2006 Conference in Prague from 21-23 June. The IADC Chairman and keynote speaker Mr. C. Chur identified a human resources shortfall as the biggest single challenge facing the world-wide, oil and gas drilling industry. Mr. Chur cited the need to recruit and train an additional 30,000 employees to the industry within the next two years and he concluded that the industry’s safety performance will become fragile. These comments reflect the current situation within the Australian offshore drilling industry and indeed NOPSA is already concerned that a number of recent incidents have occurred on drilling rigs where inexperience, crew shortages and ineffective management of these factors have been contributory causes of the events. NOPSA supports the IADC Chairman in exhorting the industry to “be fully committed to the recruitment and training of new personnel, plan for the next decade, provide skilled trainers, training programmes and training facilities and manage the knowledge transfer from those close to retirement”. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NOPSA has established a Corporate Development Framework and has identified four task force teams with the view to achieving a more planned and strategic approach to its corporate governance processes as the organisation matures. Two RFQ’s have been issued to the market via the Aus-Tender website with the view to securing expert support to help the Authority achieve its objectives in this area. WEBSITE: The NOPSA organisation chart has been updated to reflect current staffing, and a Guideline on Submission of Documents to NOPSA has been posted. INTERNATIONAL: The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been assisting the Indian government in its investigation of the disaster that occurred at the Mumbai High North facilities in July 2005. Through the International Regulators’ Forum HSE has provided NOPSA with details of findings that are emerging from the inquiry. NOPSA will shortly be writing to operators of production platforms requesting that appropriate re-assessments be made of the relevant risk control measures at these facilities. NOPSA is monitoring the allegations of major safety deficiencies, including failures in the verification scheme, in a UK North Sea field, and will review any learnings for industry and regulators as conclusions are known. NATIONAL PROGRAMMES: NOPSA continues to work with APPEA to trial the use of a standardised reporting format for accidents or dangerous occurrences that involve the release of hydrocarbons. It is expected that a joint NOPSA-APPEA letter will be sent to relevant operators of facilities shortly. Once agreed the standardised reporting format will be posted on the NOPSA website. Positive feedback has been received from an operator trialling the facility integrity programme, after employing the NOPSA proformas to assist in their own work programmes. Copies of the Facility Integrity proformas are available from the NOPSA website. REGULATORY ACTIVITIES: Safety Case Assessment During June assessment decisions were issued for five Safety Cases. There were no Diving Project Plans (DSMP) or Pipeline Safety Management Plans (PSMP) assessed during this period. At the end of June eight Safety Cases, including one DSMP and one PSMP, were still under assessment. Inspections There were three inspections conducted in June. Inspections considered wellwork in the safety case, focusing on drilling rather than wireline and workover, and it was identified that half of the control measures were not being implemented. Incidents & Complaints: During June NOPSA investigated 2 complaints and 24 incidents. Both of the complaints were in relation to demobilisation. One third (8) of the incidents reported this month were dropped object incidents. There were also 6 injuries, 2 gas releases, and a fire – the remainder were dangerous occurrences relating to equipment malfunction/damage. Enforcement There were no Improvement Notices or Prohibition Notices issued in June. EMERGING ISSUES: Recent incidents in the drilling sector have highlighted the potential adverse impact on safety of the current high drilling activity level There have been 4 dropped objects, a rigging incident and an LTI all in one week.– NOPSA are concerned that the inability to source enough experienced personnel is giving rise to pressure to work at reduced manning level. Operators are reminded about the level of manning and supervision required on deck, on the rig floor and around lifting operations Past issues of this newsletter are available from the NOPSA website at: http://www.nopsa.gov.au/CEO_emails/ |
