Learning from MAEs and building local capacity to prevent them

摘要

If the upstream petroleum industry wishes to retain its social licence to operate it should consider taking some additional steps to help prevent major accident events (MAEs). In Australia, establishing a Centre for Upstream Petroleum Safety (CUPS) based in Perth with an initial focus on human and organisational factors, safety culture and learning would be a concrete and substantive step forward to build capacity and capability. Internationally, an agreement among states and with industry is needed to require and protect reporting of more significant safety events, to systemically investigate MAEs and to promulgate lessons in a timely ‘no blame’ manner as occurs in aviation under Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. Better learning from past MAEs in oil and gas and from other high risk and high technology industries such as transport, nuclear, underground coal mining and petrochemicals is also crucial. Some examples of such MAEs are provided and key aspects of the billion dollar Varanus Island gas pipeline explosions that occurred in Western Australia in June 2008 are highlighted. Incorporating these into an active learning CUPS curriculum would help build local capacity and capability to prevent future MAEs.