TWENTY YEARS ON

摘要

On 6 July 1988,167 men died following an explosion on the Piper Alpha oil platform. The 20th anniversary was marked not just by tributes to those who lost their lives, but also by work and pensions secretary James Purnell calling on the HSE to review progress in tackling issues identified by a three-year investigation into the safety and integrity of offshore installations.The investigation came to some sorry conclusions, finding 'wide variations' in performance and poor understanding by senior management of the impact of maintenance issues on safety. The unprecedented high oil price has meant a drive to prolong the life of ageing installations, says the HSE, and 'new technology is being introduced for which there is little or no operational experience'. And in a Parliamentary debate convened for the anniversary, Malcolm Bruce, MP for Cordon, Aberdeenshire, reported hearing that 'some routine maintenance programmes and shutdowns are being delayed or postponed to maximise production at the current, high price of oil'(an allegation strenuously denied by the industry). Around 29,000 people work offshore, but is their safety being compromised once again?