The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) released yesterday its 2013 Annual offshore performance report; a yearly stocktake of risk management by the Australian offshore petroleum industry.
The Probability of an Offshore Accident
August 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Risk is the product of frequency and consequence. Accordingly, high consequence events which occur infrequently may contribute as much risk as frequent events which have smaller consequences. Estimating the frequency with which events occur is as important to overall risk as accurately predicting the consequences. One way of estimating frequency is to look at historical records. The information presented below are an abstract from the “Safety of offshore oil & gas Impact Assessment Annex I” working paper from the European Commission, published in 2011 to accompany the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament on safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities.
Potential Costs of an Offshore Accident
July 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The negative impacts of an accident are hard to quantify precisely, they will of course depend on the type, the scale, the time and the location of the event. In the case of an oil spill, its duration and the type of the oil will also have a major impact. The costs of an offshore accident will include costs to the operator (damage to the installation, lost oil, containment, cleanup, litigation etc.) and third-party costs to victims, to natural resources, the government and the affected individuals/businesses (including lost income). The information presented below are an abstract from the “Safety of offshore oil & gas Impact Assessment Annex I” working paper from the European Commission, published in 2011 to accompany the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament on safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities.
Pipeline Leak – Investigation Report
July 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This investigation report by the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) was conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and is referring to several pollution events were reported in the Main Pass Block 288 area GoM, over a three-week time period beginning 31 May 2007. On 31 May 2007, the National Response Center (NRC) received a report that indicated a 350-foot by 100-foot oil slick had been sighted in the Main Pass Block 288 area. In the following three weeks, four additional oil slicks of various sizes, color, and consistency were reported in the same area. On 23 June 2007, a major spill (the Spill) was reported to NRC in a subsequent report. The Spill covered an area 30 miles in length by 6 miles wide and was later estimated to be comprised of 187 barrels (bbls) of oil.
Rena Dive Survey Video
February 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A dive survey to conduct an external visual assessment of the Rena’s sunken stern section and its cargo has now been completed.
Early indications from the surveys suggest that of the 36 remaining containers in the stern section carrying known contaminants, many have broken up and their contents have escaped since the vessel broke in two and sank.
Three containers, with cargo intact, were recovered; four were retrieved but were empty of contents; another seven were recovered in pieces; the contents of the remaining 22 are presumed lost to sea.
Source: World Maritime News
Lessons from the Deepwater Horizon Incident
February 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The following article was initially published in SAFETY4SEA by Apostolos Belokas Managing Editor of SAFETY4SEA. On January the 3rd of 2006 the US Authorities released the investigation report of the M/T Bow Mariner investigation. It was a shocking thing to read throughout the report and realize that many items were found to be out of order. Let aside the key finding : Root cause of the incident was the failure of the operator to properly implement SMS. Five years later, same day the US Authorities released the preliminary report of the findings of the investigation of the Deepwater Horizon Incident.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response from a Scientific and Engineering Point of View
February 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
NOAA released on early December 2012 an article regarding a collection of scientific papers about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America collection provides the first comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the science used in the unprecedented response effort by the government, academia, and industry.
Study on Banana Fibre Oil Spill Absorbency
November 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Fibre from the stem of the banana plant can efficiently absorb oil spills that pollute coasts and threaten marine life says a new study by Indian researchers published during September. Banana fibre, when treated with certain chemicals, can absorb up to 18 times their weight of oil, Carbohydrate Polymers.
Officer of the Watch 