SAFETY OFFSHORE – Roles, Responsibilities, Regrets

and Recriminations

SPE WA Perth

3 February 2010

National Offshore Petroleum Safety AuthorityNOPSA

JANE CUTLER

Today’s presentation ….

• Why we are concerned about safety• Offshore safety in Australia – roles &

responsibilities• Challenges in 2009, 2010 and beyond

Shallow gas blowouts

NOPSA

• Single regulator – Commonwealth Statutory Authority

• Regulates in Commonwealth waters and State/NT designated coastal waters (where mirror legislation is in place)

• Administers – Offshore Petroleum & Greenhouse Gas Storage Act

2006 & regulations– Offshore Petroleum (Safety Levies) Act 2003 &

regulations

NOPSA’s legislative functions Focus on the OHS of people working in offshore

petroleum operations ……•• promotepromote• develop and implement effective monitoringmonitoring and

enforcementenforcement strategies to secure compliance•• investigateinvestigate accidents, occurrences and

circumstances•• adviseadvise•• cooperatecooperate with other Commonwealth agencies,

State or Northern Territory agencies

Regulatory Regime

• ‘Duty of Care’ based• Permissioning regime with safety case

acceptance as a permissioning tool • Safety cases accepted following assessment• Safety cases tested through inspection/audit by

NOPSA• Regulatory actions to maintain safety case focus• Enforcement if required

Duty of CareIn practice duty of care is shared among

parties offshore:Primary Group;

Operator, persons in control of parts of facility or particular work, titleholders.Subsidiary Group;

employers, manufacturers, suppliers, installers and all persons regarding occupational health and safety.

Role of the Operator

“The operator of a facility must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that: a) the facility is safe and without riskfacility is safe and without risk to health

of any person at or near the facility; and b) all work and other activitieswork and other activities are carried out in

a safesafe manner and without riskwithout risk to the health of any person at or near the facility.”

Role of the Workforce

• Reasonably practicable steps• Must not create or increase OHS risk• Cooperates with the operator• Uses equipment in accordance with

instructions• Must not interfere with safety equipment

NOSA’s Role - Verification

• Is the Operator doing enough?– Assessment & acceptance of safety cases

• Are they doing what they said they would do?– Inspection and audit of facilities

• If something goes wrong … what happened? Did anyone break the law? Are sanctions required?– Investigation and enforcement

Ocean Odyssey, UK 1988, 1 fatality

Safety Case

What Does a Safety Case Do?Prevent Accidents

Procedural Controls

Hardware Controls

Hazards & Risks

The Work Place

Safety Management System

Formal Safety Assessment

Facility Description

The Work to be Done

Mumbai High, India 2005, 22 fatalities

New Commonwealth Legislation

States Legislation

NOPSA’S Core Skills and Experience

Inspectors

Professional Engineers;Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Marine,

Process, Electrical, Environmental and Occupational health

Australian Public Service Investigator

Business ManagementLaw and legal Practitioners

Government RegulatorEnforcement Agency

OHS PractitionersOIM, Drilling Supervisor, Wells Engineer,

Vessel Master, Design Engineer, Auditor, Warranty Surveyor.

Montara 2009, Timor Sea

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently”

Warren Buffet

P36 - Campos Basin 2001, 11 fatalities

Offshore Blowouts

What’s new in 2010

• Carbon Capture and Greenhouse Gas Storage

• Floating LNG• Consolidated Offshore Regulations• Pipeline integrity• Output from Montara Comission of Inquiry

Gas Well Blowouts in Gaoqiao, Chongqing, China

23 December 2003

243 people died, 9,000 were injured, and 64,000 were evacuated

Many of the confirmed dead are children or elderly people who were unable to flee after the explosion. Those who did not escape in time suffered burns to their eyes, skin and

lungs from the gas.

H2 S from wells

Next 5 Years

• Well integrity?• Design safety case?• Inherent safety?• New technology?

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”

Barack Obama