UK backlog of safety critical maintenance offshore

Oil and Gas UK recently reported a growing backlog of safety critical maintenance on offshore installations. Its annual health and safety report said the trend had been growing since companies began reporting in January 2009. The organisation stressed, however, that this did not mean platforms were less safe, with decisions to defer maintenance only being taken after a robust risk assessment.

The report also indicated that the number of UK offshore oil and gas leaks had fallen to its lowest level on record. Provisional figures showed a total of 77 petroleum hydrocarbon releases between April 2014 and May this year. This was down on the 89 recorded in 2012/2013 and 102 in 2013/2014.