Monday 17 October 2011
Saturday 15 October 2011
BP reveals British Oil Spill Planning for Shetland, UK
BP has drawn up contingency plans to tackle an oil spill off Shetland, twice the size of its Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil giant revealed its "worst-case scenario" Oil Pollution Emergency Plan in a submission to the UK government. The company is seeking approval to start drilling a new exploratory well 80 miles north west of the islands early next year.
WWF Scotland claimed BP's plans would not prevent a major impact on wildlife.
BP has been exploring the deep waters west off Shetland since the 1970s and producing oil from the area for more than 15 years. Its latest plan is to drill a new well, known as the North Uist, in a depth of nearly 1,300m of water.
BP has outlined a potential situation involving a leak of 75,000 barrels a day for 140 days - a total of 10.5 million barrels of oil. It said it had incorporated the lessons learnt from the Deepwater Horizon incident into the overall planning for the well.
Dr Richard Dixon, from WWF Scotland, told BBC Scotland the risks involved in drilling were too great. He said: "This is a worst case scenario, but it is a realistic scenario. So this could happen.
Worse than 'Braer'
"If things went wrong in the same way they went wrong in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the measures that BP tried to put in place didn't work very well, we could have 140 days worth of very significant oil spill. "This could be a 100-times worse than the Braer disaster.". That disaster, in 1993, saw a tanker run aground off the coast of Shetland resulting in an oil spill of 85,000 tonnes.
The oil giant revealed its "worst-case scenario" Oil Pollution Emergency Plan in a submission to the UK government. The company is seeking approval to start drilling a new exploratory well 80 miles north west of the islands early next year.
WWF Scotland claimed BP's plans would not prevent a major impact on wildlife.
BP has been exploring the deep waters west off Shetland since the 1970s and producing oil from the area for more than 15 years. Its latest plan is to drill a new well, known as the North Uist, in a depth of nearly 1,300m of water.
BP has outlined a potential situation involving a leak of 75,000 barrels a day for 140 days - a total of 10.5 million barrels of oil. It said it had incorporated the lessons learnt from the Deepwater Horizon incident into the overall planning for the well.
Dr Richard Dixon, from WWF Scotland, told BBC Scotland the risks involved in drilling were too great. He said: "This is a worst case scenario, but it is a realistic scenario. So this could happen.
Worse than 'Braer'
"If things went wrong in the same way they went wrong in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the measures that BP tried to put in place didn't work very well, we could have 140 days worth of very significant oil spill. "This could be a 100-times worse than the Braer disaster.". That disaster, in 1993, saw a tanker run aground off the coast of Shetland resulting in an oil spill of 85,000 tonnes.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement files "incidents of non-compliance" on BP, Transocean and Halliburton
The U.S. offshore drilling regulator on Wednesday formally issued sanctions
against BP and the major contractors for the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater
Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and unleashed more than 4 million barrels
of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The newly formed Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement filed 15 "incidents of non-compliance" to the
companies. It did not release details of how much the companies may face in
fines.
By law, the companies face fines of up to $35,000 a day, per incident for the violations. The infractions uncovered during the federal probe of the accident were outlined in the Interior Department's final report on the disaster, released last month.
BP, owner of the ruptured Macondo well, received seven sanctions, notices for violations ranging from failure to protect health and property to failing to keep well under control at all times.
In a first for the department, BP's contractors Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, and Halliburton, which carried out cementing on the well, also face sanctions. The contractors each received four notices of violations.
Traditionally, the department has only litigated against a well's operators for rule infractions. But after last year's spill, the department has asserted its has authority to regulate contractors too. The decision to sanction Transocean and Halliburton reflects the "severity of the incident, the findings of the joint
investigation, as well as Secretary Ken Salazar and Director (Michael)
Bromwich's commitment to holding all parties accountable, " the regulator
said in a statement this week.
against BP and the major contractors for the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater
Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and unleashed more than 4 million barrels
of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The newly formed Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement filed 15 "incidents of non-compliance" to the
companies. It did not release details of how much the companies may face in
fines.
By law, the companies face fines of up to $35,000 a day, per incident for the violations. The infractions uncovered during the federal probe of the accident were outlined in the Interior Department's final report on the disaster, released last month.
BP, owner of the ruptured Macondo well, received seven sanctions, notices for violations ranging from failure to protect health and property to failing to keep well under control at all times.
In a first for the department, BP's contractors Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, and Halliburton, which carried out cementing on the well, also face sanctions. The contractors each received four notices of violations.
Traditionally, the department has only litigated against a well's operators for rule infractions. But after last year's spill, the department has asserted its has authority to regulate contractors too. The decision to sanction Transocean and Halliburton reflects the "severity of the incident, the findings of the joint
investigation, as well as Secretary Ken Salazar and Director (Michael)
Bromwich's commitment to holding all parties accountable, " the regulator
said in a statement this week.
Monday 10 October 2011
Health and safety and very very short skirts
This coverage appeared on BBC ‘Look North’ on 5 October 2011, with a school official blaming a skirt ban on health and safety. David Hampson, Chief Executive of the Tollbar Academy said: "There is a health and safety issue in this day and age with young ladies and very, very short skirts."
HSE Chair Judith Hackitt responded this week saying: "This is one of the worst examples we've seen of health and safety being used in completely the wrong context. There is nothing in health and safety legislation that allows schools to ban hemlines that aren't to a school's liking. Child protection and avoiding the sexualisation of young girls is important but it is a very different matter to preventing death, injury and ill health in the workplace which is what health and safety legislation aims to do. There are too many examples of health and safety being blatantly used as an excuse and we will continue to challenge it at every turn."
CRS says that schools are repeat myth-makers on health and safety. Banning school trips and sports days present safety in the wrong context to both students and parents, and we recommend that they should consult a properly-qualified health and safety professional for sensible safety advice. This generally means someone with Chartered membership (CMIOSH / CFIOSH) of the UK professional body IOSH.
CRS says that schools are repeat myth-makers on health and safety. Banning school trips and sports days present safety in the wrong context to both students and parents, and we recommend that they should consult a properly-qualified health and safety professional for sensible safety advice. This generally means someone with Chartered membership (CMIOSH / CFIOSH) of the UK professional body IOSH.
HSE Chair Judith Hackitt responded this week saying: "This is one of the worst examples we've seen of health and safety being used in completely the wrong context. There is nothing in health and safety legislation that allows schools to ban hemlines that aren't to a school's liking. Child protection and avoiding the sexualisation of young girls is important but it is a very different matter to preventing death, injury and ill health in the workplace which is what health and safety legislation aims to do. There are too many examples of health and safety being blatantly used as an excuse and we will continue to challenge it at every turn."
CRS says that schools are repeat myth-makers on health and safety. Banning school trips and sports days present safety in the wrong context to both students and parents, and we recommend that they should consult a properly-qualified health and safety professional for sensible safety advice. This generally means someone with Chartered membership (CMIOSH / CFIOSH) of the UK professional body IOSH.
CRS says that schools are repeat myth-makers on health and safety. Banning school trips and sports days present safety in the wrong context to both students and parents, and we recommend that they should consult a properly-qualified health and safety professional for sensible safety advice. This generally means someone with Chartered membership (CMIOSH / CFIOSH) of the UK professional body IOSH.
Locals Angered by Damage to Astrolabe Reef from 'Rena' Oil Spill
Prime Minister John Key is flying into Tauranga today to view the looming
environmental disaster that is the stricken container ship as anger grows
over the time it has taken to respond.
The widespread criticism comes as
expert crews prepare to start work cleaning up the 20 tonnes of oil
estimated to have leaked out of the 236m Rena - four days after it hit
Astrolabe Reef. Maritime New Zealand says oil recovery teams are heading out
on the water this morning to collect oil spilled from the cargo vessel Rena.
The fuel vessel Awanuia is due to arrive today to help offload the 2000
tonnes of oil threatening to spill into the Bay of Plenty. By tomorrow, four
naval vessels will be present. 10 Australian Defence personnel who'd had
experience working on the Montara oil spill response in the Timor Sea in
2009 will be helping with the on-water recovery operation.
No further oil has been reported as seeping from the vessel overnight. Fresh oil found yesterday afternoon had dispersed by last night. Another oiled little blue penguin has been recovered and taken to the wildlife facility in Te Maunga. That brings the total number of oiled birds recovered to eight.
The 5km oil slick across the sea is already being cited as exposing the dangers of deep sea oil exploration. Green Party oceans spokesman Gareth Hughes said the inability of New Zealand to cope was exposed by the need to call on Australia for help. "We have to put a moratorium on even testing [oil] wells in New Zealand waters until we can prove that our oil spill response plans are adequate."
Environment Minister Nick Smith said yesterday it was possible to manage the risks of exploration. He said proposed laws would ensure the proper protection was in place when they were passed. Maritime pollution response co-ordinator Mick Courtnell said it had the potential to be similar to the Gulf of Mexico disaster which left the Florida coast
knee-deep in thick oil.
Cracks were visible in the hull of the Rena yesterday and boaties had learned through the marine radio that the front
compartment had been crushed by 2m. "We're not mopping up spilt milk in the
kitchen. It could be a long term beach clean-up. If the ship breaks in half and all the oil comes to shore, it will be buckets and spades sort of stuff."
Bay of Plenty residents told of their outrage over the time it was taking to respond. Brett Keller, of Tauranga. Marine Charters, said the past
four days of calm weather should have been used to get containers off. "From
what I've seen so far they're woefully under-prepared, " he said. "People
here are getting more annoyed by the day by the lack of action. It's been
four days now and still nothing." Earth 2 Oceans dive centre owner Rachel
Rolston said she was "horrified" by the amount of time it was taking. "There
seem to have been slow, ill-equipped and inefficient responses from the
organisations and departments that should have been doing something about this. People here are angry. They're really angry." Mark Tucker, operator of sight-seeing company Orca Explorer, said he felt authorities were not doing enough to soak up the oil already in the water. "If the wind turns on shore it will hit the beaches. It's like tar, it'll be impossible to clean up." On
Thursday, Tucker heard Maritime NZ officials trying to reach Rena's captain
through maritime radio channel 12. "The officer said the captain was
sleeping in his cabin and refused to wake him up."
The oil spill was not enough to put off Mt Maunganui's Gary Plane, 52, from taking his 90hp runabout out yesterday. He steered clear from Astrolabe, his favourite spot, but still came home with 19 snapper and tarakihi. "I'm worried about that ship breaking," he said. "That whole area is a very unique eco-system. It will be a disaster. That ship must have been miles off course. It should never have happened."
environmental disaster that is the stricken container ship as anger grows
over the time it has taken to respond.
The widespread criticism comes as
expert crews prepare to start work cleaning up the 20 tonnes of oil
estimated to have leaked out of the 236m Rena - four days after it hit
Astrolabe Reef. Maritime New Zealand says oil recovery teams are heading out
on the water this morning to collect oil spilled from the cargo vessel Rena.
The fuel vessel Awanuia is due to arrive today to help offload the 2000
tonnes of oil threatening to spill into the Bay of Plenty. By tomorrow, four
naval vessels will be present. 10 Australian Defence personnel who'd had
experience working on the Montara oil spill response in the Timor Sea in
2009 will be helping with the on-water recovery operation.
No further oil has been reported as seeping from the vessel overnight. Fresh oil found yesterday afternoon had dispersed by last night. Another oiled little blue penguin has been recovered and taken to the wildlife facility in Te Maunga. That brings the total number of oiled birds recovered to eight.
The 5km oil slick across the sea is already being cited as exposing the dangers of deep sea oil exploration. Green Party oceans spokesman Gareth Hughes said the inability of New Zealand to cope was exposed by the need to call on Australia for help. "We have to put a moratorium on even testing [oil] wells in New Zealand waters until we can prove that our oil spill response plans are adequate."
Environment Minister Nick Smith said yesterday it was possible to manage the risks of exploration. He said proposed laws would ensure the proper protection was in place when they were passed. Maritime pollution response co-ordinator Mick Courtnell said it had the potential to be similar to the Gulf of Mexico disaster which left the Florida coast
knee-deep in thick oil.
Cracks were visible in the hull of the Rena yesterday and boaties had learned through the marine radio that the front
compartment had been crushed by 2m. "We're not mopping up spilt milk in the
kitchen. It could be a long term beach clean-up. If the ship breaks in half and all the oil comes to shore, it will be buckets and spades sort of stuff."
Bay of Plenty residents told of their outrage over the time it was taking to respond. Brett Keller, of Tauranga. Marine Charters, said the past
four days of calm weather should have been used to get containers off. "From
what I've seen so far they're woefully under-prepared, " he said. "People
here are getting more annoyed by the day by the lack of action. It's been
four days now and still nothing." Earth 2 Oceans dive centre owner Rachel
Rolston said she was "horrified" by the amount of time it was taking. "There
seem to have been slow, ill-equipped and inefficient responses from the
organisations and departments that should have been doing something about this. People here are angry. They're really angry." Mark Tucker, operator of sight-seeing company Orca Explorer, said he felt authorities were not doing enough to soak up the oil already in the water. "If the wind turns on shore it will hit the beaches. It's like tar, it'll be impossible to clean up." On
Thursday, Tucker heard Maritime NZ officials trying to reach Rena's captain
through maritime radio channel 12. "The officer said the captain was
sleeping in his cabin and refused to wake him up."
The oil spill was not enough to put off Mt Maunganui's Gary Plane, 52, from taking his 90hp runabout out yesterday. He steered clear from Astrolabe, his favourite spot, but still came home with 19 snapper and tarakihi. "I'm worried about that ship breaking," he said. "That whole area is a very unique eco-system. It will be a disaster. That ship must have been miles off course. It should never have happened."
Wednesday 5 October 2011
BP Deepwater Horizon Final Investigation Report (Volume I II and Appendices)
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE)/U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team (JIT) this week released its final investigative report on the 20 April 2010 ‘Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill. The report is comprised of Volume I, covering the areas of investigation under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard; Volume II, covering the areas of the investigation under BOEMRE jurisdiction; and a supplement to Volume I – the Final Action Memo from Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp.
The JIT was formed on April 27, 2010, by a convening order of the Departments of the Interior and Homeland Security to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill, and to make recommendations for safe operations of future oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The JIT held seven sessions of public hearings, received testimony from more than 80 witnesses and experts, and reviewed a large number of documents and exhibits
pertaining to all aspects of the investigation.
Volume I, released April 22, 2011, includes findings on five aspects of the disaster under Coast Guard jurisdiction – including the explosions on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon; the resulting fire; evacuations; the flooding and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon; and the safety systems of the MODU and its owner, Transocean. The Coast Guard's Final Action Memo details actions directed by Adm. Papp, as a result of the JIT's work, reflecting the Coast Guard's commitment to all of those affected by this tragic yet historic event and underscoring its commitment to the stewardship of our maritime environment.
Volume II includes findings on the causes, both direct and contributing, of the Macondo blowout and the resulting explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon. In Volume II, the JIT details evidence developed during the investigation and concludes that BP, Transocean and Halliburton’s conduct in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations under BOEMRE’s jurisdiction. Volume II also includes recommendations for the continued improvement of the safety of offshore operations.
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BOEMRE launched the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability. An additional rule, which will be made available for public comment in the coming weeks, will incorporate additional safety requirements that are related to the findings of the investigation.
For more information on BOEMRE's new heightened safety standards, go to http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm.
Chapters of the final JIT Investigative Report can be downloaded below:
Volume I - View Here
Volume II - View Here
Appendices - View Here
Adm. Papp/Director Bromwich Covering Memo - View Here
More information regarding the JIT investigation can be found Here
The JIT was formed on April 27, 2010, by a convening order of the Departments of the Interior and Homeland Security to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life, and resulting oil spill, and to make recommendations for safe operations of future oil and gas activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The JIT held seven sessions of public hearings, received testimony from more than 80 witnesses and experts, and reviewed a large number of documents and exhibits
pertaining to all aspects of the investigation.
Volume I, released April 22, 2011, includes findings on five aspects of the disaster under Coast Guard jurisdiction – including the explosions on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon; the resulting fire; evacuations; the flooding and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon; and the safety systems of the MODU and its owner, Transocean. The Coast Guard's Final Action Memo details actions directed by Adm. Papp, as a result of the JIT's work, reflecting the Coast Guard's commitment to all of those affected by this tragic yet historic event and underscoring its commitment to the stewardship of our maritime environment.
Volume II includes findings on the causes, both direct and contributing, of the Macondo blowout and the resulting explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon. In Volume II, the JIT details evidence developed during the investigation and concludes that BP, Transocean and Halliburton’s conduct in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations under BOEMRE’s jurisdiction. Volume II also includes recommendations for the continued improvement of the safety of offshore operations.
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BOEMRE launched the most aggressive and comprehensive reforms to offshore oil and gas regulation and oversight in U.S. history. The reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability. An additional rule, which will be made available for public comment in the coming weeks, will incorporate additional safety requirements that are related to the findings of the investigation.
For more information on BOEMRE's new heightened safety standards, go to http://www.boemre.gov/Reforms.htm.
Chapters of the final JIT Investigative Report can be downloaded below:
Volume I - View Here
Volume II - View Here
Appendices - View Here
Adm. Papp/Director Bromwich Covering Memo - View Here
More information regarding the JIT investigation can be found Here
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Sustainable Business Practice Case Study - Corporate Risk Systems Ltd
As a Health, Safety and Environmental Consultancy and Training Organisation Corporate Risk Systems where looking for a way to demonstrate their environmental credentials and tackle some of their environmental impacts. The organisation decided that a Carbon Reduction and Offset programme, would deliver environmental improvements and raise the profile of its environmental services. In 2005 the organisation set about developing an internal carbon management plan, carbon footprinting calculation and offset programme with a third party verified organisation. CRS is possibly the first environmental consultancy to offset its carbon footprint, and has continued to Offset its footprint every year since. The Offset programme logo was published on all of the organisations emails, newsletters and training materials. In 2009 the organisation the organisation used the Think Global, Act Local ethos, to celebrate its tenth Anniversary supporting habitat creation in the National Forest where Corporate Risk Systems is based, and also supported the Pacific Whale Foundation, through the sponsorship of dual branded promotional materials. These initiatives supported key marketing messages for the expansion of the range of the organisations environmental training and consultancy services. The approach paid dividends in 2010 organisation when the organisation won a global oil and gas sector contract, a major contract in the emergency services sector, expanded its delivery of open courses, and was acknowledged by being a finalist in the 'Most Effective Environmental or Green Initiative' category of the Burton Mail Business Awards 2010.
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