A new efficiency task force announced by Oil & Gas UK has been welcomed by an international oil and gas safety industry leader.
Michail Tzouvelekis, Regional Segment Manager for Oil & Gas at Dräger Marine and Offshore, said efficiency improvements are urgently needed to help sustain activity in the North Sea.
He added that he fully supports the idea of a task force that focuses on behavioural change within the industry.
The task force, which is supported by Oil & Gas UK and its industry members, aims to encourage cooperation and focus on initiatives that add real value for the sector – helping the UK to compete globally.
Mr Tzouvelekis, said: “The approach to drive improvement, looking at business processes, standardisation and cooperation all fit with what we believe in here at Dräger. We strive to provide a holistic solution to enable companies to do things differently.
“We’re more than happy to have a conversation with companies that are looking to take steps to reduce costs and become more efficient, and we believe that being safe is by definition being more efficient.
“Depending on a company’s needs, we can share our expertise, resources and ideas to develop a long-term safety strategy which will ultimately reduce safety equipment inventories and standardise detection and protection across multiple offshore assets. This can save hundreds of thousands of pounds per year in operating expenditure.
Mr Tzouvelekis added that some operators of oil and gas platforms have simply inherited numerous contracts put in place by previous operators.
He commented: “Some owners have found themselves with separate existing accounts for renting, maintaining, buying equipment and also for training their staff on how to use it.
“We can simply offer a one-stop shop to cover everything, whether it be Dräger products in the field, third party equipment requirements, rentals or training needs.”
As a leading provider of safety solutions in the oil and gas sector, Dräger is all too aware of the importance of safeguarding workers and the public efficiently and the company recently attended SPE Offshore Europe to showcase its innovative life-saving products and cost saving solutions.
One which received much attention at the show was the GasSecure GS01, the world’s first wireless, infrared hydrocarbon detector which due to its efficient design, can be operated completely wireless with typical battery life of 24 months.
Another Dräger product that supports efficient ways of working is the
X-dock, which can test up to ten portable gas devices at a time.
Mr Tzouvelekis said: “Workers offshore can use this device to carry out calibration and bump-testing offshore whenever it is needed, without the need for hundreds of devices to be transported back onshore as this would take much longer and require replacement units to be deployed.“
“The new task force now offers us a chance to highlight safer ways of working to everyone effectively. When the oil companies are trying to do all they can to reduce operating costs in the most efficient way, there will always remain an absolute focus for them on safety – it’s a topic on which there will never be a compromise.” said Mr Tzouvelekis.
“Safety remains a number one priority – so the importance of having a whole range of integrated maintenance and training support services cannot be underestimated.”
“At Dräger Marine and Offshore, we can offer equipment for purchase or rental, services and training out of our facilities at key hubs in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark.”
To find out more about Dräger’s work in the oil and gas sector, visit www.draeger.com/oilgasuk.