New guidelines for managing risk in the UK offshore oil and gas industry have been published by Oil & Gas UK.
Safety experts from across the industry worked to develop the Cumulative Risk Guidelines, which aim to increase awareness of cumulative risk and provide guidance on how to manage it.
Mick Borwell, health, safety and environment policy director with Oil & Gas UK, said: “The UK upstream oil and gas industry operates within a goal-setting regulatory framework which sets out the guiding principles for how it manages major accident hazards.
“But there are sometimes small changes which occur outside of standard day-to-day hazard management, and it’s these which the new publication seeks to address.
“Minor deviations in hazard management can occur and have a small associated risk when examined on their own, however, when these are considered cumulatively there is potential for a significant change in overall risk.”
Technical specialists from a number of Oil & Gas UK’s member companies helped shape the document that includes chapters on assessing cumulative risk, suggestions for approaches and methods, and step-by-step examples of how to ensure risk remains as low as reasonably practical.
“Our guidelines will give offshore installation managers, operations manager and asset managers the means to make more informed decisions when events deviate from normal risk management processes.”
The guidelines available to Oil & Gas UK members and associates free, and at £50.00 for non-members, can be downloaded here.