The new economic environment known as “lower for longer” has had no small effect on offshore safety, said a panel of experts at the 2017 Offshore Technology Conference.
Lars Herbst, Gulf of Mexico region director for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), pointed out three ways the lower-price environment could compromise safety offshore. The first was deferred maintenance. In 2017, he said, BSEE has seen a 100% increase in G-111 shut-in incidents of noncompliance compared with the previous 5 years. The G-111 form asks, “Does the lessee maintain all equipment in a safe condition to provide for the protection of the lease and associated facilities?” This increase, Herbst suggested, is a result of companies deferring maintenance because of the low-price environment.
Click here to read the full discussion in HSE Now.
