NCJ Number
82232
Date Published
1982
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Common interests of British regulatory agencies responsible for the regulation of working conditions on offshore oil installations and the multinational companies involved have inhibited the passage and enforcement of safety regulations.
Abstract
Unsafe working practices, poor design and maintenance, inadequate communications and supervision, shortcuts under pressure, and a lack of elementary safety precautions have greatly contributed to the comparatively high rate of accidents in North Sea oil operations. The development, administrative structure, and enforcement of laws that could remedy these conditions emerged slowly through a process of negotiation in which the need to carry the industry's support was crucial. The administrative structure for the enforcement of such regulations consistently placed effective power in the hands of the same agency interested in facilitating rapid development toward self-sufficiency in oil supplies. Attempts to displace some of this power onto the relatively independent body responsible for nearly all onshore safety regulation were confounded by complex administrative arrangements that generated both tension and an impetus toward rationalization that would restore the regulatory status quo. The British Department of Energy has given priority to production while exhibiting an extreme reluctance to prosecute safety violations. Safety concerns have focused on the avoidance of major catastrophes that would cripple production while areas of routine safety are comparatively underregulated. It is these latter areas that have contributed to the North Sea's high casualty rate. Ten references and 65 notes are provided. (Author summary modified)