Dow Jones Newswires: Union Calls For Safety Probe At Shell UK North Sea
Operations: 23 June 2006
June 23, 2006: 14:19 p.m. EST
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Amicus, one of the U.K.'s largest trade unions, is calling
for a public review of Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSA) U.K. North Sea oil
platforms after new allegations over safety surfaced this week, a union official
said Friday.
A Shell spokeswoman on Friday denied reports that the company had compromised
safety to pursue higher production at the facilities.
But Graham Tran, a regional officer at Amicus who represent oil workers, said
"we are calling for an independent government review" on the conclusions of a
1999 report in which senior engineer Bill Campbell, at the time a consultant for
Shell, warned safety measures had been overlooked.
The report was leaked to the Times newspaper and trade magazine Upstream, which
said Campbell reiterated his concerns to Shell in 2004.
The 1999 report is especially sensitive for Shell. A gas leak blamed on safety
lapses led to the deaths of two workers on a North Sea platform, Brent Bravo, in
September 2003. The company was fined a record GBP900,000 last year over the
incident.
A Shell spokeswoman said the company took Campbell's "concerns very seriously, "
but after investigation "concluded his perception was not supported by the
evidence."
A spokesman for U.K. regulator Health and Safety Executive said Campbell had
given the agency a copy of the report after the deaths of the workers in 2003.
Tran, however, criticized the HSE and said a lack of resources had prevented the
watchdog from detecting safety problems at Shell facilities in spite of a
warning from unions.
He said the regulator had conducted an enquiry and gave its conclusions weeks
before the deaths but failed to see imminent danger.
The HSE spokesman said the unions had warned about issues at other platforms,
but not at Bravo. He said the claims had been investigated and, as a result, "
Shell reviewed their manning levels and subsequently increased the number of
technicians offshore across all their platforms."
The Shell spokeswoman said that Shell has since launched $1 billion worth of
programs to improve safety. The HSE spokesman said Shell "has improved" its
track record.
Industry safety is in the spotlight following the deaths last year of 15 workers
at Texas refinery operated by BP PLC (BP) and a massive fire that destroyed the
Buncefield oil depot, in Hertfordshire, U.K., managed by a joint venture of
Total SA (TOT) and Chevron Corp. (CVX).
Another HSE spokesman said the watchdog is currently investigating whether there
are safety problems at the BP-operated Tullos oil depot, next to Aberdeen.
He said the issue came to the regulator's attention after it received a letter
last Thursday from a member of parliament, Anne Begg, claiming the shift system
used by workers could lead to a Buncefield-type disaster.
The existence of the letter is confirmed by a statement on the MP's Web site,
saying that the workers are at risk of being responsible for accidents due to
exhaustion. It added that BP is investigating the matter.
A BP spokeswoman said the company is looking into the matter and is talking to
contractors about the shift patterns.
Company Web site:
http://www.shell.com
-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9266; benoit.faucon@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-23-06 1419ET Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.