ROYAL DUTCH SHELL ‘TOUCH F*** ALL’ APPROACH TO OFFSHORE DRILLING
A safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform in 1999 led by Bill Campbell exposed a “Touch F*** All” culture with safety records routinely falsified. The damning audit report was passed to then Shell EP director Malcolm Brinded, who made promises to remedy the situation that were not kept. Instead Brinded decided to put profits before safety. Hence the subsequent deadly explosion followed by a cover-up at the highest level of Royal Dutch Shell. It seems from recently published articles that despite all the pledges and the appointment of a so-called safety Czar, nothing has changed.
By John Donovan
In 2005, Shell received a record breaking fine of £900,000 at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, for a series of safety failings on the Brent Bravo platform, which led to a gas leak inside the giant platform’s utility leg and the tragic avoidable deaths of offshore workers.
A safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform in 1999 led by Bill Campbell exposed a “Touch F*** All” culture with safety records routinely falsified.
The damning audit report was passed to then Shell EP director Malcolm Brinded, who made promises to remedy the situation that were not kept. Instead Brinded decided to put profits before safety. Hence the subsequent deadly explosion followed by a cover-up at the highest level of Royal Dutch Shell.
A subsequent report in 2008 by upstreamonline revealed that even the oil rig lifeboats were not seaworthy.
It seems from articles published in the last 24 hours that despite all the pledges by Shell senior management and the appointment of a so-called safety Czar, nothing has changed.
Gas leak lands Shell safety warning: upstream online.com: 27 August 2014
Extract
Shell has been served with a serious safety warning by UK authorities following a gas leak on its Brent Bravo platform in the northern North Sea.
Extracts
The incident happened on the Brent Bravo, off Shetland, on 9 June. Production on the Brent Bravo was shut down at the time, to allow maintenance work to be carried out.
Safety watchdog launches investigation after gas leak on oil platform: STV News 27 August 2014
Extract
In its prohibition notice, the HSE reported: “Appropriate measures not taken to prevent uncontrolled release of hydrocarbon gas from gas export system including the pig traps and crossover arrangements. “Unwanted and unnecessary accumulation of hydrocarbon gas in the pig traps could not easily be blown down in an emergency.”
Extract
The HSE is still wrapping up its investigation and said it should reach its final conclusion soon.
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COMMENT RECEIVED
John,
It seems that Malcolm Brinded’s legacy of TFA is alive and kicking on Brent B. The issuing of a Prohibition notice by the HSE is a very serious matter which reflects yet again at the failure of Shell in Aberdeen to be able to eliminate gas leaks.
Just one question:- Why do Shell continually shoot themselves in the foot?
Regards
Royal Dutch Shell Retreat from Nigeria
The FT states: “Shell’s phlegmatic chief executive Ben van Beurden will need to hold his nose when he takes the money…” and in a related article, describes Shell’s actions as a “retreat from the Niger Delta” (triggered in part by militancy, violence and bunkering).
By John Donovan
The global firesale of Shell assets continues with the sale of four oil fields in Nigeria for $5 billion.
The FT states: Shell’s phlegmatic chief executiveBen van Beurden will need to hold his nose when he takes the money…“ and in a related article, describes Shell’s actions as a “retreat from the Niger Delta” (apparently triggered in part by militancy, violence and bunkering).
Extract from latter article:
“…a militant uprising in the Niger Delta last decade led to severe supply disruptions, and though the worst of the violence has subsided, criminal gangs continue to cause havoc, siphoning off huge volumes of oil from the pipelines that criss-cross the delta.”
Information about the sale by Shell and its partners, Total and Eni, is vague.
A Shell spokesman said: “We have signed sales & purchase agreements for some of the Oil Mining Leases, but not all that we are seeking to divest.”
However, according to Reuters, no details were available on the value of the deals signed, nor when the full process will be completed.
As Rupert Hargreaves correctly points out in a Motley Fool article: “Shell has already sold $8bn worth of underperforming assets so far this year and there are more sales to come. That being said, the group continues to struggle within North America, where Shell has found it hard to compete with local producers.”
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
By John Donovan
