While the total number of incidents related to offshore oil and gas operations increased from 124 to 168 between 2018 and 2019 in the European Union, site safety remains at a high level, according to a European Commission report published on 24 September, based on data provided by EU Member States.
“In 2019, Member States’ competent authorities have redoubled their efforts to ensure a high level of safety in offshore oil and gas operations”, the Commission said.
The data provided indicates that they have notably increased the number of facility inspections from 318 in 2018 to 337 in 2019. Follow-up in the form of enforcement measures, on the other hand, was below the 2018 level.
For the Member States as a whole, the number of major accidents in the EU fell from six to four over the same period, the report further notes.
However, one death, 101 injuries, and 45 serious injuries were reported for 2019.
The Commission’s document also indicates that the number of installations in the EU has decreased from 556 to 543 between 2018 and 2019. Despite this reduction, the overall level of oil and gas production increased slightly over the same period, from 112,217 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) to 120,340 ktoe.
See the report: https://bit.ly/2ZC48P7 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)