The safety of 363 oil and gas installations in EU waters improved in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to a European Commission report dated 29 August.
According to the document, the total number of incidents reported by Member States (excluding the UK) fell from 34 in 2019 to 16 in 2020, mainly due to a decrease in the number of unintentional oil and gas releases.
There were no incidents falling under the categories of “loss of well control” and “releases of hazardous substances” in 2020, the report states, while welcoming “major improvements in the safety of installations”.
Of the 16 incidents in 2020, 69% fell into the category of unintentional releases of gas and/or oil, 25% involved failures of safety and environmental critical components, and 6% related to loss of structural integrity.
While two major accidents - i.e. with the potential cause death or serious injury - were reported in EU Member States (one in Croatia and one in Denmark), fortunately no casualties were reported.
The EU’s offshore oil and gas production has decreased from 24 258 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) in 2019 to 19 941 ktoe in 2020. It is mainly concentrated in Denmark and the Netherlands, which together account for 74% of production.
The facilities are located in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean (187), Mediterranean Sea (165), Black Sea (9) and Baltic Sea (2).
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/2v8 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)