Events
Date: Wednesday 21 September 2011
Venue: Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, AB23 8BL
Oil & Gas UK Member Rate: £200.00 + VAT per person
Non Member Rate: £250.00 + VAT per person
OSPRAG Summit - UK Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Since May 2010 following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) led the UK oil and gas industry’s effort to ensure that its drilling practices and procedures are robust and remain fit for purpose. While the industry, regulators and trade unions are confident in the ability of current regulations and procedures to prevent major well control incidents, OSPRAG has made great strides in identifying where improvements can be made and implementing them.
Oil & Gas UK’s OSPRAG Summit provided delegates the opportunity to find out from experts about the range of projects undertaken to bolster the industry’s prevention of blowouts and in the unlikely event that such an incident occurs, the sector’s response to it. The summit was chaired by Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK and provided an opportunity for the work of OSPRAG to be explored by an expert line-up of speakers including the group’s project leaders, regulators and lawyers.
Archie Smith of Oil Spill Response Limited lead the session on the sector’s response to an oil spill during which delegates found out about the newly available OSPRAG capping device which has been designed to seal off an uncontrolled subsea well in the unlikely event of a blowout. .
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union's Jake Molloy lead the discussion in which the chair of the new Life Cycle Practices Forum, Gregory King, and Health and Safety Executive’s Steve Walker explained measures that are being taken on an ongoing basis to strengthen the prevention of oil spills.
The morning also saw Colin Wannell of Offshore Pollution Liability Association Ltd (OPOL) head a discussion on indemnity and insurance requirements for oil spills which included the thoughts of Judith Aldersey-Williams of CMS Cameron McKenna on the ongoing liability and indemnity challenge that faces the industry.
After lunch and a networking opportunity, the focus turned to SULA, the full-scale exercise mounted in May to test the national contingency plan (NCP) for the response to a major oil spill in the UK. Phillip Naylor of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency chaired the afternoon session, during which each an evaluation of each element of the exercise including the Marine Response Centre, shoreline response and environmental impacts were outlined.
