EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

SUMMARY

This report describes the outcome of a review of experience from two recent offshore design projects, primarily from a safety perspective, to identify key issues and any lessons that may be learnt for future projects. In particular, the review provided an opportunity to compare experience from a UK project with that from a project carried out in the USA at approximately the same time. The review was also undertaken against the background of the report by Offshore Design Engineering Ltd (ODE), comparing UKCS and GoM practice [1]. Consideration was given to the extent to which the safety-related conclusions of the ODE report were supported by the experience of the two projects. Background information is provided on the different regulatory regimes, together with specific details relating to the two projects. The overall approach to safety is discussed and statistics given on the amount of analysis undertaken on the two projects. It is concluded that the differences identified by ODE were offset to a large extent by the influence of the Operating Company’s corporate standards, which tended to be aligned with the UK safety regime. Therefore, the cost differentials identified in [1] were not particularly evident in the two projects discussed here.

This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy