BP cited for North Sea safety lapses as outgoing boss Tony Hayward faces grilling by MPs

BP's operations in the North Sea were investigated six months before the Gulf of Mexico explosion amid questions about staff safety training, it emerged today.

The Health and Safety Executive found new staff were not being trained to 'basic safety standards', according to a letter obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

Inspectors found several of the oil giant's installations in the North Sea had broken emergency rules for training staff on how to respond to spills.

Outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward is sure to be asked about the inadequate training when he appears before a Commons select committee today.


Safety lapses: Inspectors found BP was not training staff on its North Sea rigs properly six months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion



In his first appearance in the UK since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Mr Hayward will face the Energy and Climate Change Committee.

It is is investigating the implications of the U.S. oil spill for offshore drilling in the UK and looking at whether the UK regime is fit for purpose.

The HSE launched an inquiry after a worker on the Clair Rig near the Shetland Islands complained, according to The Telegraph who put in the FoI request.

Executives were told in October 2009 that 'training of some new personnel to basic safety standards was ineffective'.

The letter also said there was 'evidence of a culture among your contractors, Seawell (up to senior levels of management), of working outside of procedures, permit or permit conditions'.

BP was also criticised for failing to take the complaint seriously. Investigators said it 'did not appear to identify the significance of issues raised by the complainant once they were put to you by HSE'.

The letter reportedly says there were four different examples on North Sea rigs from 2008 to 2009 when the oil giant had not learned lessons following investigations.

A BP spokesman told the paper: 'Clair has an excellent safety track record and has recently achieved six years of operation without any injury that has resulted in a day away from work.'

Other documents obtained by the Financial Times reveal how all but one of BP's North Sea rigs inspected in 2009 were reprimanded for a lack of training.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) inspectors also found the firm had not conducted oil spill exercises properly at some of its offshore sites.

Months later, BP's Deepwater Horizon rig off the coast of the U.S. exploded - killing 11 workers and sparking one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in U.S. history.

The firm has 33 platforms in the North Sea, of which 12 were inspected by DECC officials in the five years to the end of 2009.

Records show 11 of the 23 inspections led to criticism of its training methods, according to the Financial Times. Eight inspection reports on seven different rigs suggested necessary training had not happened.

A BP spokesman said: 'DECC raised a valid issue with us regarding oil spill response training and the frequency of training exercises.

'The small number of personnel who had not undergone refresher training have now been brought up to date and we are fully compliant with this part of the regulations.

'Regarding oil spill exercises, we regularly test our oil spill response plans, involving teams onshore and offshore.

'The DECC points related to the required frequency of offshore oil spill response exercises and to the particular way in which DECC required us to record those exercises.

'These points have now been clarified and we are fully compliant with the regulations.'


Tony Hayward will be grilled by the Energy and Climate Change Committee