Ayamn Aasfari, Chief Executive of Petrofac, has confirmed what OILC-RMT has been saying for years. He told the Oil and Money Conference in London: “the state of some of these assets that were built in the 1970s is they are falling apart. We’ve seen incidents where people have fallen through the grating” (As have we — and more!)
Mr. Aasfari said that the safety regulator had instructed the industry to do more on facilities integrity but he is concerned that the falling price of oil (no signs of falling profits, though!) could deter companies from spending the much needed cash to stop the rot.
OILC-RMT Organiser Jake Molloy notes that the chief executive's outburst is a vindication of what many offshore workers have warned about for years, saying: “More chief executives need to line up behind this gentleman"
We’re glad that at long last someone in the industry has had the balls to stand up and be counted, but what will this mean for him? Will he like so many others we know who have raised concerns over safety find himself not required back?
OGUK, the offshore operators' trade union, predictably disagreed with Aasfari’s comments and trotted out the predictable PR response: "There has been a spend of more that £1.5bn on asset integrity in the last year", said a spokesperson. We all know that. The point is, it is not enough considering the years of neglect evident on some installations.
Petrofac certainly had that 'day after the night before' feeling on reading next day's press and the company's subsequent press statements have displayed more back peddling than in a tent full of a certain type of circus performer could ever do.
Here is Mr. Aasfari's statement as revised by the Ministry of Truth: “The oil and gas industry has a record of increasing investment in asset integrity and several billion pounds have been spent in the last few years in order to secure facilities in the North Sea. The debate at yesterday’s conference provided a good opportunity to re-enforce the importance of this investment continuing, despite current economic uncertainty”
Sorry, Petrofac, a tad more than slick PR will be needed to put this particular cat back in its bag!