North Sea platform shut over safety fears

The UK government’s workplace safety watchdog ordered the oil giant Shell to shut down a North Sea platform amid concerns dangerously corroded pipework on the structure could have led to an explosion or fire, it has emerged

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive discovered a section of the flare system on the company’s Armada installation was in a poor state, with pipework not properly maintained.

It warned the “degraded” state of the pipe section – which should have a thickness of 7.1mm, but measured just 1.6mm – posed a risk of “serious personal injury” resulting from an explosion or fire.

It served an immediate prohibition notice against BG International – part of the Shell group – earlier this summer for the issues at the plat- 0 The HSE warned Shell over ‘degraded’ platform pipework form, l30 miles east of Aberdeen.

A Shell spokesman: “We have completed the necessary improvement work as stipulated under the prohibition notice and the platform returned to production on 9 July.”

Since May, Shell has been served with six safety notices for incidents in the North Sea, including two improvement notices for its Brent Charlie platform.