Petrofac put on notice over toxic fumes risk to workers

ANorth Sea watchdog has put energy services giant Petrofac on notice after it left workers on the Kittiwake platform at risk of exposure to hazardous fumes.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors issued the improvement notice for Petrofac’s failure to suitably risk-assess work carried out on the installation.

In particular, the HSE took issue with guidance that failed to require ventilation of welding fumes – “a known human carcinogen” capable of causing cancer.

Kittiwake is around 100 miles off Aberdeen.

The HSE found that a live work permit and another key document “conflicted one another”. There is no suggestion workers were actually exposed to unventilated fumes.

Petrofac said it took the findings “extremely seriously” and made immediate changes, alongside a third-party review of its processes.

A safety alert from HSE in 2019 warned of evidence that exposure to any welding fume can cause lung cancer. There was also some evidence linking fumes to kidney cancer. At that time, the regulator indicated it would be stepping up its expectations of enforcement around ventilation when welding.

In Petrofac’s case, HSE found the firm failed to consider the type of welding, the hazardous properties of substances involved, amounts used, duration or information on potential health effects.

A key assessment used outdated legislation for hazard classification, did not identify relevant workplace exposure limits and did not set out suitable measures to control welding fumes, the HSE added.

Inspectors said a further six risk assessments were reviewed as part of the inspection.

These did not adequately assess the risks and potential for hazardous exposure to employees, the safety regulator said.

A spokewoman for Petrofac said: “The health and safety of our people is of paramount importance to Petrofac and we take any potential risk to this extremely seriously.

“We fully accepted the HSE’s recommendations and made immediate changes to our control of substances hazardous to health processes and procedures. We have also commissioned a holistic review of these by an external third party to ensure our long-term improvement plan is robust and comprehensive.”

Petrofac has until March 1 to address its shortcomings.

Petrofac has been duty holder on Kittiwake since 2003, serving owner EnQuest since 2014 and Centrica before that.

In 2022 it was awarded a three-year contract renewal for the asset, taking its service there beyond the two-decade mark.

The field itself is no longer producing and had its drilling facilities decommissioned in 2009.

But the platform continues to operate as a production hub for several tie-back fields comprising the Greater Kittiwake Area.