The Oil & Gas UK’s Piper 25 conference will mark the 25th year of the explosion at the offshore oil platform Piper Alpha on 6 July 1988, which killed 167 men. Lord Cullen led the public inquiry into the explosion.
Piper 25 conference is expected to stress on the importance of strong leadership in how offshore safety is managed, and how far offshore safety has improved since the disaster, and re-focus on the efforts to continuously improve the safety.
Lord Cullen is expected to emphasize on the basic importance of a positive safety culture so as to prevent the occurrence of any major hazards.
The key speaker is also expected to discuss the challenges faced by the leaders on four main aspects namely, process safety, continually reviewing the arrangements for hazard control, ensuring effective communications, and turning safety aspirations into reality.
Lord Cullen will also speak on the essentiality of giving the workforce a leading role in their own safety, drawing attention to the importance of valuing and properly training elected safety representatives.
Oil & Gas UK health and safety director Robert Paterson said Lord Cullen’s report suggested 106 recommendations, which have transformed offshore safety management.
"There is no doubt that Piper Alpha was a wake up call for the oil and gas industry and the Public Inquiry which followed helped steer the industry on a path of continuous improvement," Paterson added.
"We can never be complacent and I hope the Piper 25 conference will not only be an opportunity to remind ourselves of this tragedy and how far we’ve come, but to galvanise our resolve to keep on improving and to ensure a disaster like Piper Alpha can never happen again."
