Occupational Safety Directives in the oil and gas industry

Safety of the offshore oil and gas operations in Ghana is very paramount due to the revenue the sector is generating for the country.  In Ghana this will be achieved primarily through the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive).

One significant role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to create a comprehensive and coherent regulatory environment among oil exploration and production companies to optimize the whole lifecycle of both the safety and environmental aspects of offshore oil and gas activities in Ghana.

In Ghana, many of the EPA rules, regulations and provisions are already satisfied by the existing regulatory framework. Implementation measures nonetheless needs to be looked to secure the operations of the companies and employees on the Jubilee field.

The objectives of the Occupational Safety Directives include;

• To reduce the occurrence of major accidents relating to offshore oil and gas operations, limit their consequences and strengthen the EPA’s preparedness and response capacity to deal with a major accident;
• To cover the whole lifecycle of offshore activities, from design and planning through commissioning and operation to the final removal of an oil or gas installation;
• To achieve a consistent minimum of safety and environmental standards. Where adequate measures already exist in a national regime, the OSD should not materially alter these; and
• To improve and clarify existing EPA’s liability and compensation provisions for damage caused by offshore oil and gas activities by the oil exploration companies in the country.

In conclusion, to ensure the effective safety and occupational emergency response of the workers on the jubilee field, it is highly recommended that, there should be the creation of an independent offshore ‘competent authority, introduction of board level responsibility, introduction of more stringent licensing conditions, new provisions on who bears liability for environmental damage and a national safety authority that will develop policies to address the concerns of various employees nationwide.

By: David Aduhene Tanoh–www.reportingoilandgas.com