§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many hotel rigs are in use in the British North Sea oilfield; how many of these were purpose-built as hotels; and how many were converted from other uses;
(2) how British North Sea oil inspection standards on safety, metal fatigue and safety at work compare with Norwegian sector standards;
(3) whether he intends to review safety standards, inspections for metal fatigue and the use of semi-submersible platforms for accommodation in the light of the " Alexander Kielland " disaster and the official inquiry report;
(4) how frequently drilling platforms, accommodation platforms and floating hotel rigs are inspected for metal fatigue.
§ Mr. GrayThere are six " hotel " units in the British sector of the North Sea at present; all were converted, five from drilling installations and the other from a pipelaying barge.
33WDrilling installations and fixed accommodation platforms are subject to statutory survey each year. These surveys include examination of selected areas for fatigue damage. A major survey concerning all areas is undertaken at least every five years. Additional surveys may be required by my Department or the certifying authorities. Floating accommodation units have not been considered previously to be within the scope of certification and survey; however, as a result of the Burgoyne inquiry into offshore safety, measures are being taken to bring these units within the scheme also. In the meantime they are surveyed regularly by the ship classification societies.
Safety standards are under constant review, and in particular my Department is a major sponsor of an international research programme into the fatigue, fracture and buckling of welded steel offshore structures; the results of this programme are being incorporated into the survey requirements as they become available. The report of the inquiry into the "Alexander Kieland" disaster will be considered in any future reviews of safety standards.
A comparison between British and Norwegian safety standards was made by the Burgoyne committee, a copy of the report of which is available in the Library. In general it may be said that the Norwegian standards are similar to the British ones, but their rules are more formalised.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether he will seek powers to require that the floating structures in the North Sea oilfields should be rotated regularly so that wear and tear, strain and metal fatigue on the different legs and surfaces can be equalised;
(2) whether he will seek to require that buoyancy be built into platforms in floating structures in the North Sea as a safety measure in case of structural failure;
(3) how many modifications, alterations and repairs have been notified to the surveying authority under Statutory Intru-ment No. 289 of 1974, paragraph 6(3);
(4) whether he has ordered the closure of any floating structure in the North Sea under the provisions of Statutory Instrument No. 289 of 1974.
34W
§ Mr. GrayWhen the Offshore Installations (Construction and Survey) Regulations SI 289 of 1974, came into force in 1975, a number of installations were unable to meet their requirements and were consequently removed from United Kingdom waters. Since then several floating installations have been temporarily taken off station for inspection or repairs as required by the certifying authorities. Ministerial intervention has not, so far, been necessary.
Many hundreds of modifications, alterations and repairs have been notified to the certifying authorities, under paragraph 7(3) of SI 289, and no cumulative record is kept, as many of these were minor and only a few have related to serious damage.
Schedule 2, part IV, 3(iii) to SI 289 requires buoyancy and stability to be maintained in the event of damage, although this would not necessarily be adequate in the event of a catastrophic structural failure such as occurred recently in Norwegian waters.
Because mobile units are used in many different locations and stresses are not related directly to wind and wave directions, which are very variable in the North Sea, it is believed that the effect of rotation of an installation on fatigue and so on would be minimal in relation to the cumulative effect of these forces on a structure. I shall, however, instruct my engineers to reconsider the matter in conjunction with the designers and certifying authorities.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will introduce legislation to ban the use of floating hotels in the North Sea.
§ Mr. GrayIt is not my present intention to introduce legislation to ban the use of floating hotels in the North Sea, but I may reconsider my position when the results of the Norwegian Government inquiry into the loss of the " Alexander Kielland " are available.