§ 30. Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he proposes to take to improve safety in the offshore oil and gas industry.
§ Mr. Parkinson[pursuant to the reply, 27 February 1989, c. 81]: A consultative document containing our proposals for a set of regulations for pipeline safety valves on offshore installations has been issued today. Copies of this document are available in the Library of the House.
As a consequence of the technical investigation carried out by my Department into the Piper Alpha accident last July, my director of safety contacted all pipeline operators on 24 August 1988 to reassess the location and operation of their pipeline isolation systems.
Following a review by my Department of the operators' responses I have decided that it is necessary to introduce regulations requiring emergency shut-down valves on pipeline risers serving offshore installations together with the periodic inspection and testing of these valves and their control systems. In addition, it is proposed that an Order in Council will be made whereby these valves will become part of the certification process of the installation.
These proposed regulations represent an important further step in securing improvements in the safety of offshore pipeline systems. I shall in due course be laying further regulations to deal with subsea isolation systems, 415W however these present very difficult technical problems which require further study before I can make firm proposals.