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<p>The Health and Safety Executive has recorded the following hydrocarbon releases
(HCRs) by year:</p><p> </p><p>2000 264</p><p>2001 251</p><p>2002 242</p><p>2003 242</p><p>2004
273</p><p>2005 224</p><p>2006 190</p><p>2007 185</p><p>2008 147</p><p>2009 179</p><p>2010
186</p><p>2011 142</p><p>2012 105</p><p>2013 118</p><p>2014 94</p><p>2015 93</p><p>2016
101(p)</p><p>2017 103(p)</p><p> </p><p>Final figures for 2016 will be confirmed and
published with the provisional figures for 2017 as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s
annual <em>Offshore Statistics & Regulatory Activity Report, </em>due to be published
in July.</p><p> </p><p>Releases are categorised as “major”, “significant” and “minor”,
depending on the potential consequences of the event, which is usually directly linked
to the total quantity or rate of release.Overall reported hydrocarbon releases have
approximately halved since 2010. The reporting process presents an opportunity for
both the regulator and the industry to investigate and identify underlying causes
and learn lessons.</p><p> </p><p>Although the offshore industry has seen the overall
downward trend as an indicator of improved performance, HSE remains concerned that
every release represents a deficiency in an operator’s process safety management,
and an increased risk of harm to workers. There have also been a small number of large
releases every year which could have resulted in a major accident.</p><p> </p><p>Consequently,
the Director of HSE’s Energy Division wrote recently to challenge the offshore industry
to identify and address any weaknesses in its leadership and safety culture, as well
as its arrangements for safety system audits, which have allowed such releases to
occur (see attachment entitled Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the
Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases).</p>
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