The company's dismal record undermines Shell's public commitment to improve its performance after a fatal explosion on the Brent field in the North Sea in 2003 and raises further concerns about Britain's ageing oil and gas equipment.
...Last summer Shell insisted it was in the middle of a $1bn (£515m) programme to upgrade its platforms, saying: "Safety is and will remain our first priority."...
Backstory
North Sea operators are investing less in offshore oil platforms at a time when production is falling much faster than expected, according to a recent report from the UK Offshore Operators Association. As the North Sea nears the end of its natural life as an oil province, many large groups are looking for much bigger finds elsewhere. North Sea production fell 9% to 2.9m barrels of oil equivalent last year and UKOOA expects it to be 250,000 barrels lower on average over the remainder of the decade. UKOOA is also predicting investment will fall to as little as £4bn this year compared with £5.6bn last year, at a time when costs are rocketing due to equipment shortages.
Shell has been repeatedly warned by the Health and Safety Executive about the poor state of its North Sea platforms, according to information obtained by the Guardian.
