EnQuest said yesterday its offshore teams on a North Sea platform had gone six years without a serious accident.

Workers on the Thistle installation 125 miles north-east of Shetland have gone more than 1.2million man hours without a lost-time incident (LTI), the oil and gas operator added.

David Heslop, EnQuest’s managing director for the UK continental shelf, said: “EnQuest‘s principal aim is to deliver safe results and what has been accomplished on Thistle is a great example of how collaboration and technical expertise, underpinned by a robust safety culture, can deliver exceptional performance safely.

“More than 1.2million man hours have been worked during six years without an LTI, which is an outstanding achievement under any circumstances, but particularly given the challenges of both reactivating the drilling rig and operating a mature asset.”

EnQuest said its drilling team was supported by a KCA Deutag crew and workers from Aker Solutions.

Earlier this year, EnQuest approved £169million of investment to extend the life of Thistle. The decision was expected to safeguard nearly 500 jobs and create a further 1,000 in the supply chain in Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester and Swansea over the next three years.

http://www.energyvoice.com/2013/07/safety-success-milestone-for-thistle-platform/