Oil & Gas Producers Agree on Action Plan for Safe Helicopter Operations

The Aviation subcommittee of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) has agreed to a regional safety action plan to be achieved through collaboration, standardisation, and coordinated action across the region.

This was the consensus at the conclusion of a two-day Offshore Helicopter Industry Safety Workshop, held in Lagos State, Nigeria. with the theme “Developing a Regional Action Plan For Safe Operations.”

Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, (SNEPCo), Ronald Adams, said: “By developing a regional action plan, we can move beyond dialogue to alignment, ensuring that the safety, leadership, industry standards, and collaborative approaches championed last year are embedded in a common roadmap for collective improvement”.

Adams welcomed efforts to promote safe helicopter services across Africa in a proposed Regional Action Plan and pledged total support of the initiative.

Charles Oranyeli, General Manager, Contracting and Supply Chain, delivering the keynote address at the Aviation Subcommittee of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) seminar, held in Lagos, in partnership with Heli Offshore, a London-based aviation safety advocacy organization

SNEPCo which pioneered Nigeria’s deep water production at Bonga in 2005, relies mostly on helicopter shuttles for operations and supported the workshop as part of its contributions towards safe services in Nigeria.

In an address at the opening session delivered by General Manager Contracting and Supply Chain, Charles Oranyeli, he said the most effective solutions will come not from isolated efforts, but from partnership among operators within the region.

The workshop was attended by more than 80 representatives from oil and gas companies, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), helicopter operators and original equipment manufacturers, OEMs.

The event concluded with participants chronicled actionable items for the proposed Regional Action Plan which included Search and Rescue (SAR) initiatives, implementation of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, IOGP, Report 690, standards and establishment of formal industry leadership forums.

The IOGP has been active for over 50 years, supporting its more than 90 members around the world to promote “excellence in safe, efficient and sustainable energy.”