Offshore Oil Chiefs Recommit To Helo Safety Initiatives

Senior leaders from the offshore oil-and-gas industry reconfirmed their commitment to further improve helicopter safety at HeliOffshore’s fourth annual conference, held last week in Lake Maggiore, Italy. The leaders agreed to push for “comprehensive implementation of safety priorities that will have the most potential to save lives in helicopter operations.”

Fawaz Bitar—chairman of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) management committee and BP’s head of global operations—emphasized the need for stakeholders to continue to participate in collaborating for safety. He indicated that IOGP would be ready to invest in safety programs and asked for project proposals to be brought forward.

“It’s personal: at BP alone, 2,500 passengers are transported each day by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. People’s lives depend on aviation safety,” Bitar said. “In a decade, the oil-and-gas industry has halved fatalities, and our mission is now to eliminate all loss of life. This is no longer a vision. It is an expectation.”

Senior industry leaders and frontline experts also led discussions about the next steps in HeliOffshore’s safety collaboration, including practical actions for the year ahead to deliver agreed priorities.