 Health and Safety Index
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Operators Co-operative Emergency ServicesThe Operators Co-operative Emergency Services is the organisational framework under which oil and gas companies operating in the waters of the North Sea and adjacent waters of the North West European Continental Shelf co-operate and share resources in the event of an emergency situation. National Associations The offshore operating companies in the various countries around the North and Irish Seas have formed national associations which enable the offshore oil and gas industry as a whole to deal with matters of common interest within each country and with industry interests in adjacent countries. The national associations are:
Emergency Preparedness Under national legislation, the operator of an offshore installation is required to have in place effective contingency plans for emergency situations. Operators are also required under international conventions to provide assistance to anyone in distress at sea. In addition to these duties, the offshore industry believes that shared resources provided by other members with the ability to assist provides the best means of containing an emergency involving one of its members. To promote and facilitate this sharing of resources, the national associations have a declared policy of mutual support between members and have put in place the necessary arrangements and procedures to ensure that support can be provided effectively. These are described in the Mutual Aid and Emergency Assistance Code Link. This co-operation between associations and their members has been in place since the early days of the industry. The arrangements have been developed in parallel with the expansion of the industry, and have been used to provide assistance to members and others in both real and potential emergency situations. The generic title of the arrangements is now "Operators' Co-operative Emergency Services", or OCES. OCES Organisation The six national associations are the participants in OCES, and represent the interests of their member companies. Each Association appoints a representative to the OCES Executive Committee. Chairmanship of the Executive Committee rotates between Association every second year. The Executive Committee is responsible for the overall effectiveness of OCES, and meets regularly to review arrangements and to consider developments in emergency response policy and capabilities. The individual Association representatives ensure that their offshore operating company members remain fully appraised of developments. Other offshore industry interests who are not members of OCES are kept informed of OCES business through the offshore oil and gas industry's international association, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP). Interfaces with Other Organisations OCES arrangements and procedures have been developed so that they are consistent with those of the relevant authorities and agencies in each country responsible for maritime emergency response, air-sea rescue and pollution response. The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) represents the interests of the global offshore oil and gas industry in dealing with international organisations. Exercises In addition to exercises carried out by individual operators to test emergency procedures, frequent inter-operator exercises take place. National Associations and their members participate in international search and rescue exercises. These exercises could involve civil and military search and rescue resources from many European nations and provide the industry with an opportunity to experience close co-operation with civil and military operations personnel in simulated but realistic circumstances.
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