Oil well inspector too busy: report

Petroleum Exploration and Production Association executive officer John Pfahlert. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand has just one inspector to oversee safety in its oil exploration industry, echoing concerns raised about policing the coal mining industry after the Pike River disaster.

The single Department of Labour oil well inspector must monitor health and safety on at least seven installations to guard against accidents such as the blowout that killed 11 workers on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Government-ordered review released last week found the inspectorate is significantly under-resourced.

Of other countries studied, Australia has one inspector for every three installations, Britain one for every two and Norway one per installation.

The New Zealand inspector is also responsible for onshore petroleum and geothermal activities.

"Thus the New Zealand inspectorate appears significantly under-resourced with respect to regulatory review, monitoring, inspection and enforcement," said reviewers Atkins Holm Joseph Majurey and international consultancy Environmental Resource Management.

Petroleum Exploration and Production Association executive officer John Pfahlert said immediate attention was needed so the Department of Labour could make more effective inspections. About 15 years ago there were up to 10 inspectors.

"The report's saying that [one] isn't enough - you need three at a minimum plus a couple of support staff and that's the same within the jurisdiction of the Labour Department."

Highly qualified staff could earn more in the private sector, Pfahlert said. "They make sure all the health and safety regulations are being adhered to. They're supposed to have a knowledge of what equipment and expertise is on hand to ensure you don't get a blowout. A lot of what is supposed to prevent what happened in the Gulf of Mexico."

The few Department of Labour mines inspectors - just three - has been highlighted after the tragedy at Pike River in which 29 workers died.

The Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union's national secretary Andrew Little said Pike River was a reminder safety was not negotiable.

"This cutting down on state agencies responsible for health and safety monitoring should not be tolerated," he said.

"The level of hazard in oil and gas exploration and production is akin to that in underground mining and no expense should be spared."

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee released the report which is calling for submissions in response to the recommendations.

"I think if we're going to have more of this activity we have to make sure we have high levels of compliance - how we achieve that is yet to be determined."

He said the Government would like compliance to be "as efficient as possible".

A spokesman for Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson said the offshore petroleum industry had its own regulations and operated on a safety case basis.

"We're always looking at what resources we have in place to manage the risks associated with highly-skilled industries like this and whether improvements can be made."

EXPLORATION TARGET

* NZ's total available area covers in excess of 4.4 million square km.
* Large parts of the available area remain unexplored and/or undeveloped.
* NZ ranks the 18th most attractive jurisdiction out of the 133 jurisdictions.