(Trinidad Express) The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) has issued a prohibition notice after conducting initial investigations into the partial collapse of Well Services Petroleum Ltd’s Rig 110 while rig worker Pete Phillip remained missing yesterday.
A prohibition notice is served where there is serious and imminent danger towards the safety and health of employees and persons and, once served, it has “immediate effect to prohibit or restrict the use of the entire industrial establishment or part of it, until the existing danger has been removed or the OSH Act has been complied with, according to the agency’s website.
In a media release yesterday, OSHA said it had launched an independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
Phillip, 45, was working along with other employees on Rig 110, which is owned and operated by private company Well Services and situated within the Heritage Offshore East Field, when at around 3.09 a.m. Sunday the rig suffered a partial collapse during drilling activities. Well Services Ltd confirmed that 75 personnel were on board at the time of the incident.
One person was injured and received medical care. However, Phillip was unaccounted for, the company stated.
OSHA said it was alerted to the incident at around 3 a.m. on Sunday and responded approximately 30 minutes later with a team of inspectors.
Its Senior Inspector for Investigative Purposes, Jason Loorkhoor, who heads the Agency’s Major Hazards Unit, visited the scene of the incident to lead OSHA’s independent investigation. Later that day, the Agency’s chief inspector visited the premises, it stated.
As of 11 a.m., yesterday, Phillip was “reportedly still missing at sea”, and another employee of Tucker Energy Services Ltd had sustained an injury, OSHA stated.
“Investigations are ongoing, and OSHA has issued a prohibition notice,” it continued.
It added: “OSHA emphasises to all stakeholders and the general public the critical duties of all employers, occupiers and employees as contained in the OSH Act, geared towards creating and maintain safety at work. OSH remains committed to fostering the protection of the safety and health of all persons in workplaces in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Full support
In a media release yesterday, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) said it continued to assist Well Services and Heritage in providing 24-hour support to the Rig 110 incident response.
It said Permanent Secretary at the MEEI, Penelope Bradshaw-Niles, visited the “Incident Command Centre” at the Trinmar Marine Base, Point Fortin and received an update on the rescue operations, where she also met with the family members of Phillip.
On Sunday, Minister of Energy Stuart Young said an investigation would be launched into the Rig 110 incident.
He added that a team was established to monitor the response operation.
Heritage yesterday said it continues to support Well Services.
“In so doing Heritage has set up its Incident Management Team along with dedicated business support at its Marine Base in Point Fortin. This team of over 25 members of staff is led by Heritage’s Midstream Business Unit Leader and includes the Head of the Drilling Department and the Head of the HSE Department. The Point Fortin team reports into a team located at the Port of Spain office led by the company’s Chief Operations Officer,” it stated.
It added that Phillip “remains unaccounted for as at the time of this release”.
The company maintained that it would continue to spare no effort in this exercise.
These efforts, it continued, included the provision of nine support vessels used in the rescue of personnel aboard the rig; topside drone surveillance; and subsea surveillance through divers and remote operated vehicles.
“Heritage remains in constant contact with officials of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries and commits to make available any additional resources and/or expertise which may be required as it continues to provide full support,” it added.
Questions about incident
Opposition Member of Parliament Rudranath Indarsingh yesterday raised questions to Government on what caused the partial collapse of the oil rig.
In a media release, he likened the incident to the Paria diving tragedy in 2022, in which four divers lost their lives.
“Today, the incident at Rig 110, owned and operated by Well Services Petroleum Ltd, raises several disturbing questions that need to be answered immediately,” Indarsingh said.
These questions included when was the last inspection of the rig and what it revealed; what accounted for the partial collapse of the rig; and whether the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) responded to the rescue effort without diving equipment.
He added that while the rig was privately owned by Well Services, it was operating within a State-owned field.
He questioned the effectiveness of Heritage’s oversight after the Paria tragedy.
“This also follows two separate oil leaks last year, in which disruptions to Heritage’s pipelines caused dangerous air quality and, in one incident, caused the evacuation of several families from their homes in Fyzabad,” he added.
