subject: Accidents Do Happen, Fire In The Sea: 3 Points To Remember [print this page] Make no mistake: on an offshore oil rig you will be dealing with all sorts of explosive materials. Indeed, scientists have invented a novel way to contain its fury, through a device called the internal combustion engine, i.e. the big thing that drives your car.
Sometimes cars catch fire, and the same applies to oil rigs. Even though crude petroleum is indeed less inflammable than their chemically refined counterpart, the incidental natural gas seeping out of the well will more than make up for it. So one of the first things you'll be learning on an offshore oil platform will seem self-explanatory if not condescending, namely, how not to blow the whole thing up to smithereens.
*It Happens: Unfortunately, there are a few problems with these protocols. Suppose you were working on an oil rig and a fire did break out. Are you going to call the fire services on your Freephone and ask them to send a helicopter over? How does it all work around there?
A minor fire on an oil rig can nevertheless have devastating consequences. It is not uncommon for them to burn for hours or days on end, destroying priceless equipment, and obliterate weeks of effort in boring a hole.
*And Sometimes They Don't Have A Clue: Offshore oil crew is more or less on its own when it comes to emergencies. Naturally emergency responders will pick up the phone, but what they are going to do is anyone's guess. If you're lucky you will be dealing with health and safety professionals who have worked in your field before, and perhaps your company had previously discusses contingency plans with them.
*What Can You Do Then? You might want to do some homework yourself, by at least familiarising yourself with ways to extinguish a small rig fire. Unfortunately, the standard procedures of spraying water and foam will only cool the works but not put it out entirely. In the event of a blowout preventer failure, only pumping mud down into the borehole would do the trick.
As you learn the parlance and the tricks of the trade, you will gradually find it difficult to communicate the extent of the problem to a non-professional, especially when it comes to an emergency when clear and concise instructions can make a huge difference. It's not just technical terms, but the whole environment which you've chosen to call home after so many weeks, months and years.
Close your eyes and think of one minor dodgy bit in your house that needs fixing, then try to tell someone who has never set foot in it exactly where it is over a phone. It's more difficult than you might think, and this is why emergency responders need to cooperate with your crew beforehand, rather than in the aftermath, when it comes to health and safety planning.
And yes, eventually you'll know your way around the platform like you do around your house.
