Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the time taken for safety-critical maintenance work to be completed on offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea in 2014; and what criteria are used to prioritise such work.

The regulation of the safety of offshore oil and gas installations is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and DECC has not carried out specific assessments in relation to safety-critical maintenance. However DECC and the Oil and Gas Authority are in regular contact with the HSE regarding offshore infrastructure issues and together, we aim to ensure that industry resources are directed to maximising safe, sustainable production.