Govt moots single entity for oil sector safety, installations

With four agencies under different ministries being responsible for safety of oil installations, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today mooted bringing them under one umbrella organisation by enacting a new law.
Speaking at the Oil Industry Safety Awards, he said currently there four agencies responsible for different formulating safety standards in the oil and gas industry.
"First there is Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) under Labour Ministry that formulates standards for onshore fields. Then there is Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) for offshore installations.
"Further, there is Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) under DIPP that formulates standards of marketing network. And finally there is Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for pipelines," he said.

A comprehensive, futurist looking policy that involves best global pratices and state-of-the-art technology to provide cost effective solutions needs to be evolved, he said.
"A separate bill should be brought in Parliament for creation of an umbrella organisation to deal with safety standards of all oil and gas installations," he said. "Quality and safety issues should be under one umbrella organisation."

OISD, which is an oil ministry arm, carries out safety audits of oil and gas installations, besides formulating and standardising procedures and guidelines for design, operation and maintenance. But the body lacks statutory authority.
In August 2012, the then Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy had suggested giving statutory powers to OISD but the proposal has not materialised so far.

In June last year a devastating fire at state gas utility GAIL India's pipeline in Andhra Pradesh killed 15 persons, which was followed by a minor fire at HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd's Bhatinda refinery where no one was injured.
Six people had died and 36 were injured after a gas leak at steel maker SAIL's plant in Chhattisgarh on June 12. In August 2013, a fire at HPCL' Vizag refinery in Andhra Pradesh had killed 30 persons.
A dozen persons were killed in a fire at IOC's Jaipur oil depot on 29 December 2009. In 2005, 24 persons lost their lives when a giant platform of ONGC in Bombay High caught fire following a supply vessel colliding with it.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had in 1986 constituted the OISD to enhance safety in the industry. There are hazards on account of inherent risks associated with the oil and gas industry such as extreme physical conditions in addition to potential fire and explosion from accidental release of flammable hydrocarbons.