Oil and Gas Industry
14 October 2009
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Ind): Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a shut-off valve at the Calor Gas site on Canvey Island failed to operate properly, resulting in the release of 163 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas into a densely populated residential area? A lot of the gas was released as an unconfined vapour cloud, which could have been catastrophic and could have made Buncefield look like a garden bonfire.
Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that, a year on from that incident, Calor Gas has still not made itself available for interview under caution by the HSE, which is therefore still unable to report and to introduce the right safety measures to ensure that such things do not happen again?
Mr. Doran: I know only what I have read in the press about that release, but the hon. Gentleman is right. The problems are not confined to the offshore oil and gas industry. The incident that he mentioned occurred onshore, where the same safety systems need to be in place. I will come to that a little later. Regulation and compliance with the regulatory system are crucial. In that respect, I totally agree with him.
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