The Falklands have in place a raft of Health & Safety legislation largely mirroring that of the North Sea.  This ensures that any exploration operations are carried out safely and to best practice.

The rig owner must submit a safety case demonstrating that it can drill safely in Falklands waters.  This safety case is reviewed by the UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which may also inspect the rig while on location.

All well designs are also reviewed by HSE, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the British Geological Survey and are not approved unless they are deemed safe.  Finally, all operators are bound by the terms of their licence to use a blowout preventer while drilling.

Companies’ Health & Safety policies and management systems include:

• Continuously reviewing, assessing and managing H&S risks and preventing pollution.
• Testing response plans to ensure that incidents can be controlled quickly and effectively.
• Developing specific plans to identify and assign responsibilities as well as tracking H&S activities.
• Ongoing reviews of H&S performance and management to identify and implement necessary improvements.