Senior Multimedia Reporter
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Former inspector with T&T’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Agency Safraz Ali is calling for urgent government intervention to address what he describes as severe safety lapses in the oil and gas industry.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Ali said OSH inspectors had not been doing offshore inspections on certain installations since 2022.
“I understand that there has not been any inspection done on any offshore facility that requires an inspector to board a helicopter to access the platform or rig,” the former inspector said, referring specifically to installations on the East and North Coasts.
“This is a very, very serious situation for the whole health and safety of the oil and gas industry.”
He said accessing these platforms required inspectors to have valid T-BOSIET certification—which covers emergency response, underwater escape techniques, and survival skills in the event of a helicopter crash. But those certifications for OSH inspectors have reportedly expired.
“Inspectors have not been able to do safety inspections and audits on oil and gas installations on the East Coast and the North Coast due to their certificates being expired,” he said. “It means that the OSH agency did not have inspectors who were able to go offshore to do safety checks. So if there was an incident on one of these installations, the OSH agency would not have had an inspector to go and investigate.”
He added that while the training was reportedly conducted last year, “the facilitator did not issue the certificates because payment has not been made for the training.”
In addition to the inspection backlog, he expressed concern over the lack of follow-through on proposed diving regulations that were promised in the aftermath of the Paria incident that claimed the lives of four divers.
“What has been put in place?” he asked. “We have not—the public has not—heard of any diving regulations being implemented. I’m asking, where has that process reached? Who was the diving regulation submitted to? And why is it that since 2022, nothing has been sent forward for review or action?”
He stressed that the OSH Act allows for new regulations to be made and added, “We saw clearly—based on the findings of the Commission of Inquiry—there are no mandatory diving regulations in place. Four of our nationals unfortunately died in one incident alone.”
He called on the government to support both the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Inspectorate and the OSH Agency in properly executing their oversight functions.
In a direct appeal, he urged the government to “take a closer look at the operations of the OSHA agency,” especially in light of fatalities such as the explosion at NiQuan.
“I am making a clarion call to the OSH Agency. I know they have vacancies right now. There are certain things happening inside the agency that need to be looked at—especially if one looks at past performance, like with the NiQuan incident,” he said. “There was an explosion that occurred before when they started up, and then they were given the order to proceed. Not long after, another explosion occurred that took the life of a worker.”
“What I’m asking for is that a review of the OSHA Agency be done—based on past performance and in terms of efficiency and effectiveness,” he continued. “Are they truly achieving their mandate, which is to ensure that workplaces are safe and healthy as reasonably practicable under the OSH Act?”
Contacted for comment, Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said, “We use externally certified agencies acceptable to the industry globally to undertake these inspections and investigations.”
