Australia’s offshore regulator elects new head for safety & well integrity division

Australia’s offshore oil & gas regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), has appointed a new Head of Division for Safety and Integrity.

NOPSEMA said on Monday that Derrick O’Keeffe would be the regulator’s new Head of Division for Safety and Integrity effective December 20, 2016. He will be based at NOPSEMA’s head office in Perth.

O’Keeffe replaces Gavin Guyan, who retired in September 2016, and who held various roles at the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) and subsequently at NOPSEMA when it was formed in 2012.

The agency said that, in this role, O’Keeffe will ensure regulatory requirements around the occupational health and safety of the offshore oil and gas workforce are met. This includes the assessment of Safety Cases and Well Operations Management Plans, and their associated inspection and compliance regimes.

He has experience with Australia’s objective-based regulatory regime, having worked for a diverse range of oil and gas companies in the country, the regulator said. These include Murphy Oil as Country Manager, Strike Energy as Chief Operating Officer, and Woodside as Business Manager.

Apart from these roles, O’Keeffe worked in the UK, USA, Asia, and the Middle East with various companies such as Blade Petroleum, British Gas, Schlumberger, and Marathon Oil.

Stuart Smith, CEO of NOPSEMA, said: “O’Keeffe will bring new perspectives to the regulatory work undertaken by NOPSEMA, and I look forward to O’Keeffe leading our engagement with industry on safety and well integrity matters.”

The newly appointed division head has recently been working as a consultant with the National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), part of the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres Initiative.