Gulf fix edges forward as UK warns of rising oil leak risk

US officials confirmed yesterday that BP is planning to recover the failed blowout preventer from the ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday as the operation to conclusively cap the well edges towards its finish.

Thad Allen, the retired coastguard admiral in charge of the US government's response to the crisis, said BP was currently working to remove a broken drill pipe from the device and would then aim remove it on Thursday and replace it with a new blowout preventer.

However, he added that the operation could yet be delayed by an extra day or so if it takes longer than expected to remove the pipe.

BP said that the addition of a new blowout preventer would mean that the well is in a better position to cope with any increase in pressure that results when the company completes the drilling of a relief well and begins the "bottom kill " operation that will see heavy mud and cement pumped into well.

The procedure is expected to be completed a few days after the 6 September Labor Day holiday.

The news came as officials in Europe warned that safety standards at drilling operations in the North Sea appear to have slipped in the past year, raising fresh questions about the long-term risks associated with deepwater oil and gas drilling.

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today released figures showing that the number of offshore oil and gas leaks recorded during the last financial year rose 39 per cent to 85 incidents.

None of the leaks grabbed the headlines, but they were all classified as significant hydrocarbon releases that could potentially act as precursors to a major leak.

The HSE also reported that there were 50 major injuries reported last year, an increase on the average over the past five years of 42 serious accidents a year. As a result, the combined fatal and major injury rate almost doubled to 192 per 100,000 workers in 2009/10 compared with 106 in 2008/09 and 156 in 2007/08.

Steve Walker, head of HSE's offshore division, expressed disappointment at the industry's safety record and warned that the agency would continue to take a tough line against firms that fail to follow safety best practices.

"I am particularly disappointed, and concerned, that major and significant hydrocarbon releases are up by more than a third on last year," he said. "This is a key indicator of how well the offshore industry is managing its major accident potential and it really must up its game to identify and rectify the root causes of such events."

The report comes just a week after officials in Norway voiced similar concern over the risk of offshore oil spills from deepwater wells.

Magne Ognedal, director general of the Petroleum Safety Authority told news agency Reuters, that the watchdog would force firms planning to drill in deepwater to adhere to stricter safety standards.

"We asked the OLF (Norway's oil industry lobby) to look into the possibility of developing equipment that could handle sub-sea blowouts regardless of water depths," he said. "They will need to look for better technologies to help detect a leak on sub-sea installations. We are looking for improvements in that area."