Face it. Europe does things one way, and the US does them differently. As I understand it, in the UK one can't even fly a single over a city, nor at night. That level of regulation would never be permitted here. We don't try to regulate you, so you shouldn't try to regulate us.
In the scenario above, the helicopter is seldom as much as 1/4 mile from a platform, and a boat is usually in the field, or at least close by. People are not dying from engine failures in these fields, and the oil companies are not about to pay for 2 or 3 twins to do the job that one 206 is doing safely now. Ain't gonna happen. Pissing and moaning about it from the other side of the pond won't do any good at all, and neither will it help from here. Get over it.