Rotor and Wing recently discussed Shell Aircraft's approach
With the goal of one accident per million flying hours in mind, Shell now insists its employees fly in helicopters that meet the latest standards in seven categories (see table). They range from the latest design and performance standards, through type-specific simulator training to integration of cockpit aids like terrain and traffic warning systems.
You will see all these factors in Nigeria.
One way that Shell ensures that aircraft are available with the sort of comprehensive HUMS that Shell first invented is because Shell control the Aviation Safety Committee of the oil industry trade body OGP. This means:
OGP members adopted the Shell standards
The ASC ensures:
that its guidelines exceed most, if not all, national regulatory requirements.
Shell has:
proven statistically that OGP members have a better accident rate than the oil & gas industry as a whole
Though obviously Shell:
does more than most
Luckily many of the oil companies operating in Nigeria are members of OGP (Shell, Total, Agip, Addax, Exxon and Chevron) and this helps ensure all aircraft in Nigeria are HUMS equipped:
For example, if one oil company expects its people to fly only in HUMS-fitted helicopters, this may be difficult to achieve if it only contracts a few aircraft in a specific region. If its total fleet is 10 times that, there is little incentive for the operator to comply. If however, the oil companies band together to demand HUMS-fitted helicopters, then the initiative may cover 50–60 of those helicopters and be much easier to manage.
ASC also:
spends a lot of time emphasizing the need to go the extra mile in managing and mitigating risk. “At a national oil company you don’t have that driver. Most international companies will coordinate with their partners as a matter of routine.”
Speaking on the complexity of coordinating with National Oil Companies the Shell executive said:
“The issue, as ever, is simply one of implementation, particularly among the national oil companies. We are embarking on a process of education, which is intended to open the eyes of their senior management to the fact that if they do have an aviation operation, there is a risk.
“The danger is that a number of people have been extremely lucky—so far they haven’t had an accident. It’s only when you open the senior management’s eyes to their liability, the wider implications of having an accident—including loss of production and reputation—that you start being listened to.
In certain parts of the world the national authorities, including the governments, are not as attuned to risk as we now are. National regulation is extremely limited.”
On the issue of aircraft types the Shell strategy was clearly stated:
Stevens says Shell will soon tender to upgrade to new-generation helicopters in Nigeria. “We want to get rid of AS332s and replace them with EC225s, [and] S76s with AW139s. And we’ll be doing this in cooperation with the NOC of Nigeria.
You will recall that the 9 aircraft Bristow have been flying will be replaced by first 8 EC155s and then finally just 7 AW139s. That is even better than was originally expected:
It’s not just a question of safety. If you have your demand management—I mean your control of passenger movement—really sharp, with really good load factors and so on, and you replace old types with new ones, you can sometimes do the same job with one less airframe. So your initial start-up costs and operating costs are both lower.”
On the AW139 and the EC155:
AgustaWestland has carved a niche with its new-generation AW139—Bristow ordered three of them at Helitech in October (two were delivered in December) and [Shell] anticipates requiring scores more over the next year or so. Eurocopter’s EC155 is also well-regarded.
Of course across OGP members:
Legacy types such as the Sikorsky S-76 and Bell 412 are now less popular offshore.
Unlike those legacy types, the Mi8, once it has had the Shell Aircraft treatment, as when they are fitted with:
HUMS, push-out escape windows, four-point seat harnesses—they are a different beast altogether.
If only the Nigeria helidecks were larger, Shell could have introduced the Mi8 and tapped the expertise of all those Mi trained ex NAF personnel!