Tuesday 27 January 2004

UKOOA Appoints HSSE Director

UKOOA today announces the appointment of Chris Allen as Health, Safety, Social and Environment (HSSE) Director, from 12 April 2004. He will be responsible for developing industry policy in the areas of health and safety, the environment, and employment and skills, and will be based in Aberdeen.

The appointment completes UKOOAs recruitment of a new team of senior directors to lead the oil and gas industry body following its reorganisation in 2003. The Associations new Chief Executive, Malcolm Webb, starts on 1 February 2004.

Chris Allen joins UKOOA from the Total Group where he is currently Safety, Health and Environment Manager. He brings strong experience of the upstream sector, having carried out a range of offshore and onshore roles with Total over a period of nearly 20 years. This includes almost ten years as Head of Safety and then Offshore Installation Manager for the Alwyn North field in the North Sea, and three years in Paris as Senior Operations Engineer. As Senior Joint Venture Representative, he has represented Totals commercial interest in the Ninian pipeline system and Sullom Voe Terminal. He has been an active member of the UKOOA Safety Committee for several years.

Prior to his career in the offshore industry, Chris Allen spent ten years as a factory inspector with the Health and Safety Executive in South Yorkshire and Humberside.

Chris Allen said: I am pleased to be taking up this newly created role in the UKOOA organisation. The establishment of this position reflects the importance of safety, health, social and environmental issues on the industrys agenda and I very much look forward to the challenge.

Steve Harris, UKOOAs Acting Director General, said: This is a key appointment for UKOOA and one that completes the senior management team at the Association. Chris role will be pivotal in promoting improvements in the industrys performance in safety and the environment, while at the same time ensuring that the sectors competitiveness is maintained in the face of increasing regulation. Chris is highly respected throughout the industry and is fully integrated with the Step Change in Safety initiative. This will be just one area where we can expect to see his impact.

We are delighted that Chris is taking up the challenge and look forward to him joining us in April.

Note to Editors

1. The UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) is the representative organisation for companies licensed by the British Government to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in UK waters. It has 29 members.

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