Deepwater Horizon 'will raise personal safety in UK'

The lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will be applied in the UK to help improve personal safety beyond its existing level, according to Oil & Gas UK.

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of the organisation, which calls itself "the voice of the offshore industry", says: "Our thoughts at this difficult time are with the families, friends and colleagues of the 11 people who are missing."

But he adds: "Oil & Gas UK will do all that it can to ensure that any lessons to be learned from this tragic accident are shared with our members in the UK."

This includes aspects of personal safety, operational issues and environmental impacts that can be learned about as the investigation into Deepwater Horizon continues.

However, Mr Webb adds that, at present, the cause of the explosion which led to the rig sinking is unknown.

BP, which owns a 65 per cent stake in the rig, said at the end of April that the blaze was costing the owners of Deepwater Horizon a combined total of $6 million (£4 million) per day.