Personal safety 'to drive oil industry investment'

Concerns about personal safety are likely to drive investment within the oil industry in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident, according to analyst IDC.

Following the failure of the BP-operated rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the market research firm anticipates that personal safety will become an area of focus in a number of different ways.

Among them are a forecasted increase in expenditure on IT systems capable of tracking assets and an associated concentration on training personnel to ensure they are aware of the relevant safety issues.

Rick Nicholson, vice-president of research for IDC Energy Insights, says: "The oil and gas industry must go beyond technology changes and invest in changes to its people and processes to achieve the standards of environmental protection and worker safety demanded by all stakeholders."

The report from IDC Energy Insights is part of the analyst's practice focusing on the gas and oil industry, providing timely and independent updates on all aspects of the market from upstream exploration to downstream distribution.