Southampton, UK, 29 March 2023:
Following the successful announcement of the UK Mutual Aid Framework Agreement (UK MAFA) launch at the OEUK HSE Conference, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) is pleased to inform its members that the UK MAFA has been issued for execution.
Developed in collaboration with the OEUK ACTIV task group, OEUK members from the Wells Forum, and Oil Spill Response Technical Group, the UK MAFA aims to facilitate mutual aid of personnel between UK operators in the event of a sustained incident response. This initiative will allow for the potential sharing of specialist expertise and support between participating members.
"We are thrilled to announce the launch of the UK Mutual Aid Framework Agreement (UK MAFA) and the opportunity it brings for our members to collaborate and share specialist expertise in the event of a sustained incident response. As the Aberdeen Manager for Oil Spill Response Limited, I believe that the UK MAFA demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting our members and ensuring that they have access to the necessary resources to respond effectively to any emergency situation. We are proud to offer this additional value of membership at no extra cost and look forward to working together with our members to enhance the safety and sustainability of the oil and gas industry in the UK." - Lucy Bly, Aberdeen Manager at Oil Spill Response Limited.
Based on the IPIECA / IOGP Oil Spill Response JIP 13 – Mutual Aid Indemnification and Liability Document and associated template Emergency Personnel Secondment Agreement, the UK MAFA is an additional value of membership to members of the existing OSRL UKCS Aerial Surveillance contract, provided at no extra cost.
Participating members are required to sign the template agreement and provide emergency contact details for inclusion in a registry that OSRL will store within their electronic document management system. In the event of a participant's request for mutual aid during the mobilisation of OSRL, the registry of other participants' emergency contact details will be provided to the requesting party. Subsequently, operator to operator will define the support needed. Members can use the secondee template agreement included within the UK MAFA as necessary between the requesting/responding parties.
Please note that the UK MAFA is designed to support potential collaboration between UK operators and does not remove individual operator's responsibility to maintain robust emergency response processes and the necessary resources to respond.
UK MAFA Contact:
Lucy Bly, Aberdeen Manager
Media Contact
Emma Smillie, Global Marketing and Communications Manager