Exclusive: Shell advised to change ‘unsuitable’ North Sea platform design over six years before hydrocarbon release

David Dennis / Shutterstock.com

SHELL was warned about a design flaw in its new Penguins oil platform in the UK North Sea several years before a hydrocarbon release last year, TCE can reveal. 

Operators at the Penguins floating production, storage and offloading vessel triggered an immediate shutdown after 95.3 kg of hydrocarbon gas was released in April 2025 – less than three months after Shell launched the facility, its newest UK offshore asset in almost three decades. 

Following the release, which could have caused fire or explosion, GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors subsequently identified “unsuitable plant design” at Penguins. HSE found fault with the vent system, in which liquids were routed from a vent header knockout drum into open drains, and served an improvement notice against Shell. Experts have expressed shock that this design was commissioned and that it is unlikely to be in Shell’s Design and Engineering Practices framework. 

However, a source involved with the Penguins design team told TCE that explicit recommendations had been made in 2018 to change the open drains system after a Hazard and Operability study (HAZOP) found it could increase the risk of a hydrocarbon release. 

Shell did not deny that the HAZOP recommendation was made when approached for comment. A Shell UK spokesperson said: “Safety remains our highest priority. Following the incident, a thorough review was conducted and lessons were learned on processes from design to operation.”

Hydrocarbon releases are considered among the most serious safety concerns in the offshore oil and gas industry. According to trade group Offshore Energies UK, the industry places “strong emphasis” on mitigating hydrocarbon releases “through robust safety measures, strict regulatory compliance and continuous improvement in operational practices”.

Shell contracted Fluor to design Penguins in Manila, the Philippines, in 2017. Ownership of the platform transferred to Adura late last year following Shell’s merger with Equinor of the two companies’ offshore assets in the UK North Sea. Adura is now the sole developer of the contentious Jackdaw and Rosebank projects and hopes to secure final go-ahead in the coming weeks. 

HSE initially instructed Shell to comply with their improvement notice for Penguins by 30 November 2025, but an Adura spokesperson suggested this may have been delayed. They said: “The corrective actions required within the improvement notice were transferred to Adura in December 2025 and have since been completed.” The improvement notice is no longer available on the public HSE website, and it is unclear exactly when Adura complied with it. 

Fluor did not respond to a request for comment.