Global offshore safety levels could be boosted by a standardisation of training, it has been claimed.

Introducing its Mist (minimum industry safety training) standard in Houston this week, skills body Opito said that the industry could save millions of pounds if training around the world was standardised.

Chief executive of the group David Doig said: "Every offshore worker has the absolute right to expect that their fellow workers are trained to the same standard."

He added that all employers should be asking themselves if they do enough to guarantee the safety of their workers.

Opito's Mist standard was introduced for the UK offshore industry around a year ago and since then more than 35,000 people have undertaken the safety training.

Mr Doig noted that the Piper Alpha tragedy sparked a change in standards for operation in the North Sea, adding that Opito's own requirements are derived from those standards.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development