RescUSim and IPython: An environment for offshore emergency preparedness planning

Abstract

Emergency preparedness is crucial for oil and gas operators. While accidents in this industry are commonly connected to oil spill disasters, helicopter accidents are, in terms of incidence rates, a more grave concern in Norway. A recent helicopter accident near Bergen has brought this subject back into focus. We introduce RescUSim, a simulator for rescue missions after offshore helicopter accidents, which is implemented as an open source library with bindings for the Python language. We discuss the modules in the existing Python ecosystem that are used for data preparation and analysis. We show how RescUSim and the interactive computing environment IPython can join forces to provide a tool for planning rescue preparedness for oil and gas related offshore activities.