Safety Gloves for Oil and Gas
Australian oil and gas work spans offshore platforms on the North West Shelf, onshore gas processing in Queensland and the maintenance contractors who service both. Hands are exposed to swinging steel, hydrocarbons and long shifts, and glove selection has to survive all three at once.
Impact
Tripping pipe, making up connections and handling elevators put the back of the hand between moving steel and a fixed surface. The injury is a crushed knuckle or metacarpal rather than a cut, so the glove property that matters is a moulded thermoplastic rubber guard across the back of the hand certified with the P designation under EN 388.
Chemical splash
Sampling, filter changes, drilling fluid handling and glycol work bring the hand into contact with hydrocarbons, amines and treatment chemicals. Coated knits absorb these rather than resisting them, so the property required is a certified liquid barrier under EN ISO 374-1 with the letter codes matching the substance in use.
Cut & abrasion
Wire rope develops broken strands that behave like fish hooks, and grating, threads and tool joints abrade continuously. The property needed is a cut resistant liner reported as a TDM letter of D or above, combined with a strong abrasion figure in the first EN 388 position so the palm survives the shift.
Oil exposure
Oil on the hand is a grip problem before it is a health problem, because a slipping tool becomes a dropped object hazard. Nitrile foam coatings channel oil away from the contact patch, which restores grip where a smooth polyurethane palm would slide.
Cold
Night shift on an exposed deck, wind chill offshore and cold gas lines all pull heat from the hand, and cold fingers lose grip and fine control. A lined glove rated under EN 511, with the water permeability digit at 1 where spray is present, keeps the hand working.
What to specify
Write the specification around EN 388:2016+A1:2018 for mechanical performance, adding the P impact designation for rig floor and lifting work, and EN ISO 374-1 for any task where drilling fluids, solvents or treatment chemicals are handled.
In practice most sites run two gloves. An impact glove with a mid cut level covers the majority of pipe and lifting work, and a chemical gauntlet is issued for sampling and filter changes. Add an EN 511 lined option for night shift and cold season work rather than trying to make one glove cover everything.
Recommended gloves
- GRANBERG 5501: Heavy-duty cut and impact resistant gloves with Typhoon® fiber and nitrile foam coating.
- GRANBERG 5503: Cut-resistant gloves with impact protection, full nitrile coating, and touchscreen compatibility.
- GRANBERG 9007: Cut Resistant Impact Hi-Viz™ protective gloves. Typhoon® fibre with nitrile coating, oil resistant.
- GRANBERG 9002: Cut D Impact Hi-Viz™ protective gloves. Durable KR-Grip material in palm and fingers, waterproof, winter lined.
Frequently asked questions
What glove rating suits rig floor work?
Look for EN 388 with the P impact designation and a TDM cut letter of C or above. The impact guard addresses the crush and pinch injuries that dominate pipe handling, while the cut level covers wire rope strands and tool edges encountered in the same task.
Can one glove cover both chemical and impact hazards?
Rarely with any credibility. A certified chemical barrier under EN ISO 374-1 needs an unbroken polymer film, and an impact glove needs a knitted or leather shell with bonded guards. The practical approach is task based issue, with a chemical gauntlet available at sampling and filter change points.
Are gloves required for hydrocarbon sampling?
Your risk assessment decides, but hydrocarbon contact causes defatting and dermatitis and some streams carry additional toxicity. Where sampling occurs, specify a glove with EN ISO 374-1 certification whose printed letter codes and permeation data cover the specific stream and its contact time.