Record number of serious incidents in 2020 – E24

So far this year, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has launched 11 serious incident investigations.

Historically there are many.

In addition, at the end of September they received notification of more than 50 serious incidents. This is twice the number in the same period in 2019. The number has quadrupled since 2018.

This causes the PSA to sound the alarm. They call the development disruptive.

– It worries, says Anne Myhrvold to Aftenposten / E24. She is the director of the PSA.

Reason to say no

The PSA itself has made the count that they present to Aftenposten / E24.

The audit generally waits until April to say something about the development. Then comes your annual survey, official. Now, however, the trend is so negative that the PSA is withdrawn even before the quality of the severity of the incidents is assured.

– It is not common to go out like we do now. The sum of what we see right now provides a basis for saying no, says Myhrvold.

Do not accept it

Companies are obliged to report accidents or circumstances that may lead to accidents.

– Could the increase be due to other things? How to increase awareness and reporting?

– It’s too soon to say that. The figures are not guaranteed of quality. There is uncertainty with the numbers. It is not they as such that are important. That is the sum of too many incidents and the need to investigate.

– Isn’t it a bit premature to shout warnings?

– It is important not to wait for more incidents to happen. Enough has passed to get out of the restlessness, to raise awareness. We must reverse a negative trend.

She says the PSA does not accept the development.

At the end of September, it began to burn at Equinor’s gas plant in Melkøya, outside Hammerfest. The case is now being investigated by Equinor, the PSA and the police.

Think cuts are among the reasons

Union representative Bjørn Asle Teige runs the SAFE union in Equinor. He calls the development “very dramatic.”

– It is alarming that this is going astray, he tells Aftenposten / E24.

– It has been cut and stylized. It happened too fast. So you don’t get an overview of everything. We think cuts are one of the reasons for the development, he adds.

– I’m surprised it’s increasing so fast. We are not happy with that. We want more effort on this. Especially the preventive, says Teige.

According to Teige, Equinor averages one personal injury per day. That’s too much, he thinks.

– We have also discussed development internally, he adds.

Aiming for the crown

The oil and gas industry has also been hit hard by the coronavirus. The PSA is now wondering if the pandemic may have reduced security.

Myhrvold also leads the Safety Forum, which promotes safety work in the industry. There is both an employer and an employee.

According to her, there have been signs that various infection control measures affect safety.

Of course, the pandemic must be addressed. But I am concerned that companies are improving at the same time. Right now, we don’t see it, he concludes.

Additionally, he notes that the virus may have delayed maintenance. The PSA cautions against this.

– Safety first

Morten Eek is Equinor’s communications manager.

– Safety is the foundation of everything we do. If we don’t have a safe workplace, everything else becomes meaningless. It’s the first thing, he tells Aftenposten / E24.

Stresses that they do not know the figures of the PSA.

– We know the basis too badly to comment on it in detail, he says.

– If there is an increase in reports, then it may be a sign that we are more concerned with reporting than before, he says.

– Has the pandemic affected Equinor’s security?

– The management of the pandemic has had a great focus. We have not had any incidents related to the crown, says Eek.

Furthermore, he rejects Teige’s claims that the cuts have affected security.

– We have no indication of that. On the contrary, because good improvement work can contribute to greater safety and a better overview of the tasks, he adds.

– We can never sit

The Norwegian Oil and Gas Industry Association says they need to take a closer look at the types of incidents to determine what the trend is.

– We know that there is a lot of activity and many projects on the Norwegian platform. The level of activity can influence the increase, says Kolbjørn Andreassen. He is the head of communications for the association.

– If there is a negative evolution, we take it very seriously, he adds.

Andreassen says that serious work is being done on safety throughout the industry.

– At the same time, security is new. We can never sit back and say that effort is good enough. We must continually work to improve.

– Is Teige right that the cuts have affected security?

– We have no indication of that. Security must be guaranteed independently.