Havtil distinguishes between the concepts of safety and security.

While the first of these is about preventing accidents associated with an enterprise’s legal activities, the other concerns preventing undesirable deliberate incidents/attacks.

Security

Havtil pursues system-oriented and risk-based supervision where security is concerned.

Section 9-3 of the Petroleum Act requires licensees to implement and maintain security measures to help prevent deliberate attacks on facilities, and to have emergency plans at all times for responding to such assaults.

Close contact is also maintained by Havtil with other relevant agencies in the security area, as well as with the companies and unions in the industry.

Security Act

The purpose is this legislation is to safeguard national security interests. It aims to help prevent, uncover and counter security threats – in other words, deliberate acts which could harm Norway’s security directly or indirectly.

Havtil was appointed in 2023 as the supervisory authority pursuant to the Act for the petroleum industry.

Societal safety

Societal safety is defined as society’s ability to protect itself against and deal with incidents which threaten basic values and which put life and health at risk. 
Such events could have natural causes, or be the outcome of technical faults, human errors or deliberate actions – including digital attacks.

Havtil is responsible for societal safety in the petroleum sector, which primarily involves contributing to situational awareness and the risk picture in and for the industry.

Total defence

The authority also contributes to Norway’s total defence – a collective term for the country’s military and civil preparedness.

This involves mutual support and collaboration between the armed forces and civil society on prevention, emergency response planning and operational conditions.

The aim of a total defence is that society, whatever the emergency, can maintain a functioning crisis leadership, handle large numbers of injured people, and safeguard food, water and power supplies as well as communication and transport systems.