The risk level in the Norwegian petroleum industry has shown a stable or positive trend over time across nearly all of the key indicators and groups of questions in the survey. This latest survey reinforces this impression.
The results provide grounds for concluding that safety in the petroleum industry is at a stably high level, from both national and international perspectives.
"These are the benefits of long-term, focused efforts”, says Havtil’s Director General Sigve Knudsen.
At the same time, he stresses that this does not mean the industry can now sit back and relax.
“Despite the positive trends in RNNP, serious incidents continue to occur in the petroleum industry. In 2025, one worker lost his life in a tragic accident at the onshore facility at Mongstad. We also had a serious well control incident with the potential for a major accident on the Deepsea Bollsta drilling rig. There were also other serious incidents in the industry, both at onshore facilities and offshore.
“The positive results in the RNNP survey are therefore no reason for resting on our laurels.
“The information from RNNP provides insight into the industry’s ability to manage risk. Relying on historically based indicators and indicators that reflect the ability to handle potential incidents offers no guarantee for the future. We have no definitive answers for what happens today or tomorrow.
“We know from hard-won experience that safety does not happen out of the blue. It must be recreated every day.”
A more complex risk landscape
Knudsen points to several trends that will shape the risk landscape in the years ahead.
“We are currently experiencing a period of high activity, both offshore and onshore. Just managing the volume of work is demanding in itself. At the same time, we see that many companies are implementing new solutions and efficiency measures to operate more profitably. This can be a positive development, but only if safety and risk are given due consideration in the decision-making process.”
Knudsen warns the industry against opting for easy or short-sighted solutions in a situation where complexity is increasing. This is also a key topic in Havtil’s main theme for 2026: “Investment in the Norwegian continental shelf must come at a cost”. [link]
“We will continue to have petroleum activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for many years to come. It is absolutely essential that the companies understand this – and that they think ahead, make long-term decisions and choose robust solutions. Short-term benefits can prove costly if they compromise safety”, Havtil’s Director General emphasises.
Key figures from RNNP 2025
Offshore: Major accident indicators
There were no accidents on the NCS in 2025 that resulted in fatalities.
The number of near-misses with major accident potential has remained at a stable level since 2013. In 2025, there were 34 such incidents (helicopters not included).
Five non-ignited hydrocarbon leaks were recorded in 2025, the same as in 2024. All the leaks were in the 0.1-1 kg/s category.
There were 15 reported well control incidents, one of which was classified as serious, and six instances of damage to structures and marine systems were recorded.
The total indicator – which emphasises the inherent risk potential of incidents – has decreased since 2024 and shows a positive long-term trend. This trend indicates that, over time, the industry has improved at managing factors that affect risk.
Offshore: Barriers and maintenance
The barrier indicators continue to show significant variations between facilities, but several barriers that previously fell below the industry’s requirements are showing a positive trend. This may be due to increased awareness and the improved quality of testing.
Maintenance data for 2025 shows that the number of hours spent on maintenance increased in both 2024 and 2025 compared to previous years. At the same time, the figures show that the total backlog in hours of preventive maintenance on permanently installed facilities has nearly doubled compared to 2024. The data also indicate that several facilities have not carried out HSE-critical preventive maintenance in accordance with their own schedules.
The figures also show that the total number of hours of identified, but unperformed, corrective maintenance remains high overall. Although the trend from 2024 to 2025 is stable, the trend since 2019 has been negative.
Offshore: Personal injuries and accidents
In 2025, 208 reportable personal injuries were recorded on the NCS (223 in 2024). 23 of these were classified as serious (21 in 2024).
The injury rate for 2025 was 0.53 injuries per million hours worked. This represents a slight increase over 2024, but remains within the expected range based on the previous ten years.
Onshore: Incidents with major accident potential
At the seven onshore petroleum facilities, there were three near-miss incidents with major accident potential in 2025 (6 in 2024). All of these incidents involved unignited hydrocarbon leaks (two gas leaks in the range 0.1-1 kg/s and one liquid leak exceeding 1 m³). This is the lowest number reported since the beginning of the period.
There were a total of 63 crane and lifting incidents at onshore facilities in 2025, of which 46 occurred in process areas, four in workshop and maintenance areas, and 13 in other areas.
In 2025, there was one incident involving a leak from a support system.
Onshore: Personal injuries and fatal accidents
In 2025, 88 injuries were reported at onshore facilities, compared with 81 in 2024. Thirteen of these injuries were classified as serious. One of them was fatal.
The fatal accident occurred at the Mongstad plant on 17 September 2025.
The last time there was a fatality in the onshore petroleum industry was at Nyhamna in 2005.
A total of 12.5 million working hours were reported by onshore facilities last year. The injury rate was one serious injury per million hours. The rate varies between the onshore facilities.
The questionnaire-based survey
In 2025, a comprehensive questionnaire-based survey was conducted, for the thirteenth time among workers on the NCS and for the tenth time among workers at onshore facilities. The survey is carried out every other year.
The questionnaire results give an overall picture of the employees’ own assessments of the HSE climate and the working environment in their workplace.
The results for the NCS show stability in workers’ assessments of the HSE climate and working environment. Where changes have occurred, they were generally positive, and some were made in areas with the most negative ratings.
For onshore facilities, the results show generally stable trends in 2025 compared to the 2023 survey. The HSE climate and working environment in 2025 are generally assessed as being similar to 2023.
More than 40 percent of employees offshore and onshore believe that inadequate maintenance has led to poorer safety. Although the ratings have improved somewhat since 2023, of all the HSE climate statements, this one is still rated most negatively.
Employees on production facilities have more negative assessments than employees on mobile facilities, and employees in the process, maintenance and construction/modification sectors have more negative assessments than those in other sectors.