Turning point for safety work

A number of weaknesses and improvement needs were exposed in Norway’s offshore regulation and supervision system by the Alexander L Kielland disaster in 1980. During the years which followed, a completely new safety regime was put in place.

The wrecking of this flotel, involving the loss of 123 lives, proved a turning point in the organisation of official regulation on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). 

Video: The Kielland legacy

Coordination 

In force from 1985, the Petroleum Act gave the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) a coordinatory role which aimed to bring greater clarity to the regulatory regime.
 
At that time, the directorate also had the responsibility for offshore safety. That was transferred to the PSA on its creation in 2004. 

The 1985 changes provided a clearer division of responsibility between the various government agencies, and between these authorities and the industry. 

In addition, the NPD was charged with developing a new and more integrated body of safety regulations for the petroleum sector as a whole.  

Departure from detail 

The regulations established by the various regulators in the early phase were formulated in detailed terms and required extensive official follow-up. 

Since 1985, however, the trend has been a slow but steady shift towards a more goal-based and system-oriented government regulatory regime. 

This new approach has characterised work on the regulations, and the authorities have accordingly given emphasis to ensuring that it is well entrenched with the industry. 

Tripartite collaboration between companies, unions and government has been and remains central to these developments. The Regulatory Forum plays the key role here. 

The progress of Norway’s petroleum regulations since 1985 can be divided into three main phases. 

1985-1995: tidying up 

Regulatory work in this decade largely involved tidying up what had become an extensive and fragmented body of rules. One move was to simplify matters by establishing a thematic division.

Thirteen new sets of regulations were adopted in 1992, followed three years later by provisions on systematic follow-up of the working environment in the petroleum sector. These extended the Working Environment Act to personnel on mobile units. 

1995-2001: integration 

One aim of efforts to ensure a further simplification of the regulatory regime was for the state to be perceived by the industry as a single, integrated regulator. 

The NPD, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (now the Norwegian Environment Agency) and the Norwegian Board of Health established five common sets of HSE regulations in 2001 – thought to be unique in a world context. 

At the same time, a number of new industry standards acquired a key place as amplifications of the performance-based (functional) requirements in the regulations. 

The new Norsok standards developed under the industry’s auspices built on the sector’s overall experience from the NCS, and replaced a number of the NPD’s earlier technical guidelines. 

2001-2011: sea and land, hand in hand 

The latest major regulatory reform in Norway’s petroleum sector came into force in 2011, with the introduction of integrated regulations for the industry both offshore and on land. 

This means that the same framework and management regulations now apply to operations both on the NCS and at the eight petroleum plants in mainland Norway. 

A separate set of technical and operational regulations applies only to the land-based facilities. 

The then Ministry of Labour established six new regulations under the Working Environment Act in 2013 to replace 47 earlier sets of rules. 

How are regulations developed by the PSA? 

Although the overall structure and basic principles remain unchanged, amendments to Norway’s HSE regulations for its petroleum sector are being made all the time. 

The industry constantly comes up with new ways of pursuing its operations, which means the government must keep up and ensure that the regulations are adapted for innovative solutions. 

Annual updates to the regulations ensure that they are tailored at all times to the challenges facing the industry. 

Learning  

Ever since the Alexander L Kielland disaster in 1980, learning lessons from incidents has been a core principle in developing Norway’s regulations. 

Many of the important amendments made even today draw on evidence provided by accidents and serious incidents.  

The latest changes related to drilling relief wells, for instance, are based on lessons from the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. 

From 1 January 2016, the regulations require that it must be possible to kill a well in the event of a blowout with a single relief operation. 

Plans can be based on drilling several relief wells in special circumstances, but only if this solution has been verified by a party of organisational independence. 
 

Collaboration 

The expectation that the industry will collaborate actively in developing regulations and standards is an important element in Norway’s petroleum regime. 

Regulations are accordingly developed in close partnership with companies and unions, and the Regulatory Forum provides a key arena for this work.
 
Representatives of employers, employees and government meet under this banner several times a year, and amendments to the regulations are often initiated there. 

The forum ensures broad entrenchment and participation, and collaboration between the various sides functions well. 

Standards 

Primary responsibility for developing the industry standards which are referenced in the performance-based regulations rests with the petroleum sector itself. 

The robustness of such norms depends on the companies joining forces to come up with the best solutions. This work is closely monitored by the government, which has observers in a number of standardisation committees. 

In addition, the PSA assesses the suitability of a standard in relation to the level of safety it wants to see achieved.