Never another major accident is the PSA’s main issue for 2020. This reflects the fact that 40 years will soon have passed since the Alexander L Kielland flotel disaster on 27 March 1980, when 123 lives were lost.

Although much has changed and improved over these four decades, Myhrvold emphasised the need to maintain a continuous and purposeful commitment when she presented the PSA’s expectations for and signals to the industry for the coming year.

“I sincerely hope that we never experience another major accident in our sector,” she said. “If we’re to avoid that, we must make an effort, we must develop, and we must apply our knowledge and constantly seek to learn more. We must implement, work and set safety as our highest priority.

“I have a clear exhortation to you all. Use the accidents we’ve experienced – Piper Alpha, Alexander L Kielland and Deepwater Horizon. They offer many important lessons, and it’s important to take account of these, so that we who share a common past also create a safe and secure common future.

“Achieving this is fully possible, but it’s important to work together. You can’t manage this alone.”

What must the sector do?

The video provides a summary of the PSA’s most important signals to the industry for 2020.


Major accident risk and the working environment

The government has asked the PSA to give priority to the following areas in 2020:

  • reducing the risk of major accidents in the petroleum sector
  • ensuring that enterprises work better on achieving a preventive working environment, health and safety, and on providing acceptable working conditions.

Where major accident risk is concerned, the PSA will devote particular attention during the year to risk associated with well control incidents, hydrocarbon leaks, construction incidents, ICT security in industrial systems and security against deliberate attacks.

In promoting a preventive working environment, special attention will be paid to systematic prevention work at the enterprises to reduce risk related to physical/chemical exposure, organisational and psychosocial conditions, and ergonomics.

The PSA will also emphasise action by enterprises to prevent acute personal injuries related to crane and lifting operations, dropped objects and handling of equipment.

Letter of allocation

The annual letter to the PSA from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (ASD) contains goals and priorities for the way the PSA applies its resources.

Go here to read the ASD’s letter for 2020 (in Norwegian only).

Five subjects

Based on guidance from the letter of allocation and its own long-term priorities, the PSA has chosen five subjects which will characterise its supervisory work in 2020:

  • management’s responsibility
  • operating parameters
  • new technology
  • risk and barrier management
  • project follow-up.

“These issues will be reflected in our supervisory activities aimed at individual companies and groups of players, and in work related to knowledge development,” said Bjørn Thomas Bache, one of the PSA’s directors of supervision, when he presented the authority’s plans and assignments in 2020.