On Thursday, 9 January, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) presented its safety status for 2024, along with expectations and signals for the industry for 2025. Havtil’s Director General Anne Myhrvold began with a clear message to companies not to settle for good safety results:
“A lot of things in the companies are working well. There is good, systematic work to reduce risk, there is better barrier management and better resolution of non-conformities. Many people are working day by day to prevent accidents, illness and injury, and over time we have seen a decrease in the number of actual and potential incidents.
But there are two sides to the coin, because serious incidents, injuries and accidents are still occurring,” Myhrvold emphasises.
“In 2024, there were fires in switchrooms and separators. There were three cases of decompression sickness from diving – something we haven’t seen since the 1990s. There were crush injuries and falling objects, just to mention a few”, notes Myhrvold.
“So my main message is to learn from both what is going well and what is going wrong. So simple and yet so challenging”, she says.
Main theme 2025
Havtil’s main theme for 2025 is “Artificial intelligence is also a risk factor”.
“How do we deal prudently with artificial intelligence (AI)? AI-based solutions represent a key resource and can help reduce risk. But AI can also do the opposite and contribute to increased risk. Industries exposed to major accident risk are particularly vulnerable. So we need to look at AI with an integrated perspective,” observes Myhrvold.
“Safe and prudent use must rest on an interplay between people, technology and organisations, and we must prevent AI from making us more vulnerable to external threats and malicious actions,” she emphasises.
“Another important task in 2025 is for the industry to develop standards in order to provide guidance on the safe use of AI. Responsible use of AI is a shared concern for all industry stakeholders. But ultimately it is a managerial responsibility”, Myhrvold affirms.
“I hope that the main theme for 2025: ‘artificial intelligence is also a risk factor’ will help promote reflection, discussion and action,” she says.
Mismatch between tasks and resources
“The main message and main findings from our supervision in 2024 are that we sometimes observe a mismatch between planned tasks and available resources,” says Bjørn Thomas Bache, Director of supervisory activities at Havtil.
“In some audits and investigations, we see examples of inadequate information about planning, and inadequate risk assessments, including a failure to make use of learning from comparable previous incidents,” he stresses.
“Through audits last year, a number of non-conformities were detected that related to the management of maintenance. On a number of occasions, we observed extensive use of replanning and shifting of completion dates, and omissions in the identification and classification of equipment”, Bache points out.
“In 2024, there were several serious incidents involving electrical systems. Some of these may be linked to deficiencies in the maintenance programme, such as a lack of systematic prevention and monitoring of the technical condition of electrical equipment”, he says.
“We also see examples of certain companies having an inadequate overview of weakened barrier elements and barrier functions, which in turn yields an insufficient basis for decision-making and prioritisation,” believes Bache.
“Within the working environment, we have detected non-conformities related to missing or inadequate mappings and risk assessments that may entail risks of health hazards. Where mappings do provide an adequate assessment basis, we see examples of the implementation of risk-reducing measures being postponed. Examples here include inadequate implementation and prioritisation of measures following mappings of ergonomics, the physical and chemical working environments, and the psychosocial working environment. Given last year’s main theme of ‘don’t forget the working environment’, this is of particular interest”, he emphasises.
“In a number of the audits, the company itself states that the non-conformities are due to challenges in respect of available resources,” says Bache.
“Signals from the safety delegate service and whistleblowing reports are largely on the same lines – a poor balance between planned workload and available staffing and expertise”, he points out.
“Ensuring sufficient resources for preventive work such as risk assessments, analyses, working environment surveys, and so forth, as well as making time for interaction between management and the safety delegate services, is essential for establishing realistic plans and decision support for safe implementation. This is a management responsibility that is firmly entrenched in the regulations.”
Supervisory priorities in 2025
“For 2025, we will continue to follow up the aforementioned examples of findings. Among other things, this is included in the long-term prioritisation, initiated last year, of ‘follow-up of capacity and competence’”, Bache affirms.
“With a high level of activity on field developments, modification projects on the shelf and projects linked to electrification and modifications at the onshore facilities, this will also be a priority area in our follow-up,” he says.
“The onshore facilities are also designated as a priority area and in addition to project follow-up, typical topics will be materials handling and work at height, process safety, electrical systems and management of the working environment,” indicates Bache.
“Of key importance, too, are pipeline systems. These systems are crucial to Norwegian petroleum activities, and safety must be high on the agenda for people and the environment, but also to ensure good regularity and availability. As last year, we will follow up this area with audits and supervisory meetings. For the pipelines that go to the continent and the UK, follow-up and supervision are carried out in cooperation with the relevant foreign safety authorities”, he says.
“For mobile facilities in particular, there will be follow-up this year on findings related to the AoC processing of last year, with priority given to the working environment, maintenance and barrier management.”
“In 2025, we will also undertake the first audits under the Security Act, as well as continuing the supervisory activities associated with preparedness against deliberate attacks pursuant to the Petroleum Act section 9-3,” Bache says.
The companies’ risk understanding
Havtil is a sectoral agency that follows up the industry’s management of major accident risk, working environment, security and emergency preparedness. Our professional focus forms the basis of our work through supervision, regulations, advice, information and guidance.
Havtil’s director of professional competence, Finn Carlsen, explains that topics are prioritised on the basis of experiences from supervision, trends in risk level in the petroleum activity (RNNP), investigations and meetings with the industry, academia and other authorities, nationally and internationally.
“We see continuous developments in technology. 3D printing, the use of automated and autonomous solutions and now AI are becoming part of everyday life. Havtil pays particular attention to the companies’ risk understanding and their fostering of prudent solutions,” says Carlsen.
“The high level of activity is continuing and Norway will have petroleum activities for many years to come. We therefore monitor the industry’s handling of staffing and competence and the correlation between planned tasks and available resources”, he emphasises.
Robust infrastructure
Over a number of decades, Norway has developed a robust infrastructure that has permitted a significant life extension. Key elements here have been good project management of field developments and modifications, and good maintenance. The historical emphasis on quality has been decisive. Havtil is accordingly prioritising these areas in 2025 to ascertain that the industry builds and maintains a robust infrastructure.
“A high level of activity and a long-term perspective for Norwegian petroleum activities also require continuous work on reliable framework conditions in the relationship between operators and suppliers.
There is also a high level of activity in drilling and wells. Havtil has pointed to the need for improvement of well control and in particular the operators’ handling of information on pore pressure. This will also be a priority area in 2025.
We are working on many improvements and technical topics in the working environment. Here I would particularly like to highlight the importance of the organisational working environment.”
Security of supply
“The security policy picture and threat level in Norway have changed permanently. Norway’s deliveries of gas to Europe are essential for their energy security. Havtil is therefore intently focused on the handling of critical infrastructure and security-threatening maritime activities. Norway can further strengthen the level of security through even better cooperation between companies in the industry and the authorities. In order to achieve this, appropriate information sharing is crucial”, emphasizes the director of professional competence.
“In order to improve cybersecurity, the companies must prioritise training and exercises even more, including verification of plans and initiatives,” says Carlsen, referring to the fact that Havtil has prepared exercises that can be used.
Carlsen stresses that the industry can also further improve in its targeted sharing of information.
“It is important to underline that security of supply is best ensured through an integrated approach to safety and security.”
Regulatory development
In addition to petroleum, Havtil is also responsible for following up renewable energy production offshore (offshore wind power), transport and storage of CO2 and seabed minerals.
“Our focus here is to strengthen knowledge about the activity-specific risk pictures for these business areas. We do this in cooperation with other authorities, nationally and internationally,” says Carlsen.
Through the regulatory forum, Havtil has worked on regulations for renewable energy production offshore (offshore wind power) and seabed minerals.
“In the light of industrial developments and the need for predictability, the objective is to have the regulations take effect in 2025,” he affirms.
Professional arenas
“The industrial development offshore will continue and Norway will have petroleum activities for a long time to come. To safeguard people, the environment and material assets, we must have a high level of professionalism in the industry,” says Finn Carlsen.
“Havtil will be even more active in participating in professional arenas and helping create good professional arenas, including more than ten annual seminars for the industry and academia. We prepare knowledge reports for our own needs, and we share these on our website”, says the director of professional competence, who emphasises that the industry's work on maintaining and improving security levels must also continue in 2025.