During the period from 9 November 2023 to 25 January 2024, we conducted an audit of Equinor’s management of chemical health risks with verifications at the Sleipner field and Sture terminal. During the audit, a non-conformity was identified at company level linked to chemical health hazards, partly based on Equinor's management of benzene risk:

5.1.4 Chemical health hazard
Non-conformity
It was not ensured that harmful chemical exposure during the use and handling of chemicals and in connection with work operations and processes that emitted chemical components were avoided at Equinor’s facilities and installations.

Read the audit report here: Equinor - Sleipner and Sture - Chemical management (7 May 2024)

In its response to the audit report dated 28 June 2024, Equinor stated that a new safety regime for benzene would be introduced during 2024.

At a follow-up meeting following the audits of the management of chemical health risks at Sture and Sleipner held on 27 November 2024, Equinor stated that it was now uncertain whether the new regime would be introduced.

The current situation is thus that, through its management systems, Equinor is failing to ensure that harmful exposure to benzene is avoided.

According to the regulations, if an employer is unable to document that levels of pollutants in the working atmosphere are entirely safe (cf. Regulations concerning action and limit values), the working environment shall be monitored through the taking of regular measurements, cf. Regulations concerning the performance of work, Sections 3-2 and 3-11.

In its measurement strategy, Equinor had not ensured that its measurements would be taken regularly and include the facilities/installations, work tasks and personnel groups where initial risk assessments showed that the potential for exposure was at its highest.

Order

Accordingly, we have issued Equinor with the following order:

Pursuant to the Framework Regulations, Section 69 concerning administrative decisions, Equinor is ordered to:

  1. Establish and implement internal requirements that specify how Equinor ensures that harmful exposure to benzene is avoided, cf. the Management Regulations, Section 8 on internal requirements, first paragraph, and the Activities Regulations, Section 36 on chemical health hazard, first paragraph, Technical and Operational Regulations Section 48 on physical and chemical working environment, third paragraph.

  2. Establish a risk-based monitoring programme for regular measurements of benzene exposure levels that includes all Equinor facilities and installations. Cf. Regulations on the performance of work, Section 3-2 on the measurement of pollutants in the working atmosphere as a basis for risk assessment, first paragraph, and Section 3-11 on specific measures for working with carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic chemicals, first paragraph,

  3. Establish a plan for the way in which the results of the measurements are to be used in the work to verify that the elements of Equinor’s own management system related to the management of benzene exposure risk (see item 1) have been implemented and function as intended, such that harmful exposure to benzene is kept as low as possible and at an entirely safe level, cf. the Management Regulations, Section 21 on follow-up, the Activities Regulations, Section 36 on chemical health hazard, first paragraph, and the Regulations on the performance of work and Section 3-11 on specific measures for working with carcinogenic, mutagenic chemicals or reprotoxic chemicals, first paragraph, Technical and Operational Regulations Section 48 on physical and chemical working environment, third paragraph.

The deadline for items 1 of the order is 31 March 2025

The deadline for item 2 of the order is 15 April 2025

The deadline for item 3 of the order is 15 June 2025

We are to be notified when the various parts of the order have been carried out.