Although the potential for major accidents on the Norwegian Continental Shelf has declined steadily since 2005, the contribution from well control incidents has not shown corresponding improvement. The PSA has therefore conducted a qualitative study to investigate causes and possible measures.
The study was carried out by Proactima, and builds on a similar survey conducted under the auspices of RNNP 2011. The purpose was to identify challenges that have not been mapped or followed up to any great extent, and that the industry can improve on.
Four challenges for the industry
Based on information from literature, incident reports and interviews, four areas stand out as challenges for the industry:
Well control expertise must be strengthened. There is a need for more systematic training and for experience transfer across the companies.
The industry must improve its learning and experience transfer in the wake of incidents. Knowledge must be shared across the organisations.
Risk management must be improved. More thorough risk assessments must be made of technical, operational and organisational factors.
The industry must improve at managing changes that may affect risk, such as new technology, new procedures or restructuring.
