Response to PSA after Gas Leak on Gullfaks B

Statoil has responded today, 29 April, to questions put by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) in connection with its report into the Gullfaks B gas leak on 4 December 2010.

“Concern with health, safety and the environment (HSE) is our first priority,” says Øystein Michelsen, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

“As the senior executive, it is my responsibility to equip the organisation to perform its duties in a safe manner and avoid serious incidents and accidents.”

Statoil has initiated a number of improvement measures aimed at areas identified in the PSA’s investigation report. These include action over leadership, both on land and in the operational parts of the organisation.

“Good collaboration between management, unions and safety delegates increases the quality of HSE-related work,” Michelsen points out.

“We’ve collectively reached agreement on the most important areas where we’re going to collaborate in order to improve our HSE standard.”

Statoil has had four priority areas within HSE since 2008:

    * leadership and compliance
    * improved risk understanding and management
    * simplification of management systems and efficient work processes
    * technical integrity and barrier understanding.
 

Source: Statoil