Incident and Accident Investigation – Methods and Lessons Learned in the Norwegian Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

Abstract Preventing the next accident is a key issue in high risk industries such as the Norwegian offshore oil and gas industry. During the last five years of the positive results in HSE performance on the Norwegian continental shelf has declined. Indicators of this negative trend are: –incident and accidents occurring in the offshore oil and gas industry in Norway have become more frequent and severe–the operators ability to prevent the next accident could be questioned, since several of these incidents and accidents have been reoccurring events In this paper, concepts, theories and methods relevant to accident investigation in the petroleum industry will be shortly described. Theories and methods used in accident investigation in the Nordic nuclear industry will be presented. We learned that these methods worked also in an offshore context.