Line Viste (text)
Jan Inge Haga (photo)
Visitors to OFFB often ask about the names of our meeting rooms; Anita, Siri, Randi, and Eva. And yes, they are named after people.
"It had to be that way. They really deserve the credit for OFFB’s existence," says OFFB’s managing director, Ole Jacob Haug.
15 Years on duty
It’s been 15 years since the first OFFB on-duty team was placed on emergency standby for the drilling of the Fogelberg exploration well using the West Alpha rig in the North Sea. The company was called Centrica at the time. Together with Revus (which became Wintershall during the process) and Det Norske, they were the first full-fledged OFFB member companies.
Utseth, Nesbø, Morvik, and Fagernes know the story of how the Norwegian Operators’ Emergency Preparedness Association (OFFB) came to be well. They helped create it. It all began back in 2007.
Part of the backdrop was the exploration tax refund scheme introduced by the Norwegian government in the early 2000s. This led to a significant increase in exploration activity and the emergence of many small companies—commonly referred to as "oil mosquitoes"—on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Anita Utseth realized that a more professional emergency preparedness organization was necessary when the small company she worked for, Pertra, experienced a production riser failure on the Varg field—in the middle of the Christmas party season.
"That’s when we understood that we weren’t well equipped for emergency response, and that a semi-professional second line just wasn’t enough. It was also a poor solution that the management teams received phone calls in the middle of a wine bottle on Friday nights," says Utseth.
At that time, Morvik worked at Revus—one of the "oil mosquitoes" that also saw the value in collaborating on a shared preparedness organization.
"It was my boss at the time, Ellen Braune, who gave me the assignment to find out if this was feasible. I knew very little about emergency preparedness back then. Luckily, I found great collaborators at OLF (now Offshore Norway). They asked us to conduct a feasibility study. That’s when the ball started rolling," Morvik recalls.
Siri Nesbø was HSE Manager at Centrica at the time and also became central to OFFB’s early development.
"The start-up was demanding, and I never dreamed it would become the success it has," says Nesbø.
Thinking Big
OLF (now called Offshore Norge), and especially Ove Haugen, was an important supporter. Once the project group received the green light that a joint emergency response center was realistic, the hunt began for companies willing to commit as members. Several companies showed interest, but finding those with concrete drilling plans and long-term commitment was a major task.
"The working title was National Emergency Response Center, so we were thinking big. Randi, Siri, and I fought our way into executive meetings to sell the message. During that time, we talked to each other constantly. I’ve never felt more like a salesperson than I did then," says Utseth.
Even without a large operating company that could ensure stable activity, they managed to establish a financing model.
"That was a milestone that showed we could succeed with our project," they say.
"We were all actively involved in shaping the organization, and I believe I participated in every single job interview for the original 15 hires, Utseth says.
The first employee was Ole Jacob Haug, who has been the general manager since the beginning and has played a key role in building the organization and developing it into what it is today.
“Getting the right people on board was crucial. Everyone who joined from the start took a bit of a risk. Three dry wells—and that could have been the end of it, even though we firmly believed the project had long-term potential," Utseth continues.
The risk paid off—for both operators and employees.
Since its inception, OFFB has provided emergency response services for more than 200 exploration and production wells—as well as for numerous production platforms, subsea installations, pipelines, and onshore facilities, across around 40 different operator companies.
Built on Volunteer Spirit
At its founding, OFFB had three regular member companies and four associate members. OFFB was established as a non-profit and moved into the top floor at Koppholen 19 in Forus. Randi Morvik (Revus/Wintershall), Siri Nesbø (Centrica), and Anita Utseth (Det norske) formed the original board.
Later, Eva Fagernes (Gaz de France) and Arild Thorsrud (Rocksource) joined the board. Bridge Energy, Discover Petroleum, EON, and OMV were associate members.
Eva Fagernes had also been involved early in the project through her position as HSE Manager at Gaz de France and returned when the company was preparing to start operations at Gjøa. She believes OFFB is a great example of the strength of the Norwegian model — where companies cooperate when it makes sense, for the common good.
"The project to create a shared emergency response center was rooted in volunteer spirit, with a strong focus on professionalism. The idea was that people who work with this continuously become truly skilled—and that’s key to building resilience. It also enhances competitiveness. I still think a shared emergency response center is a fantastic idea," says Fagernes.
Comeback as Chief of Staff
Morvik served nine years on OFFB’s board and at times acted as chairperson. The OFFB project was the start of a new career direction in emergency preparedness for her. For several years, she led crisis and emergency work at what was then Wintershall and Wintershall Dea. The company is now called Harbour Energy and remains a key OFFB member.
Shortly after accepting an early retirement package, Morvik realized she wasn’t done with work—or emergency response. She reached out, humbly, to OFFB’s managing director Ole Jacob Haug to ask if there were any opportunities to contribute.
"Pretty quickly, I got a part-time job as Chief of Staff. I love it. I look forward to work and feel energized being here with so many skilled and kind people," says Morvik.
Just as We Envisioned – and Even Better
All four of the “meeting room women” believe OFFB has truly lived up to its purpose and original intention—a unique collaboration across companies.
They particularly highlight the creation of the Competence Center with tailored courses for members, professional forums as well as the strong member networks and active sharing of experience.
Utseth, Fagernes, Nesbø, and Morvik are happy to have witnessed the oil companies taking emergency response and preparedness more seriously—both operationally and strategically.
"They’ve understood how important this is, and OFFB gives the companies the emergency confidence we hoped it would. We think it’s both fun and impressive to see what kind of workplace OFFB has become. Credibility and engagement—from authorities, universities, and the energy sector in general—show that OFFB is a significant player. We’re simply proud of what this has become."
"It’s kind of fun that we’ve left our mark here," the four say, as they inspect their respective meeting rooms.
