Seadrill has entered into a membership agreement with OFFB for its operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This is the first time OFFB has admitted a rig company. “A natural and desired development in the emergency response collaboration,” says Managing Director Ole Jacob Haug.
The 2026 exercise year is underway. OFFB has scheduled close to 30 training sessions and emergency response exercises for our members in the first three months of the year.
On 1 January 2026, Vår Energi became a member of OFFB. “We are very pleased to be able to include the country’s third-largest operating company in our member organisation. This membership strengthens emergency response cooperation on the Norwegian continental shelf,” says Ole Jacob Haug, Managing Director of OFFB.
To be prepared for incidents, we need to train. Recently, more than 100 people from OFFB’s member companies, hotels and municipal crisis teams practised the reception systems for evacuees and next of kin in Stavanger, Bergen and Brønnøysund.
The expert team at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen has served as on-duty doctors for the maritime sector for a century. Since September 2024, Radio Medico has also provided on-duty doctor services for OFFB members through a centralized arrangement. "The collaboration improves the quality of the on-duty doctor service for everyone working offshore," says Ole Jacob Haug.
OFFB has had a close collaboration with the societal safety community at the University of Stavanger for many years. We’re now fortunate to have student Johannes Skjæveland Eide with us during his internship. "At OFFB, I get the perfect combination of ‘geeking out’ and operational emergency response," he says.
Ideen til Anita Utseth, Siri Nesbø, Randi Morvik og Eva Fagernes resulterte i et helt unikt beredskapssamarbeid på norsk sokkel. – Kredibilitet og engasjement, både blant myndigheter, universitetene og energibransjen generelt, viser at OFFB er en betydelig aktør. Vi er rett og slett stolt av hva dette ble til, sier de.
Slightly over four months after joining OFFB, Yrjan Bamberg has successfully completed his certification exercise and is now part of the 2nd line duty rotation. “I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and am pleased to officially begin,” says the newly appointed Chief of Staff.
14. til 15. mai samler Beredskapskonferansen og Informasjonssikkerhetskonferansen beslutningstakere og sikkerhetseksperter fra hele landet på Sola for 19. gang. – Viktigere enn noen gang, sier leder for programkomiteen, Ole Jacob Haug.
OFFB is now preparing training sessions to maintain competence in the Incident Command System (ICS), which has become a common management system for handling oil spill response operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Several of OFFB's employees must be prepared to assist people in crisis. Marianne Vinjevoll from our partner organization, Klinikk for krisepsykologi (Clinic for Crisis Psychology), visited us to share her experiences and advice.
Nearly 40 students from UiS came to OFFB to learn more about what it means to work with emergency response in practice.
Operator companies on the Norwegian continental shelf compete for most things, but not emergency response. In this field, everyone must be the best. Now eight oil and gas companies are inviting the new maritime industries into the collaboration in the joint emergency organization OFFB.
OFFB is among the first in the emergency response/energy industry to use the tool developed by the local startup company Sklls. - A useful supplement for conversational training, says Kim Sviland, responsible for OFFB’s Next of Kin call center.
Each year, close to 300 employees in the energy industry attend courses at OFFB. What all our courses have in common is that they are free for our members, and they are developed through collaboration with our members.
A large part of OFFB’s daily work is to conduct training and exercises to test the emergency preparedness of our nine member companies. These are planned in close collaboration with the companies.
“We are putting behind us a busy and prolific year, and we are now preparing for emergency response to become a top priority for even more actors within the energy industry,” says managing director Ole Jacob Haug.
As emergency preparedness is our full-time job at OFFB, we are aware that accidents occur regularly in the real world. We also know that no one is exempted from standing on the front line to help. In order to become as well-equipped as possible for such an event, you can practice in advance.
In March 2023, a total of 800 people participated in one of the largest oil recovery exercises in Norway ever, arranged by OKEA, NOFO and OFFB.
In a series of exercises during the spring of 2023, all of Neptune Energy's six emergency response teams had to handle an accident with serious injuries to personnel on the Gjøa platform. The scenario was built around a real-life incident on the Heimdal field in 2019. Emergency response manager Pål Erland in OFFB commends Equinor for sharing its experiences. “We have learned a lot,” he says.
- Joint audit is important work that I am glad OFFB can contribute to, says aviation advisor Thea Blume.
Lørdag 3. juni deltok hele 3.750 personer i Energistafetten i Stavanger. Åtte av dem hadde OFFB-logoen på brystet. – I år var ambisjonsnivået å delta. Nå begynner planleggingen av neste års stafett, sier stabsleder og løpegeneral Brigt Nesheim.
Once in every quarter of a year, OFFB assembles its technical forum to exchange knowledge and discuss current emergency response issues. “A highly useful forum,” says its leader, Kåre Olav Oftedal of Gassco.
Aker BP has become a member of the Operator’s Association for Emergency Response, known as OFFB. “We are looking forward to further develop OFFB’s emergency response collaboration together with such a large and highly skilled player on the Norwegian continental shelf,” says Ole Jacob Haug, managing director of OFFB.
“A rule of thumb for people assigned to take care of those affected by crises and their next of kin, is to help more and cry less,” says crisis psychologist Jakob Inge Kristoffersen with a smile. The class room at OFFB’s Competence Centre was packed when he gave a course on how to handle crisis reactions.
13. til 14. september inviterer Offshore Norge, Industri Energi, Petroleumstilsynet og OFFB alle som jobber med beredskapsfaglige spørsmål i privat og offentlig sektor, akademia, organisasjoner, politi og forsvar til Beredskapskonferansen i Stavanger.
PGNiG Norway AS has signed a membership agreement with the Operator’s Association for Emergency Response (OFFB).
OFFB er stolt sponsor av KFUM Stavanger J07. I påsken vant førstelaget J14-klassen i Peter Wessel Cupen 2022, uoffisielt norgesmesterskap i aldersbestemt håndball. Andrelaget ble nummer to i sin pulje.
On March 30, OFFB and Neptune Energy assembled a wide range of collaborating actors for an emergency preparedness gathering in Florø in Vestland county. Among the topics on the agenda were the follow-up of evacuees and next of kin from a health professional perspective, and contingency planning under a heightened threat level.
How should people affected by crises be followed up in the best possible way? And when should a crisis be declared over? Those were key questions at a workshop on strategic crisis management, organised by OFFB’s Competence Centre at the end of February.
The Centres for Evacuees and Next of Kin (OSEP in Norwegian) play a key role in attending to people affected by emergency incidents. The ongoing pandemic makes it difficult to carry out real-life exercises, but on November 30 to December 1, it was finally possible to meet in Florø in Vestland county.
1. til 2. desember gjennomføres Beredskapskonferansen for tolvte gang – dette året i Stavanger. Det er fortsatt ledige billetter.
At the University of Stavanger, master’s degree students of societal safety are getting a thorough, theoretical introduction to the subject of crisis management. On Monday the 1st of November, the students visited OFFB to learn how theory can be put into practice.
The Operators' Association for Emergency Response (OFFB) is a specialised, civilian emergency response organisation, and an integrated part of Norway’s total defence. In the latest issue of NATO’s ‘The Three Swords’ magazine, OFFB is introduced to an international readership.
A new research article by Riana Steen and Alf Inge Molde is outlining learning points from an outbreak of COVID-19 at the West Phoenix drilling rig in August 2020. It discusses how uncertainty, time pressure and escalating consequences magnify the need for resilience in emergency preparedness.
“The fear of making mistakes may be the biggest challenge when faced with people who are going through crises,” says psychology specialist Heidi Wittrup Djup. Together with her colleagues at Clinic for Crisis Psychology, she’s ready 24/7, all year round, to attend to those affected by emergency events – and to support those responsible for handling such situations.
A new partnership was announced earlier this week when RelyOn Nutec entered a collaboration together with CAVU International, a global performance improvement consulting company as well as the Operator’s Association for Emergency Response (OFFB).
In order to close the gap between emergency response plans and the way tasks are carried out in real life, far more factors and aspects must be mapped and included in the planning, Riana Steen believes. In a new research paper written in collaboration with the Operator's Association for Emergency Response (OFFB), she explains how this can be done.
Today, on January 28, OFFB conducts a full-scale exercise, based on a hypothetical security incident at the heliport in Florø in Vestland county. A wide range of companies and authorities are collaborating in the drill.
OFFB had its busiest year ever in 2020. Managing director Ole Jacob Haug expects this positive trend to continue in 2021.
INEOS Oil & Gas Norway is preparing to spud its ‘Fat Canyon’ wildcat in the summer of 2021. Together with OFFB, the company is rehearsing its emergency response system. “It is essential to go up routines and brush up on our knowledge,” says general manager Erik Magnesen.
Når kriser oppstår må kriseledere fatte beslutninger, ofte under tidspress og stor grad av usikkerhet. 15. september utfordret beredskapslederne Geir Haakonsen og Bjørn Stein masterstudenter i samfunnssikkerhet ved Universitetet i Stavanger.
A close dialogue, a focus on details and the ability to improvise were some of the key factors in the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak on board the West Phoenix drilling rig in the beginning of August 2020.
EPIM JQS, som er en del av Norsk olje og gass, har også gjennomført en revisjon av beredskapsorganisasjonens kvalitetssystemer.
-I den utfordrende tiden olje- og gassindustrien nå er inne i spiller kanskje OFFB en viktigere rolle enn noensinne
Grenseoverskridende kriser som koronakrisen byr på helt spesielle utfordringer for krisehåndterere på alle nivåer. Nøkkelen er felles situasjonsforståelse, robust samarbeid og koordinering, mener sikkerhetsforsker Riana Steen.
Erfaringen etter to interne øvelser i OFFB de siste dagene er at det er fullt mulig å gjennomføre gode beredskapsøvelser med minimal bemanning i beredskapsrommet og resten på Skype og Teams.
OFFB følger retningslinjene fra myndighetene og jobber fra hjemmefra. Beredskapsoppgavene blir likevel ivaretatt fullt ut. Øvelser, kurs og andre samlinger er i første omgang avlyst fram til påske.
I slutten av februar var beredskapsorganisasjonen til Helse Midt-Norge på besøk hos OFFB for å lære hvordan beredskapsorganisasjonen jobber med proaktiv stabsmetodikk og CIM.
HSE-work is facing a paradigm shift, safety scientist Riana Steen believes. She now sets out to study the way principles and models in resilience engineering and Safety-II may strengthen crisis response and coordination inside the emergency preparedness room. (Article in Norwegian).
Rundt 200 personer deltok aktivt da Neptune Energy, riggeier Odfjell Drilling og et bredt spekter av samarbeidsaktører øvde på å håndtere en alvorlig ulykke på riggen Deepsea Yantai 18. desember 2019.
INEOS Oil & Gas Norway har inngått avtale om medlemskap i beredskapssamarbeidet i Operatørenes forening for beredskap (OFFB).
Torsdag 28. november 2019 markerte Operatørenes forening for beredskap (OFFB) ti år som beredskapsforening. Neste år går beredskapssenteret inn i sitt travleste år noensinne.
OFFB markerer 10-årsjubileum! 28. november inviterer vi til åpen dag i Koppholen 19 klokken 10.00 til 13.00.
Oljenæringen gjør Norge sikrere, tryggere og bedre, slås det fast i en fersk rapport utgitt av Kunnskapsparken Nord og Norsk olje og gass. Ett av eksemplene rapporten viser til er OFFBs kunnskapsdeling med Stavanger fengsel.
OFFB Strategisk krisekommunikasjonsteam er i medvind. Nå søker vi etter dyktige rådgivere til å styrke arbeidet med krisekommunikasjon for ni operatørselskap på norsk sokkel.
4. september inviterer OFFB alle aktører i bergensområdet som jobber med krisehåndtering og
får en rolle under beredskapshendelser offshore til samvirketabletop ved Thon
Hotel Bergen Airport.
I midten av juni besøkte beredskapsledelsen i Sola kommune OFFB for å lære mer om organisering av beredskap, metodikk og hvordan oljenæringen jobber med samvirke i krisehåndtering. – Inspirerende, sier rådmann Ingrid Nordbø.
Hvert år arrangerer OFFB 130 treninger og øvelser. 8. mai møttes OFFB og medlemmene til temadag i OFFB Kompetansesenter for å finne nye måter å utfordre strategisk nivå i øvelser.
Kravene til krisekommunikasjon har endret seg dramatisk de siste 20 årene. På Beredskapskonferansen i Bodø forteller OFFB hvorfor og tidligere CHC-direktør Arne Roland om hvordan det var å stå som kriseleder under Turøy-ulykken.
I begynnelsen av april gjennomførte Forsvaret sin årlige antiterrorøvelse Aries. 4. april var soldater fra Forsvarets spesialkommando på Brage-plattformen.
OFFB fortsetter å styrke kompetansen på Incident Command System (ICS) sammen med Shell, denne gangen med danske og svenske myndigheter – og den danske marinen.
Forskere fra Universitetet i Stavanger og Profesjonshøyskolen i København tror øvelsene på beredskapsrommet kan gi noen svar.
Torsdag 7. mars øvde totalt 75 personer fra AS Norske Shell og Shells internasjonale organisasjon, personell fra OFFB og sentrale støttespillere som NOFO og politiet på å håndtere en stor og langvarig hendelse etter ICS-modellen.
I fjor deltok nær 300 personer på kurs i regi av OFFB Kompetansesenter. Her er kursplanen for første halvdel av 2019.
Fredag 30. november klokken 09.00 gikk OFFB på vakt som A/S Norske Shell sin 2. linjeberedskapsorganisasjon på norsk sokkel.
Tirsdag 28. august inngikk OKEA avtale om medlemskap i Operatørenes forening for beredskap (OFFB). OFFB skal levere 2. linje beredskap til det trondheimbaserte oljeselskapet, som i fjerde kvartal overtar operatørskapet for Draugen-feltet i Norskehavet.
OFFB arrangerte 30.01.2018 (0830-1230) egen workshop med fokus på å skape en god treningsarena for representanter fra operatørene som skal reise til OSEP for ivaretakelse av ledelse og koordinering mellom operatør og OSEP-personell.
– Vi er svært fornøyd med å ha fått med oss kompetente personer med kommunikasjonsfaglig tyngde, bredde og erfaring, sier daglig leder i Operatørenes forening for beredskap (OFFB), Ole Jacob Haug.
Foredraget arrangeres 7. desember kl 1200-1300 hos OFFB. Foredraget er basert på en masteroppgave skrevet av Lise Andreassen Hagir og Alf Inge Molde (foredragsholdere).
Operatørene besøkte Stavanger Universitetssykehus 04.10.2017
Den 7. april 2017 arrangerte OFFB en temadag under tittelen «Aksjonsledelse med statlig overtagelse».
We offer a unique emergency response collaborative partnership on the Norwegian continental shelf. Eight operating companies secure robust, cost-effective and sustainable operations.
Our activities are directed from our emergency response centre at Forus in Stavanger. Two independent situation rooms enable us to manage two incidents simultaneously.
Our evacuation centres are based in the coastal towns of Stavanger, Bergen, Florø, Kristiansund, Brønnøysund and Hammerfest. All is included in the membership.
Skills enhancement courses are provided by qualified instructors at our own competence centre. The courses are included in the membership.
We are able to mobilise a next of kin call centre, staffed with trained personnel and state-of-the art systems, within two hours. All is included in the membership.
A strong team of crisis communication leaders and advisors is ready to join the operators’ strategic emergency response teams within one hour. All is included in the membership.
We carry out more than 130 training sessions and exercises each year. All is included in the membership.
Who is in the first, second and third line? What does OFFB actually do? Get to know us – in four minutes.
The operator´s association for emergency response
Koppholen 19, 4313 Sandnes
Telephone +47 51 96 33 20
E-mail offb@offb.no
