Tag: OFFB

Preparing to expand our emergency response collaboration

Post author By Line Viste
Post date 16/01/2024

2023 var et år med god treningsaktivitet både internt i OFFB og for våre medlemmer.

2023 was a busy year for OFFB. The number of operations the organisation supports has remained steady and high since 2020. There has also been a high activity level for training and exercises, including at the OFFB Competence Centre.

The largest single activity by far was Exercise Draugen in March 2023. A total of 800 people took part in one of the largest oil spill response exercises in Norway ever, organised by OKEA, NOFO and OFFB with support from OFFB's other members and a number of additional organisations.with support from OFFB's other members and a number of additional organisations.

2023 also offered changes, both among OFFB's members and internally within the organisation. The year started off with 22 people previously hired as coordinators in the 2nd line, becoming part-time employees

Getting more part-time employees means training and refreshing of knowledge, but we find that a closer connection strengthens on-duty-teams. (Photo: Jan Inge Haga)

“It has been quite demanding to us as an organisation, requiring training and refresher training, but the end result is positive. We observe that people get to know the company differently, and feel a greater sense of belonging when they are employed,” says Ole Jacob Haug.

More new employees

Two of our employees, who had been with OFFB from the beginning, retired in 2023. In addition, a third long-term employee chose to move on to emergency tasks in another organisation.

A lot of experience and history disappeared with them. At the same time, we have brought in new and talented staff members, who build on the work that has been put in earlier, and help us move forward. We also have strengthened our strategic crisis communication team, based on the volume of deliveries and demand among members.

Aker BP a new member

The number of members of OFFB is stable, but continuously developing. In January 2023, , Aker BP joined as a member.Throughout the year, we have gotten to know the organisation well, by planning and carrying out exercises, and through media training provided by OFFB’s strategic crisis communication team (SKT).

“Having a highly competent organisation like Aker BP as a member has been an entirely positive experience. We’ve become familiar with highly skilled people, and had the chance to test out new ways of exercising. We feel that this has been instructive for both parties,” says Haug.

ICS training in practice

Another field we are learning to master is the Incident Command System (ICS). Companies operating on the Norwegian continental shelf entered into a mutual agreement last year, to use ICS during long-term incidents. The agreement states that the operators undertake to provide training and education, and to share trained personnel at incidents that require an ICS organisation.

_{Exercise Draugen was conducted as a collaborative exercise between NOFO, OKEA, and OFFB, with the common goal of practicing coordination and communication within and between preparedness levels for handling a long-lasting incident. (Photo: Alf Inge Molde)}

OFFB has built up an in-house ICS expertise of high quality, and we rig ourselves in order to be able to support our members’ ICS organisations. All permanent employees have undertaken the courses required. In addition, several of our part-time employees participated in last year’s Exercise Draugen, and received exceptionally good practical training. The entire oil recovery operation was handled in accordance with the ICS management system.

“Exercise Draugen provided valuable learning about a long-term incident, and how to handle such incidents in the future,” says Haug.

Together with Aker BP, OFFB now contributes to the planning of the next major exercise. This will be another opportunity for our members to practice ICS.

Looking towards new industries

Like everyone else in the energy industry, OFFB follows the green transition with great interest. We have set up a special project group which, among other things, closely follows the work on preparing regulations for emergency preparedness within the offshore wind industry.

“We are pleased to be asked to contribute to emergency preparedness and response for new industries in the planning. We possess a broad expertise and a long experience in putting preparedness at the top of the agenda, and we see that this can be transferred from the oil and gas industry to new industries. We clearly believe that OFFB has a role to play here,” says Haug, and adds:

“We have a positive view of the future. The Petroleum Safety Authority changing its name to Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority, and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate is a sign of the times, and we at OFFB are observing these changes with interest. New industries are coming in that need emergency response services, and we are prepared to deliver on that,” says Haug.

_{“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.}

In the past year, we have also tried out several new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to improve the efficiency of our training and exercise activities. CIM - the crisis management system used by our members - will have a tailor-made ICS module added to it.

Memberships increasing - but there is room for more

In recent years, we have seen more acquisitions and mergers taking place among companies operating on the NCS. Several of our members have become bigger and stronger. 2023 was no exception. Neptune Energy was acquired by the Norwegian operator Vår Energi, and the news about Wintershall Dea's Norwegian arm being acquired by the British company Harbour Energy came at the very end of the year.

“This implies both opportunities and challenges, but we at OFFB keep up and deliver what our members need to maintain a robust emergency preparedness and response system. During 2024, our membership base will actually increase, as new companies are coming in,” says Haug, and emphasises that OFFB has room for more members - both small and large.

The most essential feature is having a volume of members high enough to provide learning, and a composition of members that provides variety.

“It is important to us that we get to exercise and learn together with as many people as possible, and that we have incidents that we can learn from. We see that we have an important role to play in contributing to emergency preparedness. We also see that OFFB has helped set a standard for emergency preparedness and response, and we will continue with that in 2024, says Ole Jacob Haug.

About OFFB:

The Operator’s Association for Emergency Response, known as OFFB, is a member-led emergency response organisation run by NCS operators A/S Norske Shell, DNO, Gassco, Neptune Energy Norge, OKEA, Sval Energi, Wellesley Petroleum, Wintershall Dea og Aker BP.

Since its beginning in 2009, OFFB has provided professional 2nd line emergency response services and support to our member companies’ strategic emergency response management, and forms an integral part of their emergency response systems. OFFB also acts as a resource and expertise centre to all its members.

Tags Readiness, OFFB

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OFFB employees trained in life-saving techniques

Post author By Line Viste
Post date 11/12/2023
No Comments on OFFB-ansatte kurset i livreddende førstehjelp

Samtlige kursdeltagere måtte ut på gulvet for praktisk trening. Her instruerer Kim Sviland daglig leder Ole Jacob Haug.

“If you find yourself in a situation that requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the most crucial thing is to do something, as every second counts. However, you have a clear advantage if you have received some training in advance. Getting familiar with how a defibrillator works is also a definite advantage,” says Kim Åke Sviland.

In addition to being a chief of staff at OFFB, he has several years of experience as a nurse, as well as a long history with voluntary search and rescue services. Kim reminds us of the importance of those standing near to immediately initiate life-saving first aid. That way, we can together strengthen the chance of surviving acute illness and injury.

A significant investment

Precisely because emergency preparedness is our main focus at OFFB, we must practice what we preach. All full-time employees have now completed a three-hour course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the use of a defibrillator.

The DHLR-course consists of theory and practical training. All attendees were trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“It was important for us to prioritise this; both to be better prepared for incidents at the companies we are on duty to provide emergency services to, and to support the government's strategy of enabling the population to better help themselves and others in cases of acute illness and injury,” says Ole Jacob Haug, managing director of OFFB.

During the course, we practiced emergency call notification, examination of an ill or injured person, securing open airways and stable recovery position, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), the use of a defibrillator, what to do if a foreign object is lodged in a person’s airways, and how to detect signs of acute heart disease.

All course participants had to get on the floor and do practical exercises. And now we are all familiar with the defibrillator in our office building here at Koppholen.

It is recommended to refresh DHLR courses at least every two years. The course is offered by organisations such as the Red Cross.

Tags Readiness, DHLR, Internkurs, OFFB

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Equinor accident gave valuable learning for Neptune Energy

Post author By Line Viste
Post date 11/09/2023
No Comments on Equinor-ulykke ga stort læringsutbytte for Neptune Energy

An explosion occurred during the pouring of nitrogen from bottles to hydraulic accumulators on the Heimdal field, and two people were seriously injured. The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) concluded in its investigation report that "with insignificant changes in circumstances, the incident had the potential for a fatal accident".

Several mitigating measures have since been implemented by Equinor, and the entire industry has learned from the incident. This spring, when Neptune Energy was training its six emergency preparedness teams together with OFFB, the Heimdal incident was chosen as the case scenario – and the Gjøa facility as the training object.

Preferred practice method

Using a real-life event gives a more serious backdrop to the exercise, and enhances meaning and learning outcomes. Several participants have since stated that they prefer this manner of training.

“Those of us involved in exercise planning at OFFB, are eager to form a good cooperation with the people we train with. It is important for us to be able to distinguish between what works and what can be done better. The exercises should feel useful to everyone involved. It's especially rewarding when we hit the mark with both the scenario and the execution,” says Pål Erland, emergency response manager and responsible exercise leader at OFFB.

Erland has been involved in the planning and execution of exercises at OFFB since 2010. Before that, he had a long career in the police.

Planning provided valuable information and learning

To create the most realistic scenario possible, documentation from Equinor and the Petroleum Safety Authority's (PSA) investigation report from the Heimdal incident were used in planning the exercise. In addition, the exercise management received valuable information from Equinor's 2nd line emergency response manager, who handled the incident in 2019. To maximize the learning outcome, the exercise was based on a "worst case" scenario.

All teams trained on the same scenario

By basing all exercises on the same scenario, all on-call duty teams in Neptune Energy's 2nd and 3rd line were given a common foundation for handling the incident. Real-life mobilization was carried out in the 2nd and 3rd line. In addition, all first notifications from the 2nd line were transmitted to all relevant collaborators. These included the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (South), the local police, PSA, contractors, on-duty doctor, emergency doctor, head of the Operator's Centre for Evacuees and Next of kin (OSEP), as well as head of the next of kin call centre and the Clinic for Crisis Psychology.

Neptune Energy's on-duty personnel at the logistics base in Florø also took part in all executions. In addition, the operator's emergency doctor provided valuable support to the 2nd line’s handling of the exercise.

“It was essential for all teams to handle the same scenario and practice on the same incident. It was also important to involve as many real-life actors as possible. We received valuable contributions, including from the platform manager on Gjøa,” says Erland.

_{The seminar at OFFB following the exercises was an important part of the learning process. Foto: Alf Inge Molde}

After the exercises, Neptune Energy held a learning and evaluation seminar at OFFB, to which all participants were invited. Here, the emergency response manager from Equinor's 2nd line, Geir Helge Johnsen, shared Equinor's and his own personal experiences from the Heimdal incident.

“Learning outcomes are important to OFFB and those we train with. The evaluation process is therefore central. After the Neptune exercises, the evaluation seminar together with Equinor was helpful and instructive. Johnsen’s presentation was greatly appreciated, both by the participants and the exercise management,” says Erland.

Tags Readiness, Emergency response centre, Equinor, Neptune Energy, OFFB, Exercises

OFFB have room for more members

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