{"id":3201,"date":"2025-07-02T11:23:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offb.no\/?p=3201"},"modified":"2025-07-02T11:31:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:31:50","slug":"15-ar-pa-vakt-for-norsk-sokkel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/15-ar-pa-vakt-for-norsk-sokkel\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Years on duty for the Norwegian Continental Shelf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Line Viste (text)
Jan Inge Haga (photo)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors to OFFB often ask about the names of our meeting rooms; Anita, Siri, Randi, and Eva. And yes, they are named after people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"It had to be that way. They really deserve the credit for OFFB\u2019s existence,\" says OFFB\u2019s managing director, Ole Jacob Haug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 Years on duty<\/strong>
t\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utseth, Nesb\u00f8, Morvik, and Fagernes know the story of how the Norwegian Operators\u2019 Emergency Preparedness Association (OFFB) came to be well. They helped create it. It all began back in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014commonly referred to as \"oil mosquitoes\"\u2014on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014in the middle of the Christmas party season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"That\u2019s when we understood that we weren\u2019t well equipped for emergency response, and that a semi-professional second line just wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that time, Morvik worked at Revus\u2014one of the \"oil mosquitoes\" that also saw the value in collaborating on a shared preparedness organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"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\u2019s when the ball started rolling,\" Morvik recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siri Nesb\u00f8 var da HMS-sjef i Centrica, og ogs\u00e5 hun skulle bli sentral i oppstartsarbeidet for OFFB. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Det var en krevende oppstart, og jeg hadde egentlig aldri dr\u00f8mt om at det skulle bli en slik suksess som det har blitt, sier Nesb\u00f8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Randi Morvik, Siri Nesb\u00f8, Eva Fagernes and Anita Utseth have left a clear mark on OFFB.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thinking Big<\/strong>
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"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\u2019ve never felt more like a salesperson than I did then,\" says Utseth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without a large operating company that could ensure stable activity, they managed to establish a financing model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"That was a milestone that showed we could succeed with our project,\" they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting the right people on board was crucial. Everyone who joined from the start took a bit of a risk. Three dry wells\u2014and that could have been the end of it, even though we firmly believed the project had long-term potential,\" Utseth continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk paid off\u2014for both operators and employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception, OFFB has provided emergency response services for more than 200 exploration and production wells\u2014as well as for numerous production platforms, subsea installations, pipelines, and onshore facilities, across around 40 different operator companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built on Volunteer Spirit<\/strong>
Ved oppstarten hadde OFFB tre ordin\u00e6re medlemsbedrifter og fire assosierte medlemmer. OFFB ble etablert som en non-profit og flyttet inn i toppetasjen i Koppholen 19 p\u00e5 Forus. Randi Morvik (Revus\/Wintershall), Siri Nesb\u00f8 (Centrica), Anita Utseth (Det norske) utgjorde det opprinnelige styret. Siden ble Eva Fagernes (Gaz de France) og Arild Thorsrud (Rocksource) styremedlemmer. Bridge Energy, Discover Petroleum, EON og OMV var med som assosierte medlemmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siden ble Eva Fagernes (Gaz de France) og Arild Thorsrud (Rocksource) styremedlemmer. Bridge Energy, Discover Petroleum, EON og OMV var med som assosierte medlemmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Daglig leder Ole Jacob Haug (i midten) sammen med Randi Morvik (f.v.), Eva Fagernes, Anita Utseth og Siri Nesb\u00f8 i OFFBs situasjonsrom, som er en viktig del av v\u00e5re lokaler p\u00e5 Forus.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eva Fagernes hadde ogs\u00e5 tidlig v\u00e6rt engasjert i prosjektet gjennom sin stilling som HMS-sjef i Gaz de France, og kom p\u00e5 banen igjen da selskapet forberedte seg til driftsfasen p\u00e5 Gj\u00f8a. Hun mener OFFB er et eksempel p\u00e5 styrken i den norske modellen, hvor selskapene evner \u00e5 samarbeide der det er mulig og gir mening, for et felles beste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Prosjektet med \u00e5 skape et felles beredskapssenter var tuftet p\u00e5 dugnads\u00e5nd, med et sterkt fokus p\u00e5 profesjonalitet. Tanken var at de som jobber med dette kontinuerlig, blir dyktige, og det er viktig for \u00e5 bygge robusthet. Det gir ogs\u00e5 styrket konkurransekraft. Jeg synes fortsatt at et felles beredskapssenter er en kjempegod id\u00e9, sier Fagernes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comeback som stabsleder<\/strong>
Morvik har selv sittet ni \u00e5r i styret i OFFB og har tidvis fungert som styreleder. Prosjektet for \u00e5 f\u00e5 OFFB opp og g\u00e5 ble startskuddet for en karriereretning innen beredskap for hennes del. I flere \u00e5r ledet hun krise- og beredskapsarbeidet i dav\u00e6rende Wintershall og Wintershall Dea. N\u00e5 heter selskapet Harbour Energy og er fortsatt et sentralt OFFB-medlem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kort tid etter at Morvik hadde tatt tidligpensjonspakke forstod hun at hun ikke var helt ferdig med hverken jobb eller beredskap. Morvik henvendte seg derfor i all ydmykhet til daglig leder Ole Jacob Haug og spurte om det var noen muligheter for \u00e5 f\u00e5 bidra i OFFB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Ganske fort fikk jeg en deltidsjobb som stabsleder. Det stortrives jeg med. Jeg gleder meg til jeg skal p\u00e5 jobb og blir glad av \u00e5 v\u00e6re her sammen med masse dyktige og hyggelige mennesker, sier Morvik.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Som vi s\u00e5 for oss \u2013 og enda litt bedre<\/strong>
Samtlige fire \u00abm\u00f8teromsdamer\u00bb mener OFFB virkelig har levd opp til hensikt og intensjon, nemlig et unikt samarbeid p\u00e5 tvers av selskapene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De trekker s\u00e6rlig frem opprettelsen av Kompetansesenteret med tilpasset oppl\u00e6ring for medlemmene, fagforum og HR-forum, samt hvordan medlemmene har felles nettverk og bedriver aktiv erfaringsutveksling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Daglig leder Ole Jacob Haug fikk storfint bes\u00f8k av de fire som stod bak den opprinnelige ideen til arbeidsplassen han har bygget opp.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Utseth, Fagenes, Nesb\u00f8 og Morvik er glad for \u00e5 ha v\u00e6rt vitne til at oljeselskapene har tatt beredskap p\u00e5 st\u00f8rre alvor, b\u00e5de n\u00e5r det kommer til det operasjonelle og det strategiske.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– De har forst\u00e5tt hvor viktig det er, og OFFB gir selskapene den tryggheten p\u00e5 beredskap som vi h\u00e5pet at det skulle gi. Vi synes det er b\u00e5de artig og imponerende \u00e5 se hva slags arbeidsplass OFFB er blitt.  Kredibilitet og engasjement b\u00e5de blant myndigheter, universitetene og energibransjen generelt viser at OFFB er en betydelig akt\u00f8r. Vi er rett og slett stolt av hva dette ble til.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Det er jo litt g\u00f8y at vi f\u00e5tt satt spor her, sier de fire, mens de inspiserer hvert sitt m\u00f8terom.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ideen til Anita Utseth, Siri Nesb\u00f8, Randi Morvik og Eva Fagernes resulterte i et helt unikt beredskapssamarbeid p\u00e5 norsk sokkel. – Kredibilitet og engasjement, b\u00e5de blant myndigheter, universitetene og energibransjen generelt, viser at OFFB er en betydelig akt\u00f8r. Vi er rett og slett stolt av hva dette ble til, sier de.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nyheter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3205,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions\/3205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offb.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}