The NSOAF forum was formed in 1989, and the goal is to ensure continuous improvement in health, safety and the environment in the petroleum activities in the North Sea.- Norway: Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA)
- Denmark: Danish Energy Agency
- Faroe Islands: Ministry of Petroleum
- Germany: Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie
- Ireland: Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources
- The Netherlands: State Supervision of Mines
- Sweden: Svenska Geologiska Undersøkning
- UK: Health and Safety Executive
The members of NSOAF meet for an annual plenary meeting in which activities are summed up and new tasks are initiated and discussed.
This work primarily takes place through the three following permanent working groups: NSOAF - HS&E, NSOAF - TG and NSOAF - WWG. The working groups hold meetings as needed, usually twice per year.
NSOAF-HS&E working group is led by The Netherlands. Their work shall e.g. contribute to continuous improvement of safety and working environment, harmonisation of regulatory requirements / reduction of administrative burdens and transfer of experience between the authorities. This group is also responsible for ’Joint NSOAF - E&P Industry Trade Associations Meetings’.
The working group will work on topics in which the authorities have common interests. Work is currently underway on five specific topics, each of which has a dedicated coordinator and contact persons from each country.
- Worksite Supervision (The Netherlands)
- Asset integrity of fixed and mobile installations (UK)
- Ageing workforce (Denmark)
- Lifting operations and lifting equipment (Norway)
- Leading and lagging KPIs (The Netherlands)
The working group for safety training (NSOAF-TG) is led by Denmark. This group works to achieve mutual acceptance for the safety training requirements used in the North Sea countries. Agreement has been reached among the countries with regard to which elements of the training programs are mutually acceptable, and which elements have different requirements.
This applies to basic safety and emergency preparedness training as well as various types of special training. This work is used as a basis for further simplification of the training requirements and the schemes for mutual acceptance of training modules across continental shelf borders.
The working group on drilling and well control (NSOAF-WWG)
The working group was formally established as a NSOAF working group in 2006. The group is chaired by the UK for the period June 2011 to June 2013.
The working group will exchange information and cooperate on safety and working environment aspects relating to drilling and well operations, well integrity and blowout prevention.
The activities of the group will also contribute to continuous improvement of safety and the working environment during drilling operations, well workovers and other well-related activities. Furthermore, the group is working to reduce the administrative burden of companies operating on several continental shelves (in the North Sea area).
Contact in the Petroleum Safety Authority:
Øyvind Tuntland, technical director
E-mail: oivind.tuntland@ptil.no
