Technical reports/ seminars/R&D

The PSA is an independent specialist agency. It contributes to improving the level of HSE through the development of knowledge, education and transfer of experience. Professional ability is also essential for discharging its role as the administrator of the HSE regulations.

Another central element in the PSA’s activities is helping to disseminate and share new knowledge with everyone involved in the petroleum sector, both nationally and internationally.

This is achieved in part through the production of reports and analyses in selected risk areas, and by organising specialist seminars. The PSA often draws on external expertise in this type of work.

To help ensure that new knowledge and experience are disseminated to everyone with a potential interest, the authority publishes relevant information on its website.

R&D activities at the PSA
The PSA conducts its own research projects only in exceptional circumstances, but devotes considerable resources to contributing to desired technical developments in risk areas within its regulatory sphere.

This is achieved in part through participation in reference and management committees for important research and development projects, through collaboration with universities and through the development and publication of extensive data about the level of risk in the petroleum business.

Work on trends in risk level in the petroleum activity gives R&D specialists access to a unique database. That in turn supports national research as well as permitting comparisons with development trends on other continental shelves.

ICRARD: Intenational R&D
The PSA also contributes to sharing information and experience from HSE-related research across continental shelf boundaries. (See info and link to ICRARD news articles to the right)

Its work on behalf of the International Committee on Regulatory Research and Development (Icrard) includes the creation of the www.icrard.org website.

This facility contains information on HSE-related R&D projects in the member countries. A unique search engine is also provided, which looks only for HSE-relevant R&D information at selected web addresses.

• Relevant link: Global website for HSE research in the petroleum sector

HSE research and Petromaks
A Norwegian government target is to maintain the petroleum sector as a pioneering industry in the HSE field. Put simply, there are two basic requirement for achieving this goal.

One is to learn more about what is risky and harmful, and the other is to identify what can be done to avoid accidents and disasters and to prevent injuries, illness and exclusion as a result of safety and working conditions in the petroleum activity.

It is important that HSE challenges are addressed consistently and in parallel with the development of new technological and organisational solutions in the petroleum industry.

For this reason, the PSA’s HSE commitment has been tied into the major Petromaks programme being pursued by the Research Council of Norway.

This represents the central Norwegian research effort for optimum management of petroleum resources on the NCS. For further information, go to the Petromaks web site.