Norwegian energy giant Equinor ASA has said its safety record improved at the end of the first quarter of 2024, despite a helicopter incident in which one of its employees died.
The company said in a media release that at the end of March, the serious incident frequency per million hours worked (SIF) was 0.4. This figure is equivalent to the level Equinor reported at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The total recordable injury frequency per million hours worked per the first quarter is 2.3 for the past 12 months, down from 2.4 at the end of 2023”, Equinor said.
The company also recorded 12 oil and gas leaks over the past 12 months, but no serious well control incidents in the first quarter of the year, it said.
Equinor said it is continuing works on preventing major accidents by focusing on the safety training of leaders and e-learning courses that are also available to the company’s suppliers.
It was during one of the search and rescue (SAR) training assignments on February 28 when Bristow Group’s Sikorsky S-92 SAR helicopter was involved in an accident.
“On 28 February we lost a good colleague when an Oseberg search and rescue (SAR) helicopter crashed off Sotra by Bergen. The accident has strongly affected everyone involved and colleagues across the company. It is a strong reminder of the importance of the safety work being undertaken in all our activities”, said Jannicke Nilsson, Equinor’s executive vice president for safety, security, and sustainability.
Out of the six crewmembers aboard, one employee of Equinor died. Five other crewmembers who worked for Bristow on an assignment for Equinor survived. Despite the fatal accident, Equinor’s safety statistics indicate a long-term positive trend, the company said.
The incident is still being looked into by the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority. The Safety Authority is investigating the course of events and the causal factors leading to the accident. The police are also investigating the accident, Equinor said.
Equinor said it is cooperating closely with the helicopter operator Bristow Norway and relevant authorities in following up on the incident. In addition, Equinor said it is conducting an in-house investigation of the accident, focusing on helicopter safety in SAR and emergency handling.
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