Human Reliability Analysis in Major Accident Risk Analyses in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry

Major accidents in the petroleum industry can have severe consequences for people and the environment, as seen in recent cases such as the Deepwater Horizon. Human factors have been shown to play an important role both in the cause and mitigation of these accidents. However, major accident risk analyses in the oil and gas industry has previously not included assessments of human reliability. As part of our company’s overall safety strategy, we have recently made an effort to apply human reliability assessments in major accident risk analyses of offshore activities such as drilling and production of oil. This paper outlines our strategy for use of human reliability assessment, our experiences from practice, and methodological challenges that must be improved for it to become established in the offshore petroleum industry.