Abstract
There has been a claim in the industry that the safety level in the petroleum area has stagnated or declined the last few years. Some improvements have been seen, but in many areas the risk level has been increasing during the nineties. This development must be understood in relation to extensive processes of change in the industry. There have been major technological, operational and organisational changes, without the sufficient or corresponding focus on the consequences for health, safety and environment.
In order to meet this development there has been made a new legal framework for the petroleum sector (Sound health, environment and safety culture, Section 11) and a white paper to sort out these conditions (White paper no. 7, 2001 - 2002). The new regulatory framework was effectuated last year and demands that the responsible party shall promote a good HSE-culture in the enterprise. In the white paper the role of the leaders is given much attention. The work with and the quality of the HSE-culture is closely connected to the responsibility of the leader and his or her behaviour. It is also said that: "Health, environment and safety shall be integrated in the common values, established attitudes, competence and behaviour in the organisation".
In addition to this, the Norwegian government wants the petroleum sector to be the initiating and leading industry with a strong focus on HSE, continuous improvement and a proactive approach. The petroleum sector is meant to be a mirror outwards to the rest of the world.
