Abstract
Before expounding our case for risk analysis in the offshore environment, it is necessary to take a look back in time.
From the very first exploration drilling in the North Sea, right through the design, fabrication and ultimate installation of the first operating platform in the North Sea, almost as an invisible partner, the world's insurance markets have played an essential supporting role. Behind the scenes, major oil companies and contractors alike have benefited from the knowledge that their exposures to principally physical damage and general liability risks have been protected by a vast cast of unseen insurance underwriters.
As the oil industry has grown, as more and more fields have been developed, the technological advances in the oil industry have been rapid and enormous. To parallel this, the values of the installations at risk in the North Sea in particular have multiplied many, many times, since the first fields became operational in the late 1960's, early 1970's.
