Equinor displeased with its own safety record
Norwegian energy major Equinor reported July 21 that worker injuries increased from last year and that it had recorded four hydrocarbon leaks so far this year.
Equinor offered a safety performance review for operations. There were nine “serious” incidents at its operations during the second quarter, compared to 12 during the same period in 2020. All told, however, there were 90 general injuries during the second quarter, up from the 53 reported during the same quarter last year.
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“We take it seriously that the number of personal injuries is developing in the wrong direction,” said Jannicke Nillson, the executive vice president for safety, security and sustainability at Equinor. “Nobody must be injured while working for us.”
Equinor set up Nillson’s office only in June, but stressed that it did so to strengthen its track record on safety.
The trend follows acknowledgement from the Norwegian company that it was underperforming on safety in general. In a February review of 2020 performance, the company said that it was “not where we need to be in terms of our safety work.”
An investigation by the Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway found Equinor made “serious breaches” of its safety regulations at is methanol plant in Tjeldbergodden, where a fire broke out in December 2020.
The fire started in a compressor housing, resulting in a three-month shutdown of the plant, which accounts for 10% of European methanol consumption. It returned to operation in late February.