The best safety results ever achieved by Statoil were recorded last year, despite a high level of activity in the group.
A lost-time injury frequency of 2.7 per million working hours for the group as a whole in 1998 compares with a figure of 3.8 for the year before.
This decline indicates that Statoil is making progress towards its goal of zero accidents, lost-time injuries or losses in its business.
Two principal factors help to account for the reduced lost-time injury frequency - close collaboration with suppliers to ensure a strong focus on personnel safety, and good results in communicating the zero mindset to the workforce.
The group has got suppliers to commit themselves to its goals for health, the environment and safety (HES), and several have copied Statoil by adopting the zero mindset.
Within the organisation, managers have focused great attention on instilling zero attitudes. These efforts are now starting to yield results.
Statoil can point to several examples which demonstrate that accidents can be avoided. Troll Gas, Veslefrikk and Yme in the North Sea recorded no lost-time injuries in 1998, for instance.
"Last year's results show that the zero mindset has gained a solid position in our organisation," says Arve Thorvik, senior vice president for HES at Statoil.
"We've created a good foundation for continued pursuit of our target of zero accidents, injuries and losses, both in-house and among our suppliers."
The lost-time injury frequency is one of several HES indicators used by the group. Statoil also measures the personal injury frequency, which totalled 8.5 per million working hours in 1998 for the group and its suppliers.
Figures for 1997 were confined to injuries and working hours recorded in Norway, and showed a frequency of 12.2 for Statoil and suppliers.
About 40 per cent of the improvement last year reflects the inclusion of injuries and hours for suppliers to the Marketing business area. The remainder marks a genuine decline in personal injuries in relation to hours worked. Injuries caused by impact and crushing dominated.