For the fourth quarter of 2023, the serious incident frequency per million hours worked (SIF) was 0.4. This is equivalent to the level we saw at the end of 2022. Serious injuries are also included in the serious incident statistics.
The number of serious incidents in 2023 is at a record low.
“It is encouraging to see that the good work our employees and suppliers do each day to improve safety is paying off. We continue working closely with the industry, sharing lessons learned from incidents, and with common focus areas into 2024”, says Jannicke Nilsson, Equinor’s executive vice president for Safety, Security and Sustainability.
“Our extensive experience from proactive safety work in the oil and gas business is also incorporated and continued in new value chains within renewable energy and low-carbon solutions,” Nilsson emphasises.
“One example of this, is the common use of ‘the life-saving rules’ when working with our suppliers in various value chains,” Nilsson says.
The injury trend is improving. For 2023 the total recordable injury frequency per million hours worked (TRIF) is 2.4, down from 2.5 in 2022.
A total of ten oil and gas leaks have been recorded in 2023, up from eight at the end of 2022. Oil and gas leaks are classified by the severity of the leak rate.
In the third quarter, we reported a fatality on board a tanker in Malaysia. In addition, we have classified two incidents with major accident potential in 2023 that have also been reported as serious incidents previously.
In 2023, substantial efforts have been made within safety-critical maintenance on Equinor's installations and facilities.
“Reducing the backlog of safety-critical maintenance is a very important part of the work to prevent major accidents. We now see the lowest level ever recorded," says Nilsson.
At the end of 2023 outstanding safety-critical maintenance work has been reduced by 80% from 2022. This is a continuation of the trend in the past few years.
In 2023, special efforts have been made to prevent major accidents through extra focus on management training and an e-learning course for all employees. The course is also available to Equinor's suppliers.
Through the "Always Safe" annual wheel, Equinor is working with other operating companies and suppliers to enhance the understanding of what conditions prevent safe work. The focus for the first quarter of this year is on the prevention of major accidents.
