Responsibilities of the Danish Working Environment Authority
The Danish Working Environment Authority is the responsible authority for safety and health on offshore installations and for certain vessels in connection with the exploration and production of oil and gas.
Task and responsibilities of the Danish Working Environment Authority within offshore oil and gas.
The Danish Working Environment Authority is the responsible authority for safety and health on offshore installations and for certain vessels in connection with the exploration and production of oil and gas.
Installations are divided into two categories; production facilities that produce oil and gas, and non-production installations that perform specific tasks, such as drilling rigs.
Safety includes the built-in safety of systems and equipment as well as safety in the workplace and at work. Health includes health conditions in the work environment and other health conditions. These are regulated by the Offshore Safety Act and associated executive orders.
Duties of the Danish Working Environment Authority include:
- Safety and health inspections of offshore oil and gas production installations, mobile installations etc.
- Review of design of production facilities and fixed non-production installations and pipelines.
- Permits in connection with the operation, modification and dismantling of offshore installations and pipelines.
- Approvals of planned well operations where there is a risk of accidental release of oil, gas or hazardous substances or materials that could lead to a major accident.
- Safety and health inspection on offshore installations etc., including well operations.
- Approvals and review of notified well operations.
- Preparation of safety and health rules, including implementation of EU directives.
In connection with the performance of these duties, the Danish Working Environment Authority participates in national and international cooperation to build up experience and to fulfil legislative and international obligations regarding safety and health offshore.
Division of responsibilities
The offshore oil and gas administration is shared between several authorities in Denmark:
The Danish Energy Agency: Manages e.g. authorisations for explorations (concessions). Visit ens.dk
The Danish Health Authority: Training requirements for the “offshore Medic”, etc. Visit sst.dk
Southern Jutland Police: Investigation of deaths, major accidents etc. Visit politi.dk
The Danish Safety Technology Authority: Manages e.g. live electric currents Visit sik.dk
In the Offshore Safety Directive, the EU has stated that the financial administration of offshore oil and gas must be separated from the administration that e.g. supervises exploration activities. Therefore, concessions (economic part) are administrated by the Danish Energy Agency (Ministry of Energy), and supervision is shared between the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Ministry of the Environment), and the Danish Working Environment Authority (Ministry of Employment), which administers the working environment, safety and health.