Operator Influence in Building and Maintaining Robust Safety Culture in Drilling Operations I

In the oil and gas industry, contracting of specialised functions to external companies (e.g. drilling and maintenance) is very common. For example, on one drill-site there will be employees from the operating company, rig contracting company, and service provider companies. It is important that a positive safety culture is present regardless of the number of companies present on a rig. The operating company is interested in its influence on the safety culture of its drilling operations. The “Fitness-to-operate ” model (Griffin et al., 2014) was designed to measure the safety capability of an organisation via three measurable capitals; human, social, and organisational. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed to gain an undertanding of the enabling capitals. A total of 13 interviews were conducted with rig contractors and service provider employees. Multiple themes emerged from a preliminary analysis of the interviews, such as communication, leadership commitment, and following rules and procedures. Further interviews and analysis will determine the influence the operating company has on the safety culure of its drilling operations