Union representatives from Eni Norge, a Norwegian subsidiary to Italian oil company Eni, are worried about safety culture at the company.

Norwegian trade union for workers in the oil & gas industry, Industri Energi, voiced its concerns about management culture in the company, which ‘undermines security’, to the country’s offshore safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA).

Union representative in Industri Energi Martha Skjæveland said that there are major cooperation problems between the management of Eni Norway and employee representatives.

Skjæveland said the union believes the current situation in the company is serious and it therefore requires an investigation in order to reveal the events and conditions in the company that are contrary to the Norwegian law.

Association Secretary in Industri Energi Jørn Erik Bøe says that the same issues have been on the government’s table several times.

Industri Energi says that how foreign companies are monitored by the authorities must be questioned.

Union members from the company and the members from the company’s contractors report that the orders from the authorities are not followed up as they should, Bøe said.

He also added that the authorities expect for their suggestions to be followed but that the experience should tell them that that is not the case.

Bøe added the union expects for stronger measures to be adopted. He also questioned whether foreign companies should be allowed to have operatorship over fields on the Norwegian continental shelf if they do not show respect towards the system set up in Norway.

To remind, Eni Norge is the operator of the Goliat field located in the Barents Sea offshore Norway. After years of delay, the field came online in March 2016. Not long after, in April, the field was hit by a gas leak.

Recently, an offshore worker was injured on the Goliat FPSO in an accident during unloading operations. The PSA launched an investigation in order to clarify the events and identify the triggering and underlying causes.

The company also operates the Marulk gas and condensate field, located in the Norwegian Sea, developed as a tie-back to the Norne FPSO.

Offshore Energy Today has reached to the Petroleum Safety Authority seeking the agency’s comment on Industri Energi’s statement and request for investigation. We are yet to receive the agency’s response.