While the upsides for the oil and gas industry remain promising, the downsides have increased, exposing companies to potential hazards including human fatalities, environmental damage, bad press and financial loss. Therefore, it takes courage to be involved in risk management in such an industry - and that courage has to be well founded.

Says Harstad: "DNV is willing to show the world what we are capable of by taking on complex and ground-breaking projects. We want to be known for setting the standards, pushing the boundaries and putting our expertise to use where it can have the greatest impact. We have the competence, a skill we must demonstrate whenever we can."

According to Harstad, setting priorities in terms of project involvement plays a vital role in building the brand: "We have to consider carefully what we want to be recognised for."

Breakthrough projects
She says the TS division wants to be known primarily for its enabling role in "breakthrough projects" such as Norsk Hydro’s Ormen Lange development off Norway, Gazprom’s Blue Stream gas pipeline project in the Black Sea and the company’s work with composite tethers for ConocoPhillips. "Through feedback we have received we learn we are gaining recognition, and our Qualification Procedures are increasingly in demand. Some clients already ask for bespoke versions for their equipment," she explains.

TS’ competitive edge lies in the ability to combine its key risk and reliability competencies with extensive technological knowledge. "For instance, our contribution means an oilfield can be explored and ready for production. This way, our work goes straight into the core of our clients’ business. New technologies must work perfectly the first time they are used - usually under the most severe and difficult conditions." Indeed, this was the reason why DNV’s verification and qualification services played such important roles in the completion of the Blue Stream project.

Diving into the deep end
Harstad notes a trend in which the biggest and most established companies in the industry are less risk-averse. "As this industry is meeting more boundaries, our clients seem determined to push these boundaries, confident that the necessary risk management tools are available to them. Whether its operating in ultra-deep waters, using new technologies or exploring fields that seemed unreachable only years ago, our clients are eager to go for it."

Exploration and production is increasingly taking place in deep waters, where the old tried and true technologies no longer apply. On the other hand, much of the infrastructure on mature fields, such as those used in the North Sea, is becoming dilapidated, creating a demand for TS’s services for safe field lifetime extensions in order to prolong production where investments in new infrastructure are not justified.

Avoiding the rocks
The risk approach is being increasingly used in all aspects of operation in the oil and gas industry. This becomes all the more apparent as clients target new locations such as West Africa, China and Indonesia. Establishing operations in new areas calls for a steady hand in risk management, as the problems can be unpredictable — and the rewards equally hard to count on.

"What is vital for us in DNV Technology Services," says Harstad, "is not only to understand the pressure put on our clients in this new risk reality where zero tolerance of failure is the norm. Equally important is the way we carry out our work. We must certainly be prepared. As we want to make a difference where the impact is the greatest, we must ensure our impact contributes to the upside."