Women Who Shine: Q&A with Margareth Ovrum

Rigzone: What needs to happen in the HSE sector for people that aren’t involved with energy get on board with energy? How can the industry do a better job of spinning a positive image of oil and gas?

Ovrum: Within Statoil, to operate in a safe and efficient way - is the foundation for having the license to operate! It is all about understanding and managing risk in an efficient way; to create awareness of health and safety is an important foundation for any business.

At Statoil, we have a good foundation but need to focus on constantly improving to be Industry leading, and we have a systematic approach to fulfill this goal.

That approach is:

• Structural: To have technical integrity with clear roles and responsibilities listed
• Cultural:  To create a systematic building of culture by two ways: a risk-based approach and fact-based risk assessment; and then to establish knowledge  before entering into new areas (e.g. the Arctic)
• Training: To continue to train and provide education to our employees

And in order for us to be industry leaders, Statoil cannot act alone. So we have to collaborate with vendors, partners and safety authorities, and it is important for all businesses to understand and create awareness of HSE and understand that HSE is an important foundation.Ultimately, to understand and manage risk in a good way is central, for any business.