Nearly One-Third of Offshore Safety Checks Fail to Meet Standards | HSE's Latest Offshore Activities Report

The Health and Safety Executive's latest offshore statistics reveal a troubling disconnect between zero fatalities and widespread compliance failures, with 30% of safety topic assessments rated as poor or unacceptable during 2024 inspections. Despite the offshore sector's impressive injury record, HSE inspectors identified 616 non-compliance issues across 102 installations, with maintenance management and control of work systems emerging as the most significant areas of concern.

These findings signal that whilst the UK offshore oil and gas industry has prevented catastrophic outcomes, underlying systemic weaknesses in major hazard control remain unaddressed, demanding urgent attention from safety professionals and operators alike.

Here's what you need to know:

• 30% of topic assessments during HSE offshore inspections in 2024 were rated as poor, very poor, or unacceptable, despite zero fatalities.
• 616 non-compliance issues were identified, with maintenance and control of work emerging as the most problematic areas.
• The disconnect between good lagging indicators (injuries) and poor leading indicators (compliance scores) signals underlying systemic weaknesses that demand attention.

Background of the Report

The Health and Safety Executive's Offshore Statistics and Regulatory Activity Report 2024, released in September 2025, provides a comprehensive snapshot of safety performance across the UK's offshore oil and gas installations. This annual report is produced by the Offshore Major Accident Regulator (OMAR), which comprises HSE working in partnership with the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED).

For those unfamiliar with the offshore sector's regulatory framework, it's worth noting that approximately 23,000 full-time equivalent workers operate across these installations, making this a significant industrial sector with unique major hazard risks. The regulatory regime focuses heavily on preventing major accidents – catastrophic events involving hydrocarbons that could result in multiple fatalities, whilst also maintaining robust personal safety standards.

The Headline Findings | A Tale of Two Stories

On the surface, 2024 appears to be a success story. Zero fatalities across the entire offshore sector represents an achievement that shouldn't be understated. With only two fatalities in the past decade, the industry has made remarkable progress since the dark days of Piper Alpha in 1988, which claimed 167 lives and fundamentally reshaped offshore safety regulation.

However, scratch beneath that surface and a picture emerges that could raise a few eyebrows. During 125 planned inspections across 102 installations, HSE inspectors assigned 477 topic scores. Of these, 30% were rated as poor, very poor, or unacceptable. This is indicative of a failing in some safety management systems that need to meet the expected standards in such a dangerous field.

What This Means for Major Hazard Control

In the four decades I’ve worked in health and safety, I’ve learned that lagging indicators (injury statistics, etc.) tell you where you’ve been, whereas leading indicators (inspection scores and compliance rates, etc.) are an indicator of where you’re heading. The 2024 offshore data presents a classic divergence between two measures, and it’s the leading indicators that concern me the most.

When 616 non-compliance issues are identified across just 102 installations, we're looking at an average of six issues per installation. The breakdown is particularly revealing. Maintenance deficiencies topped the list, followed by control of work issues.

Maintenance failures in a major hazard environment create the preconditions for catastrophic loss of containment. The 92 hydrocarbon releases reported in 2024 – 57 of which were serious enough to be reportable under RIDDOR – demonstrate that the potential for major accidents remains very real. Remember, it takes only one significant release in the wrong location, at the wrong time, with an ignition source present, to create another Piper Alpha.

Is There a Gap in Enforcement Which Needs to Be Addressed?

Here's where the picture becomes more complex. Despite identifying 616 non-compliance issues, HSE issued only 21 improvement notices and 2 prohibition notices. No prosecutions were pursued in 2024, with only 3 carried out in 2023.

This enforcement approach raises important questions about regulatory strategy. Is HSE adopting a more collaborative, improvement-focused approach? Or does the relatively low formal enforcement rate suggest that many issues, whilst non-compliant, aren't deemed sufficiently serious to warrant statutory notices?

From my experience working with both regulators and dutyholders, I suspect the answer lies somewhere in between. The offshore sector operates under a safety case regime, a goal-setting regulatory framework that places responsibility firmly on operators to demonstrate safety. This approach naturally lends itself to collaborative improvement rather than punitive enforcement, provided operators engage constructively.

However, the persistence of maintenance and control of work issues year after year is a cause for concern, I think, and might warrant further scrutiny. A repeated pattern such as this suggests that informal enforcement isn't always driving the necessary step-change in performance.

Actionable Insights for Safety Professionals

If you're a safety professional in the offshore sector, or indeed in any major hazard industry, what should you take from these findings?

Audit Maintenance Management Systems

Don't just check that you have procedures in place. Verify that they're being followed, that backlog management is effective, and that safety-critical elements receive the priority they demand. The data tells us this is where inspectors are finding the greatest number of deficiencies.

Strengthen Control of Work Processes

Permit-to-work systems, isolation procedures, and simultaneous operations management need constant vigilance. These aren't bureaucratic exercises designed to waste your time; they're the defensive barriers that prevent incidents from occurring. When inspectors rate these areas poorly, it indicates that your barriers may not function as designed when you need them most.

Injury Statistics Don’t Tell the Whole Story

Zero harm is an admirable aspiration, but if you're achieving low injury rates whilst your management systems are being rated poorly by inspectors, you're riding your luck. Process safety and personal safety are interlinked, but they're not the same thing. You need both to be functioning effectively.

Prepare for Inspections as Though Your Entire Safety Case Depends on It

Because ultimately, it does. HSE's risk-based inspection approach means that poor performance results in increased inspection frequency and depth. This creates a regulatory spiral that's difficult to escape. Better to invest in getting it right the first time.

The Challenge for 2025 and Beyond

With production declining, an ageing asset base, and the sector pivoting towards decommissioning and offshore renewables, there are legitimate questions about whether traditional safety standards are being maintained during this period of change.

The question for the offshore sector isn't whether it can maintain zero fatalities – that must remain non-negotiable. The question is whether it can address the underlying compliance deficiencies before they converge to create the preconditions for a major accident.

HSE's inspection findings serve as an early warning system. When nearly one-third of topic assessments indicate poor compliance, the sector needs to respond with urgency and rigour. This means investment in maintenance resources, strengthening of permit systems, and a renewed focus on the fundamentals of major hazard control.

For safety professionals across all sectors, the offshore data provides valuable lessons. Leading indicators matter. Management system performance matters. And the absence of bad outcomes doesn't guarantee that your prevention measures are working as intended.

Stay informed on the latest health and safety developments. Subscribe to our newsletter for quarterly insights, analysis, and practical guidance, or browse more articles in our 'This Week in Health and Safety' series below to keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends and regulatory changes.