Jane Cutler became the Chief Executive Officer of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) in September 2009. Ms Cutler has over 27 years of experience in the petroleum and financial services industries, and before joining NOPSA was a senior executive at Woodside Energy.

In addition to her industry experience, Ms Cutler’s qualifications include a Master of Business Administration, Master of Environmental Studies and Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Materials).

So what brought her to take on the role?

“NOPSA provided an opportunity to work on improving the way in which safety is managed in the offshore oil and gas industry,” says Ms Cutler.

“We can work on the system here, not simply in the system. I believe that in order to be a vibrant industry, the oil and gas industry must also be a safe industry.”

Key issues

The rapid expansion of the offshore petroleum industry in Australia presents a number of key challenges, Ms Cutler believes.

For both new entrants to the industry and more experienced members, this expansion needs to be underpinned by a culture of safety. This culture needs to be developed and nurtured, particularly within the areas of safety leadership, training and competency of staff. There needs to be an ethos that revolves around continuous improvement in these practices and not just regulatory compliance, she says.

This growth also means that members of company management teams and those in leadership roles were perhaps not around to directly experience the “profound impact” and aftermath of the Piper Alpha explosion, which occurred in 1988 on the North Sea-located oil rig.

“What I really hope is that we don’t have to learn those lessons again,” says Ms Cutler.

All eyes on safety

The key regulatory issues facing the industry, says Ms Cutler, are the potential changes that will come following inquiries and investigations into the Montara incident and the recent oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico.

“If we take Montara for instance, we can see from the submissions and hearings that there might be significant regulatory changes coming out of that,” says Ms Cutler.

The essential role of monitoring compliance activity lies with NOPSA, says Ms Cutler, so that “the important function of developing the industry lies with others.”

Although potential changes in regulation can create some uncertainty, planning for these changes and putting in place appropriate resources means that implementing new, unforeseen regulation should not pose a major problem.

The extensive media coverage of these offshore incidents has lead to a greater awareness of operational health and safety offshore. Ms Cutler says that she hopes this broader awareness contributes to a wider adoption of improved risk-based assessment of safety in all industries.

However, she says, this doesn’t change the obligations of those charged with managing health and safety. In the offshore petroleum industry, this management role rests with those who create the risk, the facility operators.

Goals

Discussing her goals for her time at NOPSA, Ms Cutler outlines three key objectives.

Firstly, she would like to see improvements made to the regulatory regime by both federal and state governments, then adopted as appropriate by NOPSA and the industry.

These potential improvements have been identified by various reviews and inquiries, as well as by NOPSA employees, inspired by the organisation’s practical experience to date.

However, she notes that recent regulation amendments have meant that NOPSA can more effectively engage with operators during the facility design stages. Following these recent changes, says Ms Cutler, “there may be potential for further amendments that might provide for further opportunities for regulatory oversight earlier in the project’s lifecycle.”

Secondly, Ms Cutler would like to see a cultural change within the industry, “such that ultimately an essential part of the experience for anyone who aspires to a senior management role would be a proven track record of safety leadership.”

At the heart of a safety culture, says Ms Cutler, is continual vigilance. This means “ensuring that people are appropriately trained to do their job, and that they have the procedures, equipment time and resources necessary to do their job safely.”

In the case of major incidents, says Ms Cutler, it is not usually one thing that has gone wrong, it is many things that have gone wrong at the same time. A culture of vigilance and attention to detail means that those barriers to major incidents remain in place and remain strong.

Lastly, Ms Cutler aims to build the experience and expertise within NOPSA, so that it can continue to attract great staff and be an effective regulator of the industry.