Center for Offshore Safety Announces 2024 Safety Leadership Award Winners

HOUSTON, September 27, 2024 – The Center for Offshore Safety (COS) has announced the winners of the 2024 Safety Leadership Awards during its Annual Safety Forum, held September 26 in Houston. 

The awards honor companies that demonstrate outstanding leadership in developing safety management and performance practices. These practices and projects play an important role in advancing the culture of safety within the offshore industry. 

“This year’s winners exemplified the power of applying industry expertise to create innovative tools and processes that reduce risks and enhance safety in offshore operations,” said COS Senior Director Russell Holmes. “The COS Safety Awards celebrate these achievements while providing a platform to share good practices, foster collective learning, and support the industry’s ongoing commitment to improving safety." 

The 2024 Safety Leadership Award winners are: 

Operator Category
Apache, Safety Blitz: Inspect What We Expect
As part of an urgent effort to reverse a rising number of high potential incidents, Apache launched its 2023 Safety Blitz: Inspect What We Expect program. The initiative, focused on improving the Control of Work process and reducing at-risk behaviors, involved leadership-led inspections and a comprehensive verification process to ensure adherence to safety procedures, best practices, and industry life-saving rules across its field sites. Over a six-week period in Q3 2023, Apache performed its Blitz, later sharing best practices and safety learnings across operations. The program produced notable improvements in safety metrics and has since become part of the company’s global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) strategy, with leadership engagement driving continuous long-term safety performance. 

Contractor Category
Restricted Zone Analysis: Enhancing Offshore Safety, Practical Application of Visual Planning Tool 
To reduce line-of-fire risks during offshore operations, Valaris developed its Restricted Zone Analysis (RZA) tool. This innovative visual planning tool, integrated into the Job Safety Analysis process, identifies safe, restricted, and no-go zones for activities like pipe handling, pressure testing, and complex lifts. Originally piloted in the North Sea, the RZA tool has since been adopted globally due to its success in minimizing exposure to dangerous zones. By ensuring that only authorized personnel can access high-risk areas, the RZA has significantly reduced exposure to hazardous zones, enhancing the safety of offshore operations.

Each year, the COS Board reviews all nominations, selecting finalists in both the operator and contractor categories. These finalists are then highlighted at the annual COS Forum held each fall, where their impactful contributions and program success are detailed and shared among members. During the Forum, conference attendees cast votes to determine the winners. 

This year’s award winners have been influential stakeholders on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for decades. Their contributions have been integral in advancing offshore safety. 

The Center for Offshore Safety is an industry-led initiative established in 2011 to promote continuous safety improvement for offshore drilling, completions and operations. COS accomplishes this goal through effective leadership, communication, teamwork, disciplined management systems, and independent third-party auditing and certification. Learn more about COS and information on how to become a member at centerforoffshoresafety.org. 

API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports nearly 11 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our approximately 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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