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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Upstream Safety Analyst

💰 $ - $

HSEOil & GasUpstreamSafetyProcess Safety

🎯 Role Definition

The Upstream Safety Analyst is a subject-matter resource responsible for identifying, assessing and mitigating safety and process risks across upstream oil & gas operations (drilling, completions, wells, production and subsea). This role develops and maintains safety standards, leads hazard analyses, supports incident investigations, assures regulatory and internal compliance, and partners with operations, engineering and contractors to deliver safe, compliant, and efficient upstream activities. The role emphasizes process safety, quantitative and qualitative risk assessment, safety case maintenance, and continuous improvement of leading and lagging safety indicators.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Field HSE Advisor / HSE Technician
  • Wellsite Engineer or Drilling/Completions Engineer with HSE responsibility
  • Process Safety Technician or Junior Safety Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Upstream Safety Analyst / Lead Safety Engineer
  • Process Safety Engineer / Process Safety Lead
  • HSE Manager / Regional HSE Superintendent

Lateral Moves:

  • Offshore HSE Advisor
  • Risk & Reliability Engineer
  • Asset Integrity Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and execute comprehensive hazard identification and risk assessment activities (HAZID, HAZOP, What-If, Bow-Tie, and other PHA techniques) for upstream projects, drilling programs, and production operations to ensure all credible scenarios are identified and mitigated.
  • Perform Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and contribute to Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) to validate risk reduction measures, determine risk tolerability, and recommend risk treatment options that align with company ALARP and tolerability criteria.
  • Develop, maintain and review safety cases, Major Accident Hazard (MAH) documentation and regulatory submissions for offshore and onshore upstream assets, ensuring alignment with national regulations and company standards.
  • Design, implement, and maintain process safety management (PSM) elements including management of change (MOC), integrity of barriers, safety critical elements (SCE) management, and safety instrumented systems (SIS) verification in accordance with IEC 61511 and industry guidance.
  • Lead incident and near-miss investigations using structured methodologies (TapRooT, 5-Why, Root Cause Analysis) to identify immediate and underlying causes, produce corrective and preventive actions, and track closure through verification.
  • Provide in-depth safety support to drilling, completions, well testing and production teams—reviewing operational procedures, well programs, kick tolerance calculations, and PTW (Permit to Work) packages to ensure safe execution.
  • Conduct routine and targeted field safety inspections, walkthroughs and barrier verifications across upstream facilities and drilling locations, documenting findings, escalating issues and driving timely closure of observations.
  • Develop and maintain process safety performance indicators (KPIs/LPIs), dashboards and metrics for upstream operations; analyze trends, prepare monthly/quarterly safety performance reports and present insights to leadership.
  • Evaluate and approve contractor HSE plans and work method statements for high-risk upstream activities; conduct contractor auditing and assurance to ensure compliance with company HSE expectations.
  • Lead emergency preparedness and response planning for upstream assets: define worst-case scenarios, support exercise design, participate in drills and ensure alignment of response arrangements with local authorities and stakeholders.
  • Support design reviews and design-for-safety activities for new developments and brownfield modifications, ensuring safety-by-design principles are embedded in engineering deliverables and vendor packages.
  • Provide subject-matter expertise in toxic, flammable and explosion hazard assessments (e.g., dispersion modeling, PHAST/SAFETI) and recommend detection/mitigation systems such as gas detection, deluge, and separation strategies.
  • Manage regulatory affairs related to upstream safety: stay current with national and international regulations (e.g., local petroleum safety acts, OSHA equivalents, MARPOL where applicable), prepare audit responses and ensure timely regulatory notifications.
  • Facilitate behavior-based safety initiatives, lead safety workshops and toolbox talks tailored to upstream risks to improve frontline engagement and reduce human-performance errors.
  • Review, author and maintain safe operating procedures (SOPs), emergency operating procedures (EOPs), and well control contingencies; ensure documents are kept current and accessible to operations teams.
  • Provide technical input to selection and management of safety-critical equipment, including safety instrumented functions, blowout preventers (BOPs), well control equipment and subsea safety systems.
  • Support well integrity assurance programs by reviewing well barrier schematics, well construction risk assessments and well intervention plans to minimize blowout, leakage and loss-of-containment risks.
  • Partner with data analytics and engineering teams to integrate safety data (incidents, barriers, inspection findings) into integrated risk models and digital assurance platforms for proactive decision-making.
  • Conduct periodic compliance audits and assurance activities against internal safety standards, industry codes and ISO 45001 requirements; prepare audit findings and drive remediation plans to closure.
  • Provide coaching and technical guidance to operations, engineering and junior HSE staff on upstream-specific safety practices and risk management tools to build internal capability.
  • Support procurement and vendor selection by evaluating suppliers for safety performance, reviewing vendor safety documentation and ensuring safety-critical suppliers meet contractual safety requirements.
  • Participate in project gate reviews and pre-commissioning safety reviews, verifying completion of safety activities prior to the start of high-risk operations such as first oil, well tests or subsea tie-ins.
  • Drive continuous improvement by translating lessons learned from incidents and industry events into updates to standards, procedures and training, closing the loop with measurable outcomes.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc safety data requests and exploratory safety analytics to uncover leading indicators, hotspot analysis and trending for upstream assets.
  • Contribute to the organization’s upstream safety strategy, roadmap and continuous improvement programs by proposing process changes and technology adoption (digital assurance, mobile barrier checks).
  • Collaborate with operations, drilling, production engineering and contractors to translate safety requirements into technical and operational specifications.
  • Participate in agile project teams, sprint planning or project governance where safety input is required for rapid decision-making on modifications or operational changes.
  • Assist HR and training teams with development of role-based safety training, competency assessments and onboarding materials for upstream personnel and contractors.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong knowledge of Process Safety Management (PSM) frameworks and application in upstream oil & gas contexts.
  • Proficiency conducting HAZID, HAZOP, What-If, Bow-Tie and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA).
  • Experience with Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) and consequence modeling tools (e.g., PHAST, SAFETI or equivalent).
  • Familiarity with safety instrumented systems (SIS), IEC 61511, safety lifecycle and verification/validation of safety critical elements.
  • Practical experience in incident investigation techniques (TapRooT, Root Cause Analysis, 5-Why) and corrective action management.
  • Competence in well safety, well control concepts and BOP / well integrity risk assessment for drilling and completions.
  • Knowledge of regulatory frameworks and compliance requirements for upstream operations (local petroleum safety acts, industry standards).
  • Ability to develop and maintain safety cases, MAH documentation and regulatory submissions.
  • Proficiency with permit-to-work systems, management of change (MOC) processes and safe work authorizations.
  • Data analysis skills including KPI development, trending, basic statistical analysis and dashboarding (Excel, Power BI, or equivalent).
  • Experience auditing HSE programs, conducting third-party assurance and leading gap closure processes.
  • Understanding of contractor HSE management and processes for high-risk activities in the upstream environment.
  • Familiarity with emergency response planning, tabletop exercises and crisis management for offshore/onshore incidents.
  • Exposure to digital safety assurance tools, barrier management systems or integrated risk management platforms.

Soft Skills

  • Clear, concise communication tailored to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across operations, engineering, vendors and regulators.
  • Analytical mindset with strong problem-solving and decision-making under uncertainty.
  • Leadership and coaching abilities to develop safety capability in multidisciplinary teams.
  • Attention to detail and strong documentation discipline for regulatory and audit readiness.
  • Resilience and ability to work in operationally demanding and time-sensitive environments.
  • Collaborative team player with the ability to drive cross-functional change.
  • Effective facilitation and training skills for safety workshops and HAZOP sessions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Petroleum, Chemical), Safety Engineering, Geoscience or related technical field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Safety, Risk Management, Reliability Engineering or related engineering discipline.
  • Professional certifications such as NEBOSH Diploma, IOSH, CSP, or equivalent; specialist process safety courses.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Chemical / Mechanical Engineering
  • Safety/Risk Engineering
  • Geosciences
  • Industrial Hygiene / Occupational Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of progressive upstream oil & gas safety experience, including hands-on operational exposure in drilling, completions or production.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years upstream HSE or process safety experience with demonstrable experience in HAZOP/LOPA facilitation, safety case preparation and incident investigation.
  • Prior experience supporting offshore or onshore well operations, BOP and well integrity risk management.
  • Demonstrated track record of delivering risk reduction projects and improving safety performance through data-driven insights.
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