REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Report on the Safety of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations in the European Union for the Year 2021
Date: 2023-05-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: activity report, environmental protection, extraction of oil, hydrocarbon, marine pollution, maritime safety, offshore drilling, offshore oil structure, oil pollution, petroleum exploration

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.5.2023  COM(2023) 247 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Report on the Safety of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations in the European Union for the Year 2021                      
 
 
Table of contents 

1. 

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 2 

2.  LEGAL BASIS ............................................................................................................................................ 3 

3.  METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION RECEIVED ........................................................................... 3 

4.  THE EU OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS SECTOR ....................................................................................... 4 

4.1 Installations and production ...................................................................................................................... 4 

4.2 Offshore inspections, investigations, enforcement actions and regulatory framework ............................. 7 

5. 

INCIDENTS AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE ........................................................................................ 8 

6.  CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 10 

1 

 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Since 2016, the European Commission has published an annual report on the safety of EU offshore 
oil and gas operations. 

The  legal  basis  for  this  report  is  Directive  2013/30/EU1  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  12 June 2013  on  safety  of  offshore  oil  and  gas  operations  and  amending  Directive 
2004/35/EC (‘Offshore Safety Directive’). It aims to achieve a high level of safety in offshore oil and 
gas operations, for the benefit of: 

i.  workers; 
ii. 
iii. 
iv. 

the environment; 
offshore platforms and equipment; 
economic activities, such as fishing and tourism.  

The Directive, as implemented by Member States, helps to: 

i. 
ii. 
iii. 

prevent major accidents and incidents; 
reduce the number of incidents; 
ensure  effective  follow-up  of  accidents  and  incidents  to  reduce  the  severity  of  their 
consequences. 

As past reports do, this annual report: 

i. 
ii. 
iii. 

gives the number and type of installations in the EU; 
provides information on safety incidents in these installations; 
assesses the safety performance of offshore oil and gas operations.  

The  report  now  covers  a  period  of  six  years.  It  provides  a  record  of  the  safety  performance  in 
Member States’ offshore oil and gas activities. 

This report is based on annual national reports and data submitted by Member States as required by 
the Offshore Safety Directive. 

There are 171 offshore oil and gas installations located in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean, 164 in 
the Mediterranean Sea, 8 in the Black Sea and 4 in the Baltic Sea. In 2021, the competent Member 
State authorities inspected the safety of 248 offshore installations in their jurisdiction. The countries 
reported no major accidents.  

The number of incidents increased from 16 in 2020 to 26 in 2021.  

1 OJ L 178, 28 June 2013, p. 66. 

2 

 
 
                                                           
2. 

LEGAL BASIS 

In  line  with  Article  25  of  the  Offshore  Safety  Directive,  the  Commission  must  publish  an  annual 
report on the safety and environmental impact of offshore oil and gas operations. This report is based 
on individual annual reports that Member States must submit to the Commission. Annex IX(3) to the 
Directive sets out the minimum information the annual reports must contain: 

(a) the number, age and location of installations; 
(b) the number and type of inspections and investigations carried out, in addition to any enforcement 
action or convictions; 
(c) incidents that have occurred; 
(d) any major change in the offshore regulatory framework; 
(e) the performance of offshore oil and gas operations. 

The deadline for Member States to publish and submit the required information is 1 June following 
the reporting period (e.g. 1 June 2022 for 2021). 

Member  States  must  submit  the  information  using  the  templates  provided  in  Commission 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1112/2014 of 13 October 20142. The templates allow: 

i. 

operators  and  owners  of  offshore  oil  and  gas  installations  to  share  information  on  major 
hazard indicators; 

ii.  Member States to publish information on major hazard indicators.  

A guidance document3 provides specific information on the Implementing Regulation and explains 
how to use the reporting templates. 

3.  METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION RECEIVED  

Member States  must submit clearly defined information  on safety incidents  in  the offshore oil and 
gas  sector  using  the  templates.  The  data  must  include  information  on  the  offshore  oil  and  gas 
installations in the EU, such as number, type, location and age. Reports from Member States must 
also provide information on the number of (i) offshore inspections, investigations and enforcement 
actions taken; (ii) incidents by category; and (iii) injuries. 

For this annual report, the Commission has used information provided by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, 
Denmark,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Ireland,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Poland,  Romania  and  Spain. 
Other  Member  States  were  not  active  in  the  offshore  oil  and  gas  sector  or  did  not  submit  relevant 
information. 

2 OJ L 302, 22 October 2014, p. 2. 
3 https://euoag.jrc.ec.europa.eu/files/attachments/2015_11_25_implementing_regulation_guidance_document_final.pdf 

3 

 
 
                                                           
All Member States with offshore oil and gas operations declared they had submitted all the required 
information on all installations.  

4. 

THE EU OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS SECTOR 

4.1 Installations and production 

Member States reported 347 installations in EU waters in 2021 (see Table 1): 

  Most offshore installations4 are in the North Sea and Atlantic. 
  Approximately 43% are in the Dutch part of the North Sea (known as the exclusive economic 

zone of the Netherlands). 
In the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is the most active (with 40% of all installations in EU waters) 
followed by Croatia. 
In the Black Sea, Romania has a well-established offshore oil and gas industry. Bulgaria has 
continued  offshore  hydrocarbon  exploration,  but  only  has  one  installation  and  so  produces 
very little oil and gas.  
In the Baltic Sea, only Poland has offshore installations.  

 

 

 

4 Mobile offshore drilling units are not part of the data in section 4.1. 

4 

 
 
                                                           
Table 1: Installations on 1 January 2021: type of installation by region and Member State 

Region 

Country 

Type of installation(*) 

FMI 

NUI 

FNP 

FPI 

Total 
(region/count
ry) 

Change 
compared
to 2020 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

3 

3 

5 

0 

5 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

1 

1 

3 

1 

2 

Mediterranean Sea 

16 

146 

Croatia 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 

Germany 

Ireland 

2 

1 

12 

1 

55 

7 

1 

2 

17 

1 

126 

2 

115 

11 

1 

0 

The 
Netherlands 

45 

103 

79 

265 

North Sea and Atlantic 

Total (type of 
installation) 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

4 

4 

8 

1 

7 

164 

19 

2 

140 

3 

171 

19 

2 

2 

148 

347 

-- 

-- 

-1 

-- 

-1 

-1 

-1 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-14 

-11 

-- 

-- 

-3 

-16 

 (*) FMI: Fixed, manned installation; FNP: Fixed, non-production installation; FPI: Floating 
production installation; NUI: Normally un-attended installation. 

More  than  half  of  offshore  installations  came  into  operation  between  1980  and  2000;  in  2021,  no 
new  fixed  installations  came  into  operation.  Since  2010,  the  development  of  new  production 
installations has dropped noticeably in the North Sea and Atlantic. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Approximately  81%  of  the  EU’s  domestic  oil  and  gas  (14  710  kilotonnes  of  oil  equivalent)  is 
produced  in  the  North  Sea  and  Atlantic  (see  Table  2).  The  biggest  contributors  there  are  the 
Netherlands and Denmark. Italy and Croatia are the biggest producers in the Mediterranean Sea. In 
the Black Sea, only Romania’s output is significant. 

Table 2: Offshore oil and gas production in the EU in kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe )in 2021 

Region 

Country 

ktoe 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

Mediterranean Sea 

North Sea and Atlantic 

Total 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

Croatia 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 

Germany 

The 
Netherlands 

% of EU total  % change 
compared 
to 2020 

1,5% 

1.5% 

5.8% 

0.1% 

5.7% 

+7,2% 

+7,2% 

-10,9% 

-53,9% 

-9,7% 

11.9% 

-22,6% 

1.0% 

0.3% 

-23,2% 

-35,1% 

267 

267 

1 051 

14 

1 037 

2 159 

185 

63 

1902 

10,5% 

-21,5% 

9 

0.05% 

-70% 

14 710 

4 561 

854 

80,9% 

25,1% 

4.7% 

9 295 

51,1% 

-6,4% 

-7,4% 

-4% 

-5,4% 

18 187 

100 % 

-8,8% 

Production  increased  slightly  in  Poland  but  declined  in  all  other  Member  States,  particularly  in 
Bulgaria, Greece and Croatia. Compared to production in Member States in 2020, there was a 9 % 
loss of production (ca. 1 754 kilotonnes of oil equivalent) in 2021.  

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                  
 
 
 
From overall production in the EU measured in kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe), 70 % was gas and 
only  30  %  oil.  With  3335  ktoe  Denmark  was  the  most  important  producer  of  oil,  followed  by 
Germany (843 ktoe), Italy (430 ktoe), and the Netherlands (416 ktoe). 

4.2 Offshore inspections, investigations, enforcement actions and regulatory framework 

The competent authorities in the Member States regularly inspected the offshore installations in their 
jurisdiction  in  2021  (see  Table  3)  –  the  more  installations  a  country  had,  the  more  inspections  it 
usually carried out. 

Compared  to  2020,  the  number  of  inspections,  working  days  spent  on  installations  for  inspections 
and the number of inspected installations increased. In particular, inspectors spent far more time on 
installations than in 2020.  

Table 3: Offshore inspections by region and Member State in 2021 

Region 

Country 

Inspections  Working days spent 

on installation (travel 
time not included) 

Number of 
installations 
inspected 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

Mediterranean Sea 

North Sea and Atlantic 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

Croatia 

Cyprus 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 

Germany 

12 

12 

54 

0 

54 

420 

51 

3 

26 

339 

1 

163 

87 

4 

2 

2 

11 

0 

11 

279 

51 

1 

2 

222 

3 

66 

20 

2 

7 

5 

5 

7 

0 

7 

179 

9 

1 

2 

164 

3 

57 

18 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ireland 

The Netherlands 

6 

38 

358 

42 

30 

649 

3 

35 

248 

Total 

Article  18  of  the  Offshore  Safety  Directive  gives  rights  and  powers  to  the  competent  national 
authorities  for  operations  and  installations  in  their  jurisdiction.  These  powers  include  the  right  to 
prohibit  operations  and  to  request  measures  ensuring  both  risk  management  compliance  and  safe 
operations.  

In  2021,  Croatia  started  one  investigation  of  a  major  accident.  In  2020,  Denmark  and  Croatia 
conducted one investigation each.5 

In  2021,  no  Member  State  took  an  enforcement  action.  The  only  enforcement  action  in  2020  was 
taken by Denmark.  

5. 

INCIDENTS AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE  

Operators and owners of installations and national authorities must report an accident or situation of 
serious danger (referred to as an ‘event’). However, a single event can be categorised by one or more 
incidents. For example, two incident categories have to be notified for the same event if there was an 
(a) unintended release of gas that (b) required the evacuation of staff.  

Member States reported 26 events6 in 2021 compared to 15 in 2020: 

-  Denmark – 13 events but no major accidents (8 in 2020, including 1 major accident). 
-  The Netherlands – 11 events but no major accidents (4 in 2020). 
-  Croatia – 2 events but no major accidents (3 in 2019).  

Major  accidents  include  incidents  that  could  cause  fatalities  or  serious  injuries  (even  if  none 
occurred). 

Of  the  incidents  that  occurred  in  2021,  77%  belong  to  the  category  of  unintended  releases  of  gas 
and/or  oil,  11,5%  concerned  safety  and  environmental  critical  elements  failures,  and  11,5% 
concerned  the  loss  of  structural  integrity.  On  a  positive  note,  no  vessel  collisions  or  helicopter 
accidents were reported, and none of the incidents led to the loss of life. 

5 Denmark carried out an investigation on a major accident,  whereas Croatia carried out an investigation of safety and 
environmental concerns, 
6 The reporting obligation does not cover certain events (e.g. those not related to operations). 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Table 4: Incidents by category (set out in Annex IX to the Offshore Safety Directive) in 2021 

Category 

Total 

Share of 
category 
total 

Share of total 
incidents 

(a)  Unintended releases – total 

20 

100% 

76,92% 

Fires caused by ignited oil/gas 

Explosions caused by ignited oil/gas 

Unignited gas  

Unignited oil  

Hazardous substance  

(b) 

Loss of wells – total 

Blowouts 

Blowout/diverter activation 

Well barrier failure 

(c)   Safety and environmental critical element failure 

(d) 

Loss of structural integrity – total 

Loss of structural integrity 

Loss of stability/buoyancy 

Loss of station keeping 

(e)   Vessel collisions 

(f)  Helicopter accidents 

(g) 

Fatal accidents(*) 

5% 

0% 

30% 

50% 

15% 

3,85% 

0% 

23,08% 

38,46% 

11,54% 

100% 

11,54% 

0% 

0% 

100% 

11,54% 

0% 

0% 

100% 

11,54% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

1 

0 

6 

10 

3 

3 

0 

3 

0 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

(h)  Serious injuries of five or more people in the same accident  0 

(i) 

Evacuation of personnel 

(j) 

Environmental accidents 

Total 

(*) Only if related to a major accident. 

0 

0 

26 

100% 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the EU, the total number of incidents increased from 16 in 2020 (excluding the UK) to 26 in 2021 
(see below). This is almost equivalent to 2018.  

Number of incidents at offshore oil and gas 
installations in the EU (excluding UK) from 2016 to 
2021

34

28

25

26

16

16

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

This  increase  has  largely  been  due  to  a  rise  in  unintended  releases  of  both  oil  and  gas.  Incidents 
involving  loss  of  wells  increased  from  zero  to  three  between  2020  and  2021.  On  a  more  positive 
note, no incidents were classified as major accidents in 2021, compared to two in 2020.  

6.  CONCLUSIONS 

In 2021, there were 347 offshore oil and gas installations in the EU. Overall oil and gas production 
decreased from 19 941 kilotonnes of oil equivalent in 2020 to 18 187 kilotonnes of oil equivalent in 
2021. Denmark and the Netherlands produced 76% of the EU’s total offshore oil and gas.  

The  Commission  has  assessed  the  safety  of  the  EU’s  offshore  oil  and  gas  operations  based  on  the 
information provided by Member States, according to the rules of the Implementing Regulation on 
reporting.  The  accuracy  of  the  Commission’s  analysis  therefore  depends  on  the  accuracy  of  this 
information. 

In 2021, national authorities kept up their efforts to ensure a high level of safety in offshore oil and 
gas  operations  by  inspecting  248  installations  (compared  to  141  in  2020).  No  country  reported  an 
enforcement action. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
There were no major accidents in 2021, compared to two in 2020. The total number of incidents (as 
categorised  in  Table  4)  increased  from  16  in  2020  to  26  in  2021,  mainly  due  to  an  increase  of 
incidents in the Netherlands (from 4 to 11). Member States reported 22 injuries and 4 serious injuries 
occurred.  

In conclusion, thanks to the obligatory inspections and the remedial action taken, as stipulated by the 
Offshore  Safety  Directive,  the  work  of  Member  State  authorities  has  once  more  resulted  in  safe 
offshore oil and gas operations.  

To maintain this high level of safety, the Commission continues to work closely with the European 
Union Offshore Authorities Group (EUOAG). The EUOAG promotes best practices for carrying out 
safely all operations, and assists national authorities represented in the group.  

11