REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Report from the European Commission on the Safety of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations for the Year 2023
Date: 2025-07-18
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, 18.7.2025  COM(2025) 409 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Report from the European Commission on the Safety of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations for the Year 2023  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Annual Report from the European Commission on the Safety of Offshore Oil and Gas 
Operations for the Year 2023 

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 ............................. 6 

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 
(hereinafter: the “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 eight years, and it serves as a record of the safety performance in 
Member States’ offshore oil and gas activities. 

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

There are 164 offshore oil and gas installations located in the Mediterranean Sea, 136 in the North Sea 
and Atlantic Ocean, 9 in the Black Sea and 4 in the Baltic Sea. In 2023, the competent Member State 
authorities inspected the safety of 388 offshore installations in their jurisdiction. The countries reported 
no major accidents.  

The number of incidents increased from 37 in 2022 to 44 in 2023.  

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: 

i. 
ii. 

iii. 
iv. 
v. 

the number, age, and location of installations. 
the  number  and  type  of  inspections  and  investigations  carried  out,  in  addition  to  any 
enforcement action or convictions. 
incidents that have occurred. 
any major change in the offshore regulatory framework. 
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 2024 for 2023). 

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, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, 
Romania, Spain, and Sweden. Other Member States were not active in the offshore oil and gas sector 
or did not submit information. All Member States with offshore oil and gas operations declared they 
had submitted all the required information on all installations.  

2 OJ L 302, 22 October 2014, p. 2. 
3  Guidance Document on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No1112/2014 of 13 October 2014  

3 

 
 
 
4. 

THE EU OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS SECTOR 

4.1 Installations and production 

Member States reported 313 installations in EU waters in 2023 (see Table 1): 

•  Most offshore installations4 were in the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is the most active (with 45% 

of all installations in EU waters) followed by Croatia.  
In the North Sea and Atlantic, most installations (approximately 37% of all installations in EU 
waters) were in the Dutch part of the North Sea (known as the exclusive economic zone of the 
Netherlands). 
In the Black Sea, Romania has a well-established offshore oil and gas industry. Bulgaria has 
continued  offshore  hydrocarbon  exploration,  but  only  had  one  installation  and  is  producing 
small quantities of oil and gas.  
In the Baltic Sea, only Poland has offshore installations.  

• 

• 

• 

Table 1: Installations on 1 January 2023: type of installation by region and Member State 

Region 

Country 

Type of installation (*) 

FMI 

NUI 

FNP 

FPI 

Total 
(region/country) 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

Mediterranean Sea 

North Sea and Atlantic 

3 

3 

5 

0 

5 

15 

2 

1 

11 

1 

39 

7 

1 

0 

31 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

Croatia 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 

Germany 

Ireland 

The 
Netherlands 

1 

1 

4 

1 

3 

147 

17 

1 

127 

2 

92 

11 

1 

0 

80 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

1 

0 

0 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

4 

4 

9 

1 

8 

164 

19 

2 

140 

3 

136 

19 

2 

0 

115 

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

313 

244 

62 

2 

5 

Change 
compared 
to 2022 
-- 

-- 

+1 

-- 

+1 

0 

-- 

-- 

-- 

0 

+1 

-- 

-- 

-2 

 +3 

+2 

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

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
More than half of offshore installations came into operation between 1980 and 2000. In 2023, two new 
fixed installations came into operation. Since 2010, the development of new production installations 
has dropped noticeably in the North Sea and Atlantic. 

Approximately 74% of the EU’s domestic oil and gas (15 518 kilotons of oil equivalent (hereinafter: 
“ktoe”) is produced in the North Sea and Atlantic (see Table 2). The biggest contributors in the North 
Sea and Atlantic are the Netherlands and Denmark. Italy and Croatia are the biggest producers in the 
Mediterranean Sea. Spain and Greece had no production. In the Black Sea, only Romania’s output is 
significant. 

Table 2: Offshore oil and gas production in the EU in ktoe in 2023 

Region 

Country 

ktoe 

% of EU total 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

Mediterranean Sea 

North Sea and Atlantic 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

Croatia 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 
Germany 

The 
Netherlands 

284 

284 

1786 

7 

1778 

1897 

193 

60 

1645 

0 

11552 

4700 

706 

6146 

1.8% 

1.8% 

11.5% 

0.0% 

11.5% 

12.2% 

1.2% 

0.4% 

10.6% 

0.0% 

74.4% 

30.3% 

4.5% 

39.6% 

% change 
compared to 
2022 

+ 4.7% 

+ 4.7% 

+93.7% 

-50.3% 

+96.1% 

-8.3% 

-2.3% 

-- 

-12.1% 

-- 

-11.2% 

+6.0% 

-6.5% 

-21.3% 

Total 

15 518 

100 % 

-4.6% 

Production increased in Romania (+ 96%) with positive values also in Denmark (+ 6%) and Poland (+ 
4.7%) but declined in all other Member States, particularly in the Netherlands (continuing the trend 
from 2022) and Bulgaria. Greece resumed the production stopped in 2022. Spain had no production. 
Compared to production in Member States in 2021, there was an overall 4.6 % loss of production (cca. 
746 ktoe) in 2023 in the EU.  

From overall production in the EU measured in ktoe, 67 % was gas and 33 % oil. Denmark (3410 ktoe) 
was the most important producer of oil, followed by Germany (698 ktoe), Italy (380 ktoe), Poland (260 
ktoe) the Netherlands (265 ktoe), and Greece (50ktoe). 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 2023 (see Table 3). The more installations a country had, the more inspections it usually 
carried out. 

Compared to 2022 the overall number of inspections in the EU decreased (from 524 to 435). While 
the number of inspections  increased  in  some jurisdictions (e.g. Romania), in  most jurisdictions the 
number declined.  

In the Netherlands, the number of inspections dropped by 30 compared to 2022. At the same time, the 
Netherlands decommissioned thirty-two installations during the reporting period. 

Table 3: Offshore inspections by region and Member State in 2023 

Region 

Country 

Inspections 

Baltic Sea 

Black Sea 

Mediterranean Sea 

North Sea and Atlantic 

Poland 

Bulgaria 

Romania 

Croatia 

Cyprus 

Greece 

Italy 

Spain 

Denmark 

Germany 

Ireland 

Total 

The Netherlands 

1 

1 

30 

0 

30 

269 

28 

2 

1 

238 

0 

135 

20 

3 

0 

112 

435 

Working days spent on 
installation (travel time 
not included) 
1 

Number of 
installations 
inspected 
1 

1 

203 

0 

203 

295 

36 

6 

12 

241 

0 

219 

123 

6 

0 

90 

718 

1 

9 

0 

9 

249 

8 

2 

1 

238 

0 

129 

16 

1 

0 

112 

3885 

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.  

5 An installation could be inspected more than once during a reporting year; therefore the “number of inspections” (435) 
is different from that of “total installations” (388), due to the number decommissioned facilities along the year and the 
number of facilities that start operation along the year. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In 2023, there were no investigations regarding major accidents (since there were no major accidents 
reported).   

No enforcement actions have been taken during 2023.  

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 must 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 44 events6 in 2023 compared to 37 in 2022: 

-  Denmark – 12 events, no major accidents (same as in 2022).7 
-  Croatia – 8 events, no major accidents (comparing to 2 events in 2022.8 
-  The Netherlands – 24 events, no major accidents9 (11 events in 2022).10 

Of the incidents that occurred in 2023, 86,36 % belong to the unintended releases of gas and/or oil, 
6,82 % belong to the category of safety and environmental critical element failure, and 6,82 % to loss 
of wells. None of those incidents led to the loss of life. Also, no vessel collisions or helicopter accidents 
were reported. 

Table 4: Incidents by category (set out in Annex IX to the Offshore Safety Directive) in 2023 

Category 

(a)  Unintended releases – total 

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 

Total 

38 

0 

0 

14 

7 

17 

3 

0 

3 

0 

Share of 
category 
total 
100% 

0% 

0% 

37% 

18% 

45% 

100% 

0% 

100% 

0% 

Share of total 
incidents 

86.36% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

31.82% 

15.91% 

38.64% 

6.82% 

0.00% 

6.82% 

0.00% 

6 The reporting obligation does not cover certain events (e.g. those not related to operations). 
7 For Denmark, all 12 incidents consisted in Unintended releases. 
8 For Croatia, out of the 8 events, 5 were due to Unintended releases, and three due to Failures of safety and 
environmental critical elements. 
9 Major accidents include incidents that could cause fatalities or serious injuries (even if none occurred). 
10 For the Netherlands, the incidents consisted in three Loss of wells, and 21 Unintended releases. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(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 

Helicopter accidents 
Fatal accidents (*) 

Serious injuries of five or more people in the same accident 

Evacuation of personnel 

Environmental accidents 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

Total 

(*) Only if related to a major accident. 

100% 

0% 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

44 

6.82% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

0.00% 

100.00% 

In the EU, the total  number of incidents  increased from  37 in  2022  to  44  in  2023. This  difference 
mainly comes from the rise in unintended releases of both oil and gas from 28 to 38. The events related 
to safety and environmental critical element failures dropped from 7 to 3. Incidents involving loss of 
wells remained approximately the same (from two in 2022 to three in 2023) reaching the same value 
as for the reporting over 2021. No incidents were classified as major accidents in 2023. The Member 
States authorities are assessing, together with the operators, the causes of the incidents to determine if 
investigations or enforcement actions are needed. 

6.  CONCLUSIONS 

In 2023, there were 313 offshore oil and gas installations in the EU. The Netherlands decommissioned 
thirty-two installations during the reporting period.  

Overall oil and gas production decreased from 16 264 ktoe in 2022 to 15 518 ktoe in 2023 (4.6% loss 
of  production,  compared  to  11%  decrease  between  2021  and  2022).  Denmark  and  the  Netherlands 
produced 70% 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 2023, national authorities kept up their efforts to ensure a high level of safety in offshore oil and gas 
operations by inspecting 388 installations (compared to 485 in 2022). No enforcement actions have 
been reported over the reporting period. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There were no major accidents in 2023. The total number of incidents increased from 37 in 2022 to 44 
in 2023. No fatality was reported. 49 injuries11 and 8 serious injuries12 occurred.  

In conclusion, due to the obligatory inspections and actions 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 the 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 Poland, Greece, and Italy – one for each, Romania 3, Denmark 25 and the Netherlands 12 
12 Italy and the Netherlands – one for each, Denmark 6 

9