SLB and Oceaneering Earn 2026 NOIA Safety in Seas Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026
Media Contact: media@nullnoia.org
Washington, D.C. – The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) is pleased to announce that SLB and Oceaneering are the winners of the 2026 NOIA Safety in Seas Award Competition, sponsored by Offshore, published by Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B. SLB has been named the Culture of Safety Award winner, while Oceaneering has earned the Safety Practice Award.
The Culture of Safety Award honors overall organizational immersion in and commitment to safety that has resulted in remarkable, measurable, and sustained safety performance over a prolonged period of time. The Safety Practice Award recognizes specific technologies, approaches, methods, or projects with direct and demonstrable impacts on improving safety.
NOIA President Erik Milito said:
Safety doesn't happen by accident, it is a core value and it takes leadership, culture, and commitment for success. That’s exactly what SLB and Oceaneering have delivered. The Safety in Seas Awards exist to shine a light on the people and programs pushing our industry forward, and this year's winners represent the very best of what offshore energy is capable of. SLB's deployment of artificial intelligence and immersive technology to build a safer, smarter workforce, and Oceaneering's disciplined commitment to engineering hazards out of existence rather than simply managing them, are exactly the kind of innovations that set new standards for the entire industry. We congratulate both companies and extend our deep appreciation to every organization that submitted an entry. Each one is a testament to the offshore energy industry's enduring commitment to safety excellence.
Diana Smith, Executive Vice President, Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B, said:
Safety remains one of the cornerstone’s of the offshore oil and gas industry, Offshore is proud to recognize SLB and Oceaneering for their commitment to protecting the men and women working in these ever challenging environments.
Rod Larson, President & CEO of Oceaneering, said:
We are honored to receive this recognition for our High Hazard Task Elimination program, which reflects how deeply safety is embedded in our culture and the way we operate. By prioritizing engineered hazard elimination over reliance on human behavior, we are making fatality prevention a measurable, operational responsibility. This mindset—supported by technology, robotics, and accountability at every level—guides how we design work and make decisions every day. As we look ahead, we remain focused on advancing solutions that remove people from harm’s way and continue strengthening a culture of safety across our organization and the offshore energy industry.
Carmen Bejar, Americas President of SLB, said:
At SLB, safety excellence is built on continuous improvement and a strong focus on human performance. By applying technologies such as Visual AI and AI-enabled driver monitoring, we reduce risk in real time across our operations, with measurable impact on injury frequency. At the same time, we strengthen decision-making to deliver safer, more consistent performance in the field. Safety is deeply embedded in our culture and anchored in our values of people, technology, and performance.
Marat Akhmetov, NAO HSE FM Manager for SLB, added:
By creating safer, optimized workspaces, our people have been empowered to imagine, design, and implement innovative, technology-driven ways of working. I am incredibly proud of our team for successfully executing these complex projects and wholeheartedly embracing new technology with a continuous drive for delivering safer operating performance. Their commitment and hard work have directly delivered the most important outcomes: zero fatalities, zero permanent impairments, and substantial improvements in injury frequency across our operations.
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About the Winning Entries
Culture of Safety: SLB
SLB North America Offshore has been honored for its Safe Today, Safer Tomorrow framework — an offshore safety technology strategy centered on human performance that deploys artificial intelligence (AI), including AI-enabled driver monitoring cameras and Visual AI analytics across workshop environments, alongside facility modernization and immersive VR-based safety training. Across its North America Offshore operations, the program delivered zero fatalities, zero permanent impairments, a 33% reduction in automotive accidents, and a 30% reduction in injury frequency.
Safety Practice: Oceaneering
Oceaneering has been recognized for its High Hazard Task Elimination program — a systematic offshore safety initiative that replaces reliance on human behavior with engineered hazard elimination, including robotic inspection technologies such as ROV (remotely operated vehicle) systems that remove personnel from high-risk environments entirely. Accountability is embedded across every business unit through KPIs tied directly to leadership compensation. Since 2021, the program has delivered 110 engineered controls and eliminated an estimated 63,000 High Hazard Task occurrences, making fatality prevention a measurable operational deliverable rather than a safety aspiration.
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About the Award & Presentation
NOIA presented the awards to SLB and Oceaneering during the NOIA Annual Meeting, April 22-24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Both winning companies are asked to present on their entries at the NOIA Fall Meeting in October 2026.
The judging panel — consisting of independent offshore safety consultants, as well as representatives from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Ocean Energy Safety Institute, and Endeavor Business Media — reviewed each entry and deliberated on the finalists’ merits before selecting this year’s winners.
NOIA has held the Safety in Seas Awards competition since 1978 to recognize those who contribute to improving the safety of life in the offshore energy industry. The awards are sponsored by Offshore, published by Endeavor Business Media.
Past winners can be viewed here.
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About Offshore/Endeavor Business Media
Offshore is the leading source of timely, actionable and relevant news and technical content for the offshore oil and gas, and renewable energy industries. It delivers the content to a global audience through digital platforms and in-person events. Please visit www.offshore-mag.com.
About NOIA
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) represents and advances a dynamic and growing offshore energy industry, providing solutions that support communities and protect our workers, the public, and our environment.
To learn more about the Gulf of America’s role in anchoring U.S. energy leadership, visit GulfofAmericaForward.com.
