The safety and security situation in the North Sea is becoming increasingly complex. Cyber threats, physical incidents and geopolitical tensions are more frequently affecting multiple countries and sectors at the same time. This reality was central during the evaluation and strategic working session of the OFFEX 2025 exercise, organised on Thursday by Spirit Energy and SodM.
The scenario that was exercised involved a cyberattack escalating into a physical, cross border crisis. The exercise made clear that such incidents are no longer hypothetical and that an effective response is only possible when public and private parties are able to find each other quickly.
Not polite, but clear
In her opening remarks, Element NL Chair Gerda Verburg emphasised the importance of openness and decisiveness: “When it comes to safety and security, we should not be polite, but clear. We must avoid falling back into business as usual. That means speaking each other’s language and, very practically, having each other’s phone numbers before something goes wrong.”
According to Verburg, safety in the North Sea requires trust, short lines of communication and the courage to explicitly name bottlenecks.
Increasing complexity of incidents
Theodor Kockelkoren of the State Supervision of Mines outlined how incidents are becoming increasingly complex due to the combination of physical risks, digital threats and cross border responsibilities. He expressed his appreciation for Spirit Energy, which took the initiative to exercise precisely this type of scenario.
Broad representation across the value chain
The turnout at OFFEX 2025 underlined the importance of the exercise. The entire value chain was represented, from operators to regulators and emergency services. Participants worked in parallel across four thematic groups: cybersecurity, strategic management, incident management and environmental impacts.
Participants in the exercise included Dana Petroleum, EBN, Energie Nederland, ILT, Kustwacht Nederland, NCSC, NGT, NOGAT, ONE Dyas, Orsted (Hornsea03), PBNI, Petrofac, Petrogas, Police Scotland, Police Netherlands, Rijkswaterstaat, SodM, Spirit Energy, TAQA, TenneT, TotalEnergies, UK Coastguard, Vermilion Energy, West Yorkshire Police and Wintershall.
From exercise to action
The key lessons and insights from OFFEX 2025 will be brought together in a joint report with concrete recommendations. This is not a non binding exercise, but a necessary step to strengthen the resilience of the North Sea as an energy area.
Element NL thanks all participating parties for their active contribution and, in particular, Spirit Energy for organising OFFEX 2025.
