About Us

An Overview of Oil Industry Safety Directorate

OISD (Oil Industry Safety Directorate) is a technical directorate under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas that formulates and coordinates the implementation of a series of self-regulatory measures aimed at enhancing the safety in the Oil & Gas industry in India. OISD was established in 1986.

Our Objective

• To formulate and standardize procedures and guidelines in the areas of design, operation and maintenance as also the creation of new assets with a view to achieve the highest safety standards in a cost effective manner.
• To conduct audits to ensure compliance to such standards.
• To maintain continuous follow-up on compliance to OISD audit action points.
• To analyse & investigate incidents happening to the oil & gas industry to identify root cause and formulate action plan for.

Functioning of OISD

OISD consists of a small core group of technical experts of various disciplines, on deputation from the Oil & Gas industry.

OISD, headed by an Executive Director, gets its directions and guidance from the Safety Council, the apex body consisting of senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, chief executives of Oil & Gas companies and heads of the concerned statutory and advisory bodies. 

OISD coordinates with experts from the Oil & Gas industry through various committees to carry out its major activities. 

The Safety Council / Safety Directorate does not supplant or, in any way take away the present responsibilities of various statutory agencies like DGMS, CCE, Inspectorate of Boilers, Factories Inspectors etc. It also does not dilute the responsibilities of the Chief Executives of the Oil & Gas industry, who are ultimately responsible for the safety measures in their organizations.

International Recognition of OISD

OISD has MoU / acquired membership of the following reputed international organizations 

• World LPG Association
• American Petroleum Institute (API)
• Underwriters Laboratories UL
• Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS)

In addition to the above International organizations OISD is also a member of national organizations.

Sub-Groups within OISD

For covering the entire spectrum of activities in Oil & Gas Industry, the following sub-group have been constituted in OISD:

• Exploration and production
• Refinery and gas processing
• Pipeline
• Marketing
• Environment
• Engineering

Major Activities of OISD

• Standardisation : is one of the major activities of OISD. It is required to keep abreast of the latest design and operating practices in the areas of safety and fire fighting in the hydrocarbon processing industry in the developed countries so as to develop standards and codes that would be suitable for the conditions prevailing in India. These OISD standards are periodically reviewed to incorporate the latest technological developments and experiences gained in their implementation so as to update them in line with the current international practices.

• Following OISD standards have been included in various statutory regulations :

Six OISD standards have been included in The Petroleum Rules 2002:

Two OISD standards have been included in the Gas Cylinder Rules 2016 :

One OISD standard has been included in the Static & Mobile Pressure Vessels (Unfired) Rules 2016 :

Sixteen OISD standard have been included in the Oil Mines Regulations 2017:

External Safety Audits: The External Safety Audits (ESA) are conducted regularly to check compliance w.r.t. implementation of safety standards. Critical examinations of all the components of the safety management system viz. Management policy, management attitude towards safety, safety training, review of plant layouts, operating/inspection/maintenance procedures, emergency preparedness plans, usage of personal protective equipment, fire/accident records, fire protection etc., are integral part of the ESAs. In addition to this Pre-commissioning safety audits (PCSA) and Surprise Safety Audits (SSA) are also conducted on as and when required basis.

Off-shore Safety Regulations: To act as a competent authority to exercise powers and functions as stipulated in Petroleum and Natural Gas (Safety in Offshore operations) Rules, 2008 to enhance safety in offshore regulations. 

Safety Awards: Safety performance of the organisations in the Oil & Gas industry is regularly evaluated through a safety award scheme instituted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Evaluation of performance is done by specially developed system based on the hazard potential, total loss and safety management system. The safety awards are given in the following categories: 

a) Oil & Gas (Onshore Asset) 

b) Offshore Production Platforms / Rigs (Offshore Asset) 

c) Refineries / Other Processing Plants 

d) Cross Country Pipelines 

e) Marketing Operations - POL 

f) Marketing Operations  LPG

Training Programme / Workshop: Technical workshops covering all activities of hydrocarbon sector are organized to discuss latest developments, sharing of experiences etc. Case studies of major incidents are presented/discussed to prevent recurrence of similar incidents. International conferences and seminars are organized for the purpose of cross learning with active participation of experts from various fields.

Dissemination of information : The case studies, accidents analysis and other information related to safety improvements are published and distributed to the industry through OISDs publications "SAFETY ALERTS" and "NEWSLETTERS" 

Accident Reporting & Investigation: OISD maintains a database of accidents taking place in the oil industry. The analysis of these incidents is shared with the industry to avoid recurrence. OISD also investigates the major incidents.

Functions & Responsibilities of OISD

1. To oversee the implementation of all the decisions of the Safety Council;,
2. To keep abreast of the latest design and operating practices in the area of safety and fire fighting in the hydrocarbon processing industry in the developed countries, so as to develop standards and codes that would be suitable for the conditions in India;
3. To liaise with the statutory organizations on current views and developments and help evolve a concerted effort for the industry;
4. To carry out periodic safety audits, review, suggest procedures for improvements and report on the implementation of the suggestions to Safety Council;
5. To collect the relevant information and exchange it with the members of the Oil Industry including information regarding accidents and disasters occurring in the Oil & Gas industry, and also organize industry meetings for exchange of experience;
6. To carry out inquiries into accidents, whenever required, and provide support to Inquiry Committees set up by the Government;
7. To ensure implementation of all approved codes of practices for industrial hygiene;
8. To review practices in the storage and handling of dangerous chemicals and ensure compliance with latest standards;
9. To review in plant training programmes with regard to safety;
10. To grant consent to operate to any offshore rig and installations;
11. To monitor the reporting/conditions related to safety compliance for offshore rigs and platforms;
12. Verify decommissioning of offshore structures & abandoning of wells as per worldwide safe practices and OISD standards;
13. Monitor compliance of ERDMP of private E&P operators and liaise on regular basis;
14. Conduct oil spill audit along with Coast Guard at offshore E&P locations as prescribed in NOSDCP;
15. To specify critical drawings / layouts that need to be vetted by Safety Specialists at the design stage and carryout spot checks of design standards based on site audit findings to serve as feed-back for establishing new standards at the design stage, and

In addition to the above, at specific requests from the Chief Executives & Government Departments, OISD liaises with Railway Safety Directorate, Ministry of Surface Transport, Port Authorities etc. regarding problem area in applying and enforcing respective regulations.

Jurisdiction of OISD

The following activities of the Oil & Gas industry with the MOP&NG are under the jurisdiction of OISD:

• All Exploration and Production operations in onshore and offshore
• All refinery operations
• Pipeline operations in the storage, transportation, distribution and marketing of crude oil and petroleum products
• Processing of hydrocarbons for the production of bulk petroleum-chemicals in the large scale sector

Communication Channel Between OISD and Oil & Gas Industry

To facilitate timely and effective coordination between the Chief Executives and the OISD, some senior level officers from the Oil & Gas Industry are nominated by the Chief Executives of the respective companies. These senior officers are called .THE PRINCIPAL PANELISTS, who work as overall coordinators on behalf of their organizations/ divisions. All principal panelists are members of OISD's Steering Committee.

Safety Council Members

List of Principal Panelists / Steering Committee Members

ED, OISD, chairs the Steering Committee Meeting.

Organization wise list is as follows :-