(WO) — DNV has launched a new framework aimed at strengthening critical energy infrastructure as geopolitical tensions, cyber risks, digitalization and increasingly interconnected supply chains reshape the threat landscape facing the energy sector.
The framework, presented Aug. 27 at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference in Stavanger, comes as DNV research indicates many energy organizations lack a comprehensive approach to resilience. In a survey of more than 1,000 senior energy professionals, more than half said their organizations did not have a clearly defined and regularly updated resilience strategy.
DNV said energy infrastructure increasingly faces interconnected risks capable of cascading across physical assets, digital systems, supply chains and wider economies. Potential threats range from cyberattacks and extreme weather to attacks on subsea gas pipelines, LNG infrastructure and shipping.
“As a sector, we must treat resilience as fundamental to everyday operations,” said Ditlev Engel, CEO of Energy Systems at DNV. “Quite simply, it is a strategic and societal necessity as it protects our ability to provide energy that is reliable, affordable and sustainable.”
DNV’s four-step framework calls for organizations to analyze risks, prioritize investments, implement measures and continuously validate their effectiveness. The approach covers five areas: organization, people, physical assets, IT and cyber systems, and supply chains.
The framework is intended to help energy companies identify critical dependencies and single points of failure while incorporating preparedness, response and recovery planning into investment and operational decisions.
“Risk and threats are constants in the energy sector, and few organizations can have complete visibility of their vulnerabilities,” said Derek Riezebos, DNV’s defence and security manager for Northern Europe. “But understanding critical dependencies, reducing single points of failure and maintaining response, restart and recovery plans can help organizations move from concern to control.”
DNV said recent attacks on energy infrastructure and prolonged power outages demonstrate how individual failures can cascade into transportation, communications, healthcare and other critical services, increasing the need for coordinated resilience planning across the energy value chain.
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