Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised

Editor's Note: The conversation is broken down into two episodes. Listen today to Part I and stay tuned for Part II. 

 

In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, downstream editor and lead reporter Robert Brelsford talks with Joe Barnes, principal of Barnes’ Engineering Consultants and a veteran oil and gas operations, maintenance, reliability, and major-projects leader with more than 30 years of industry experience.

Barnes, who spent roughly half of his career in refining and half in exploration and production, discusses why process safety management must remain a central concern for everyone working in oil and gas—not only safety professionals. Drawing on his experience with a major refinery accident and the aftermath of a separate major offshore incident, Barnes explains why good intentions are not enough to prevent major incidents, particularly in times when the potential for high margins could tempt operator’s into promoting maximized production over execution of maintenance on processing and production installations to ensure safe and reliable operations.

During the conversation, Robert and Joe examine recurring root causes identified through Barnes’ review of process-safety incidents dating back to the mid-1980s, including absence of  leadership, poor communication, inadequate risk identification and mitigation, aging equipment, deferred maintenance, workforce turnover, and the loss of experienced personnel. They also discuss why the industry has sometimes failed to consistently share and apply lessons from previous incidents, particularly when investigation findings are not widely accessible.

The two consider the difference between personal safety and process safety metrics, the warning signs that preceded the 2005 BP Texas City refinery explosion, and the role of management of change (MOC) in evaluating staffing, maintenance, turnaround, efficiency, and capital-reduction decisions. Barnes also outlines the questions boards and executive leaders should be asking to ensure that process safety remains a business priority across economic cycles.

Robert and Joe further explore how refineries can use past incident scenarios as practical training tools, strengthen external oversight and auditing, encourage employees and contractors to report weak signals and near misses, and build a process-safety culture that rewards risk identification and mitigation. Barnes closes with recommendations for protecting critical maintenance, communicating expectations clearly, auditing what matters, and keeping people at the center of process safety decision-making.

Offshore energy infrastructure faces an increasingly complex mix of cyber and physical security threats as digitalization, remote operations, and geopolitical tensions reshape the risk landscape.

In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, OGJ Upstream Editor Alex Procyk discusses how offshore installations are becoming targets for ransomware attacks, navigation-system interference, supply-chain compromise, and physical sabotage.

There is a growing shift from opportunistic cybercrime toward state-linked and organized criminal actors seeking long-term access to critical infrastructure. As operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems become more interconnected, attackers are increasingly exploiting remote access pathways to move from corporate networks into critical operational systems.

Traditional perimeter-based security models are proving inadequate for modern offshore operations and outlines emerging approaches such as cyber-informed engineering, OT-focused monitoring, micro-segmentation, defense-in-depth strategies, and integrated cyber-physical security frameworks designed to improve resilience across offshore platforms, vessels, ports, and subsea infrastructure. Cyber-informed engineering and OT-native security controls are emerging as key defensive strategies.

References
Offshore environments present unique security risks, Oil & Gas Journal, Members Only, Alex Procyk, Aug. 5, 2026.

OTC-36764-MS
Securing Offshore Ecosystems Against Cyber and Sabotage Threats

OTC-36839-MS
Access Management and Operational Security in Critical Infrastructure: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Cyber and Physical Security Breaches in Marine Environments

OTC-36860-MS
Cyber-Informed Security Architecture for Offshore Energy and Maritime OT Systems

OTC-36928-MS
Zero-Day Threat: The Silent Cyber War on Energy Infrastructure

OTC-37012-MS
Remote Operations for Autonomous Offshore Facilities: Design, Testing and Independent Validation of Secure and Robust Automation

This episode is sponsored by Bishopric Industries.

What began as an oil and gas industry where workers relied on experience, instinct, and sometimes...luck...has evolved into one built on rigorous safety systems, risk management, and continuous improvement. In this Then & Now episode of the Oil & Gas ReEnterprised podcast, host Laura Bell-Hammer traces the history of safety in oil and gas, from the uncontrolled Spindletop blowout of 1901 and the invention of the blowout preventer to the structured health, safety, security, and environmental (HSE) programs that guide operations today.

Along the way, OGJ examines major events that reshaped the industry's approach to risk. From Piper Alpha and Texas City to Deepwater Horizon, each disaster exposed vulnerabilities that led to lasting changes in regulations, process safety management, offshore oversight, and industry standards. These lessons helped move safety beyond protecting equipment and toward protecting workers, communities, and critical infrastructure.

The episode also explores how technology is redefining safety and security in the modern energy sector. Smart PPE, predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and remote operations are helping identify risks before incidents occur. At the same time, growing digital connectivity has expanded the industry's focus to include cybersecurity, with events such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack highlighting the connection between cyber threats and physical operations.

In this Market Focus episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, Conglin Xu, managing editor, economics, talks with Dennis Kissler, senior vice-president of trading at BOK Financial to discuss what a lasting de-escalation in the Middle East might look like, how OPEC+ strategies might evolve, whether $80-plus crude moves US shale, and where dependence on Gulf chokepoints stands in the years ahead.

About our guest
Dennis Kissler, senior vice-president of trading at BOK Financial, specializes in developing unique hedging strategies to assist producers as well as end users in minimizing energy market risk exposure. A registered commodity trading advisor (CTA), he has worked in the futures trading/hedging industry for more than 27 years, including 12 years as a floor trader/broker at the CME exchange, where he still owns a floor membership.

Kissler has worked for BOK Financial since 2007 helping to establish and grow the energy trade desk which now ranks among some of the largest regional trading/hedging desks in the US. He is a featured commentary provider for various news outlets including Bloomberg News, Reuters, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.