Center for Offshore Safety Announces 2026 Safety Leadership Award Winners

HOUSTON, September 28, 2026 – The Center for Offshore Safety (COS) announced the winners of the 2026 Safety Leadership Awards during its 14th Annual COS Forum, held September 24 in Houston. 

The awards honor companies that demonstrate outstanding leadership in developing safety management and performance practices in the offshore industry. 

“The COS Safety Awards provide a platform to share good practices and support the industry’s commitment to continuously improving safety,” said Colin Frazier, API Senior Director of the Center for Offshore Safety & Safety Programs. “This year’s winners effectively leveraged emerging technologies and industry experience, developing tools and processes that reduce risks and increase safety in offshore operations.”

The 2026 Safety Leadership Award winners are: 

Operator Category

Oxy: Advancing Observations Through AI

To improve the quality and value of safety observations across its Gulf of America operations, Oxy developed two complementary AI-enabled initiatives. Its COACH AI Observation Tool incorporates a conversational, AI-enabled workflow that delivers more accurate and complete categorized submissions, while its Observation Weekly Report & AI Trending Initiative transforms large volumes of submitted observations into standardized weekly reporting. These tools helped Oxy better identify hazards, understand recurring exposure areas, reinforce intervention accountability and make better informed decisions to reduce risk across offshore operations. Together, they continue to move its Observation Program beyond activity tracking and toward more proactive risk management.

Contractor Category

Valaris: BarrierPulse™

To assess the operational integrity of critical offshore safety barriers, Valaris developed BarrierPulse™, a real-time system for managing major accident risk. The platform consolidates more than one million operational assurance data points associated with maintenance, competency, drills, Management of Change and operational risk assessments into a single view of barrier health. Unlike traditional assurance systems that assess barriers as either “available” or “failed,” BarrierPulse™ reflects the incremental and cumulative nature of how degradation actually develops offshore. The program has helped identify early signals before they accumulated into escalation thresholds, a proactive approach to intervention. Key benefits include: improved visibility of cumulative barrier degradation; reduction in overdue safety-critical assurance activities; stronger linkage between mitigation actions and barrier elements; improved communication between offshore and shore base leadership; and enhanced operational prioritization around Major Accident Event exposure.

Each year, the COS Board reviews all nominations, selecting finalists in both the operator and contractor categories. These finalists are then highlighted at the annual COS Forum held each fall, where their program successes are detailed and shared among members. During the Forum, conference attendees vote to determine the winners.

This year’s award winners have been influential stakeholders on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for decades. Their contributions have been integral in advancing offshore safety.

The Center for Offshore Safety is an industry-led initiative established in 2011 to promote continuous safety improvement for offshore drilling, completions and operations. COS accomplishes this goal through effective leadership, communication, teamwork, disciplined management systems, and independent third-party auditing and certification. Learn more about COS and information on how to become a member or to get involved as a non-member at www.centerforoffshoresafety.org.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry, supporting nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. With approximately 600 members, API companies produce, process, and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy. Founded in 1919, API has developed over 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency, and sustainability.