Dr. Øystein Berg

Dr. Øystein Berg holds a BSc in civil engineering from Queen’s University in Belfast, UK, as well as a postgraduate diploma in industrial administration and a PhD in business administration from the Management Centre in Bradford, UK

Dr Berg worked as a company advisor with the IKO consultancy group in Norway from 1976–78. He was then appointed by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) as project manager for one-third of Safety on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the largest safety research programme ever undertaken in Norway. Dr Berg was responsible for a total of 51 R&D projects from 1978 until 1981.

He became director of the NPD’s marine technology department in 1981 and director of the strategy department in the safety division in 1986. He was also deputised as director of the safety division in 1986–89.

In 1989, Dr Berg was appointed by the Norwegian government to develop the Petrad programme. It became a government foundation on 1 January 1994, with Dr Berg as managing director. The Petrad programme has become internationally known for its eight-week courses in Stavanger and the tailor-made seminars and workshops it organises in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the former Soviet Union.

Dr Berg has participated in a large number of national and international advisory committees for the petroleum sector and R&D. He has been an advisor to government agencies and national oil companies in Asia since 1984 through the CCOP and Ascope organisations.

Before establishing Petrad, Dr Berg also lectured on topics related to industrial maintenance, risk, reliability and safety in the offshore petroleum industry in the USA, Asia and Europe.

Dr Berg received China’s Friendship Award in 2004 for long-standing cooperation on knowledge transfer in the petroleum sector. This is the highest award given to foreigners by the Chinese government.