Assessment of Workplace Health and Safety Compliance in Oil and Gas Equipment Fabrication Facilities in Port Harcourt

Oil and gas equipment fabrication facilities in Port Harcourt operate within a demanding and hazardous work environment encompassing hot work, pressure testing, heavy lifting, and chemical handling, yet compliance with the Department of Petroleum Resources safety standards and international frameworks is inconsistently achieved across the sector. This study assesses workplace health and safety compliance levels in eight oil and gas equipment fabrication facilities in the Trans-Amadi and Rumuola industrial areas of Port Harcourt. A compliance audit framework based on the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers Safety Performance Indicators and the DPR Guidelines for the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry was applied. Audit activities included document review of safety management system elements, field inspection of physical safety conditions, interviews with health, safety, and environment officers, and review of incident records from the preceding two years. Compliance scores ranged from 54 to 81 percent across sampled facilities, with the widest gaps observed in management of change procedures, contractor safety management, and formal job safety analysis application. Lost-time injury frequency rates ranged from 0.8 to 3.4 per million man-hours, with welding-related burns, dropped objects, and manual handling injuries as the leading injury types. The study identifies regulatory enforcement gaps and recommends a structured HSE management system certification pathway for facility operators. Keywords: workplace safety, HSE compliance, oil and gas fabrication, Port Harcourt, safety audit.