Workplace accident analysis in the Algerian oil and gas industry

A total of 42,032 workplace accidents were reported in 2021 by the Algerian National Social Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers in Algeria, of which 38,225 were accidents within the workplace and 3807 were related to traffic accidents or other reasons. Most of these accidents were recorded in the building and construction field, followed by the oil and gas company exploration and drilling, which comes at the forefront of the Sonatrach company. This study aims to analyze accidents in the workplace using quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the corresponding causes. Our study was carried out in collaboration with Sonatrach in south Algeria where information and reports on work accidents from years 2017 to 2021 were collected. Data acquired were classified and analyzed according to the location and time of the accident. Based on the results obtained, we found that the human factor was the main cause of most accidents due to nonrespect of safety procedures and lack of concentration of workers. The results of the analysis suggest implementation of a break time during the afternoon, avoiding long overtime hours, suspending work outside stations during high temperatures periods in July and August as well as suspending work when sandstorms appear in winter.