SAS - Company management butting heads with customer management probably played a role in the customer allowing the contract to be cancelled an to go with another operator.
MARS - Gulf operators pay for specialized weather reporting available over the internet. Lets' say the weather is reported and forecast to be VFR to the southwest of the base and the weather is foggy and IFR to the east. The base manager would probably allow operations to the southwest while putting flights to the east on hold.
Offshore pilots have access to the same weather reporting system. Since they are their own dispatchers, they have to look at the weather and decide accordingly. It's not uncommon for the pilot to show the field foreman the weather and say "look what's coming - we'll wait." If the field foreman is still pressuring the pilot to fly, they are directed to call their respective base manager and let him deal with the foreman.
In summary, there are adequate planning materials and rules to follow, and as for your last four items - those are a ticket to getting fired.
Gulf weather is notoriously fickle. The strictest rules and the best technology can only go so far. For me - I always found a good rule to follow is always and I mean always have a place to run to.