By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter

The leadership in the State of Qatar and Qatar Petroleum (QP) remains committed to maintaining  high standards in health, safety and environment (HSE) in the energy sector, a senior QP official said yesterday.
In his keynote address at the ninth Annual HSE Forum in Energy on the theme “Promoting Ownership of HSE as a Shared Corporate Value”, Dr Ali Hamed al-Mulla, manager (corporate HSE) at QP, said: “Under the wise leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the country has continued to soar from strength to strength in promoting HSE as a shared value in all citizens and residents alike.”
The senior official said through events such as Qatar National Sport Day, installation of sports facilities in public areas such as the Corniche in Doha and the various programmes and activities implemented by ministries and organisations such as Aspire, HSE was becoming a priority for the entire community.
“We are also turning our recent challenges, for example in the areas of fire safety, road safety and high water and electricity consumption rates, into opportunities for strengthening regulations, their enforcement, awareness drive as well as in modernising facilities,” he said.
He stressed that at QP, in particular, under the guidance and support of HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Minister of Energy & Industry and chairman of QP, HSE was the core of the organisation and urged the top management of all companies to give HSE issues the same amount of attention, effort and importance that was placed on production, quality, costs and employee morale.
More than 350 delegates are participating in the three-day Ninth HSE Forum in Energy, which puts the spotlight on latest health, safety and environmental issues and technologies in the GCC energy sector.
In total, the forum will host 45 regional and international HSE experts to discuss HSE best practice and operational excellence.
The two-day conference in Doha will feature 30 presentations, two panel discussions and five hours of networking, before culminating with two half-day workshops spread across two streams on October 2.
After Dr al-Mulla’s keynote address, a seven-man panel discussion kicked off proceedings, outlining the key components to sustainable corporate governance through an integrated approach. They discussed the human cost of oil and gas in light of sustainable corporate governance.
Lynda Armstrong, chair of trustees, British Safety Council, presented a case study on the development of an effective safety culture and drew lessons from the London Olympics.
Pol Hoorelbeke, vice-president (safety division), Total Refining & Chemicals, spoke on the role of a chief executive officer in safety leadership.
Other speakers on the opening day of the forum included Brian Sullivan, executive director of IPIECA; Kathy A Seabrook, president of ASSE; Ian Mackay, executive vice-president of Petrotechnics; Timothy Billa, Saudi Aramco Behavioural Based Safety Lead; and Dr Bruce Palmer, professor at Texas A&M University at Qatar.
An exhibition area was also arranged where the latest breakthrough products and technologies available in the HSE market were displayed.
Petrotechnics, which is participating as strategic partner, stood alongside gold sponsors Industrial Scientific, ChemSafe, KatchKan and eVision and silver sponsor Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The evening reception was sponsored by Pinsent Masons and saw a large crowd gather for the raffle draw giveaway.
The ninth Annual HSE Forum in Energy is supported by QP and organised by Fleming Gulf.