Al-Sada urges top standards for safety

HE al-Sada is joined by the winners and panel of judges of the Qatar Oil & Gas Industry HSE Excellence Awards 2013. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed

By Peter Alagos/Business Reporter

HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada has called on industry players and stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to aim for safety protocols and environmental programmes that are at par with the highest international standards.

On the sidelines of the Qatar Oil & Gas Industry HSE Excellence Awards 2013 ceremony organised by Qatar Petroleum (QP) yesterday, al-Sada said, “Qatar Petroleum is trying to find a way to challenge industry players and stakeholders in the energy sector to aspire for higher quality standards in safety and the protection of the environment.”

Al-Sada, who is also QP’s chairman and managing director, added that there are several projects in the pipeline that are being evaluated by QP to make sure that the level of quality of the projects’ safety protocols are at par with international standards.

Al-Sada said, “Let us all use this opportunity to promote and develop a deep-rooted safety culture and a safe working environment for all to ensure the highest level of environmental protection and to adopt the necessary preventive measures to ensure public health.”

During the event, al-Sada awarded the winners with trophies and HSE excellence certificates. The first award that was announced went to ExxonMobil Research Qatar, which received the HSE Excellence Innovation Award for its submission on “InteliRed System – Autonomous Detection of Hydrocarbon Gas Releases.”

For QP’s joint venture category, al-Sada presented to Oryx GTL the Gold Award for its “Road to Zero Harm” initiative. Qatar Shell, meanwhile, received the Silver Award for its “Behavioural Safety Improves Performance at Pearl GTL” programme, while Qatalum got the Bronze Award for its “Sustainable Management of Process By-Products” initiative.

In the QP contractors category, the Gold Award went to JGC Corp for its “Barzan Onshore SHE&S Excellence and Innovation” programme while Consolidated Contractors Company took home the Silver Award for its “Behavioural Observation & Intervention” programme. Schlumberger won the Bronze Award for its submission on “Mechanical Lifting Safety.”

The minister also presented awards in the QP business units category. The Industrial Cities Directorate received the Gold Award for its “Driving Safety Performance to the Edge” programme. This was followed by Offshore Operations, which won the Silver Award for its “1st Step on Process Safety Management Path – Ensure Safe Production” while Dukhan Operations bagged the Bronze Award for its work on “Risk Assessment Suite – An Innovative and Proactive Approach for Dukhan Wells Integrity Assurance.”