ConocoPhillips and Texas A&M University at Qatar are co-hosting the 7th annual ‘Qatar Process Safety Symposium’ at the Hilton Hotel in Doha. 
The two-day event, entitled “Building Competency in Process Safety”, which concludes today, addresses topics that include process safety management, hazardous phenomena, consequence analysis and risk assessment. 
The Qatar Process Safety Symposium (QPSS) has expanded this year to include an exhibition for the industry to showcase products and services relevant to process safety in the oil and gas sector. 
 “We are honoured to co-host the seventh annual QPSS with longtime partner Texas A&M University at Qatar,” said Gary Sykes, president, ConocoPhillips Qatar. 
“Supporting symposiums like this, which provide a forum to share collective approaches within our industry allows us to draw on our global expertise and support the Qatar National Vision 2030.” 
Dr Eyad Masad, vice dean of Texas A&M University at Qatar said, “The QPSS has grown each year and has become an influential gathering of experts and practitioners. The symposium addresses real-world challenges and has a positive impact on an evolving field. Since the launch of the Mary K O’Connor Process Safety Center – Qatar extension in 2013, we have worked to educate a new generation of engineers and practitioners with a commitment to safety. This centre now includes 10 companies and they add diverse, experienced and invaluable contributions to the voice of process safety in Qatar.” Michael Hatfield, vice president, health, safety and environment for ConocoPhillips, gave the keynote speech on ‘Managing process safety competency’, which explored why process safety was a critical competency at ConocoPhillips.  
Prof Paul Amyotte, professor of Chemical Engineering and CD Howe Chair in Process Safety Dalhousie University (Canada) and editor of the Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, also gave a keynote speech on process safety concepts for the prevention of major accidents.”
“The Qatar Process Safety Symposium has become the must-attend event in process safety in this region,” commented Dr Sam Mannan, executive director of Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC). 
Dr Luc Vechot, assistant professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar and managing director of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center – Qatar also said, “We at MKOPSC Qatar are very proud of the QPSS. The event has successfully been organised every year since 2010, and is playing a key role in providing a forum where academia, industry and public institutions discuss and progress process safety issues of high relevance to the State of Qatar and the Middle East region.”
An award ceremony recognised Mohamed Basser, health, environment, safety and security manager, TOTAL E&P Qatar, as the recipient of the QPSS Process Safety Excellence Award. 
Additionally, Nisa Ulumuddin, a master student in Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar and research assistant at MKOPSC-Qatar received the QPSS Process Safety Excellence Student Award.