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Is it possible for us to leave behind a better planet?
Offshore Arabia’s Jyotsna Ravishankar finds out from the region’s leading Oil and Gas Companies
Leave things as you found them. If that was ever followed, all of us would be leading a much better life. But, before things are too late, we need to take measures to ensure that we leave a habitable planet for our children.
Production and consumption without discretion has made our planet what it is today. Environmentalists and civil society organisations agree that most industrial systems are unsustainable. But, industries too have come to realise that they must work with the environment and community and not against them. The creation of an understanding that a workplace must be safe, healthy and eco- friendly is the mission of those advocating ‘sustainable production’. Sustainable production only integrates principles of health, safety and environment that were advocated for years together. It provides a holistic approach to the industries to follow.
 Many of the regional oil companies are taking sustainable production very seriously. Offshore Arabia speaks to some of them to find out what exactly they are doing to make this possible.
Petroleum Development Oman
PDO believes that one of the important principles of sustainable production is engaging and working with the community. But, sources at PDO say that working with the community is not new to PDO. From the early years of exploration the company has maintained excellent relation with the community by providing the local people with water, electricity and medical facilities.
Now PDO is moving towards managing community relationships with a network of “community relationship officers”. With that PDO hopes to establish community development rather than community assistance, to ensure that the company is no disturbance to the community life and that any opportunities answer a direct need of the communities and are sustainable.
It is also involved in developing environmental education and awareness in the region by working on projects and bringing out publications. Recently, they developed and conducted a desert ecology training to raise the awareness of the field staff, such as seismic crew, flow line construction teams and drilling site preparation crew.
But a spokesperson from PDO believes that the most significant project was upgrading the existing visiting centre with explanatory facilities that can be used by Oman to promote eco-tourism.
Saudi Aramco
A spokesperson from Saudi Aramco said, “One of Saudi Aramco’s key environmental efforts is to ensure that Saudis today, and for generations to come, are aware of issues that affect the land they live on, the air they breathe, and the water they drink.”
So in keeping with this mission, the company has developed a programme to monitor chemical, physical, organic and non-organic materials in industrial wastewater and community wastewater. Non-solid industrial waste is sorted and disposed of according to applicable environmental standards. It has established several facilities specialized in the treatment of petroleum waste, including oily water.
It has encouraged the private sector to develop convenient hazardous waste management facilities. Its master plan for industrial waste management earned second place in the Master Planning category of the American Academic Contest for Environmental Engineers for the year 1999, with the title “Excellence in Environmental Engineering.” The company also has gained international recognition from the Arab League, which valued its efforts in the field of “Total Environmental Management and the Development of Coastal Areas.” The company’s environmental efforts were also recognized in 2003 when it was presented with the Gulf Cooperation Council Awareness Award.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Source: ADNOC News)
ADNOC initiated HSE Awards seem to best explain the company’s policy of recognising and rewarding its affiliated companies, contractors and individuals who make tangible contributions to the preservation and protection of health, safety and environment.
His Excellency Yousef Omair bin Yousef, CEO of ADNOC, in his opening remarks at the awards, said that there have been significant achievements in HSE in 2003 throughout the levels of the organisation.
“Our new projects are undergoing rigorous HSE impact assessments and HSE codes of practice are now being delivered which will set the standards of HSE performance for the ADNOC Group for the future.”
Notably, earlier this year, the ADNOC group also received the UAE Red Crescent Society’s Gold Medal for charity. It was in recognition of its continued support for the Society’s humanitarian activities inside and outside the UAE |
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