More than 30,000 construction workers from 45 nationalities achieve 130 Million manhours LTI-free making safety a way of life
Ras Laffan, Qatar - 05 May 2014: RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) celebrated an unprecedented record of 130 million manhours lost time injury (LTI) free at Ras Laffan over the weekend. This milestone builds on RasGas' recent record of 100 million manhours LTI-free celebrated last December and is a testament to the Company's on-going commitment to worker welfare through employment of stringent safety strategies, systems and processes.
The Company hosted a well-earned three-day celebration, with entertainment, scrumptious dinners and raffle draws in honour of the 30,000 strong multi-national workforce who made this milestone achievement possible. Senior representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Suprememe Council of Health, National Human Rights Committee, Qatar Petroleum and RasGas management, the project management team as well as the main contractor, JGC management, joined in the festivities.
RasGas Chief Venture Officer, Nafez Bseiso, stressed that worker wellbeing is a vital part of responsible project execution and that RasGas sees no room for complacency when it comes to the well-being, and safety of its people.
"This outstanding record surpasses all previous safety records both in Qatar and the region and can be considered worldclass by all standards. Achieving this level of performance does not happen overnight. It is the result of our passion and belief in the capabilities of our project management teams, contractors and subcontractors to consistently implement rigorous safety programs and set very high standards," said Bseiso.
"This is underscored by our focus on worker wellbeing acting on directives from His Highness The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and under the guidance of HE Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and our Chief Executive Officer, Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi to ensure a balanced work environment and high standards for workers and employees in Qatar. This includes those working on the Barzan Gas Project through which this record was achieved. What really matters for us at the end of the day is that everybody goes home safe and healthy," he added.
RasGas aligns its safety performance with international practices including those standards established by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP). Complaince with standards are validated through rigorous independent audits and assessment programmes.
The Barzan Project Onshore construction site has more than 30,000 workers from 45 nationalities who speak in different languages and come with varied experiences and work backgrounds.
"We care for our multi-national workforce and we work hard to integrate them into our core values of safety and integrity. We have developed, together with our contractors, a worker welfare programme that includes occupational hygiene, heat stress prevention, and defines the quality of accommodation and recreation facilities. Successfully managing such a large workforce on a three-square-kilometre, complex project site, and working at a rate of two million hours per week, makes reaching this achievement truly remarkable," said Bseiso.
As part of RasGas' care for the well being of its contract workers living in the Global Vilage, the Company provides a comprehensive catering service for a balanced and healthy diet as well as several recreation services and amenities ranging from 50 different sports facilities to more than 600 movie screenings per year to English language courses.
"RasGas' Venture Group oversees the construction of RasGas' projects and is dedicated to implementing and promoting the highest safety standards across all its project activities. We see safe project management and execution as an integral part of our support for the Qatar National Vision 2030," concluded Bseiso.
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About RasGas
RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) is a Qatari joint stock company established in 2001 by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil RasGas Inc. RasGas acts as the operating company for and on behalf of the owners of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects RL, RL (II) and RL3 (Project Owners). With operations facilities based in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, RasGas' principal activities are to extract, process, liquefy, store and export LNG and its derivatives from Qatar's North Field. RasGas, on behalf of the Project Owners, exports to countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas with a total LNG production capacity of approximately 37 million tonnes per annum.
For pipeline sales gas to the domestic market, RasGas also operates the Al Khaleej Gas Projects, AKG-1 and AKG-2 supplying approximately 2.0 billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) per day. RasGas is currently adding production capacity by building the Barzan Gas Project which when fully operational in 2015, is expected to supply approximately 1.4 Bscf of additional sales gas per day to the Qatari market to meet growing demand for energy at power stations and downstream industries.
RasGas currently operates the Ras Laffan Helium Plant which was established in 2003 and came on stream in 2005. The plant extracts, purifies and liquefies helium from the North Field. The second helium plant entered production in June 2013 bringing the total liquid Helium production capacity to 1.96 Bscf per year. www.rasgas.com
CONTACT:
Yosra Koura
Media Relations Officer
+ 974- 4453-1130
+ 974-3349-4632
yikoura@rasgas.com.qa
© Press Release 2014
