HSE practices must be at centre of energy company operations, says ADNOC official

ABU DHABI- As global exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources shifts to more complex, remote and challenging fields, the need to rigorously safeguard people and the environment, as well as asset integrity, becomes ever more critical, according to Abdulmunim Al Kindi, Upstream Director at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC.

Delivering the keynote address at the 2018 Society of Petroleum Engineers International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social Responsibility, being held in Abu Dhabi, Al Kindi said fundamental working practice changes, along with heightened stakeholder awareness, make it imperative the oil and gas industry continues to ensure effective health, safety and environment, HSE, protection measures are at the centre of operations.

Al Kindi said, "Working in partnership is key to safeguarding people, communities and the environment. Partnership among our people, to proactively address and mitigate HSE risks, partnership with our industry peers, to learn from incidents and continuously advance HSE standards and partnership with our contractors, to ensure people, across sites and operations, live and breathe a culture of HSE first. "At ADNOC, being serious about our ambition of 100 percent HSE is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing, as it makes solid business sense. We expect and empower our staff and contractors to speak up, intervene and ensure compliance whenever safety is at risk, as it is our firm conviction that HSE is the fundamental platform that enables People, Performance, Profitability and Efficiency, the cornerstones of ADNOC’s success."

To unlock greater value from the nation’s resources, ADNOC plans to tap into Abu Dhabi’s sour gas reserves and has embarked on the exploration and appraisal of challenging unconventional resources, while at the same time driving efficiencies to preserve value. Al Kindy said ADNOC’s reinvigorated and uncompromising focus on HSE is a commitment to protect people and the environment in ever more challenging situations.

Stressing ADNOC’s focus on 100 percent HSE is fundamental to the success of its 2030 smart growth strategy, Al Kindy went on to say that an effective safety culture, that proactively empowers people to intervene when safety or the environment are at risk, is key to ADNOC’s successful transformation into a more resilient, commercially minded and performance driven company. "We expect the same level of commitment to HSE from everyone, including each and every partner, service provider and contractor, who make up for 60 to 70 percent of the work executed across the ADNOC Group. For ADNOC, HSE this is an investment for the better, an investment in our people, in our businesses, and in our nation," he continued.