RIASSUNTO
Conference review
Earning a “license to operate” and creating a common health, safety, and environmental culture across the oil and gas industry were two of the dominant themes of the 2012 International Conference on HSE in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production. The conference was held in Perth in September and was jointly organized by SPE and the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA).
Panel and technical sessions covered numerous aspects of the broad discipline, which encompasses HSE, social responsibility and management issues, and featured contemporary topics such as produced water management, evolving human rights standards, climate change, and unconventional operations.
The conference’s opening keynote session featured Norman Moore, minister for Mines and Petroleum, Fisheries, and Electoral Affairs for Western Australia; 2012 SPE President Ganesh Thakur; APPEA chairman David Knox, who is also managing director and chief executive officer of Santos; and Melody Meyer, executive committee chairperson of the conference and president of Chevron Asia E&P.
Dangers of Complacency
Knox said that recent industry accidents are reminders of the dangers of complacency, while noting that lost-time incidents in Australia and elsewhere have decreased. “As a member of the oil and gas industry, I am often asked what keeps me up at night,” he said. “I can honestly say that it is the thought of something happening somewhere in our industry that results in a tragic event—an event that seriously injures someone, that kills someone, or that seriously harms the environment.”
Public trust is the oil and gas industry’s license to operate, Knox said. “It is what provides us with the permission for the business to act, to explore, develop and produce oil and gas resources that ultimately our host countries and communities depend on to prosper,” he said. “The risk is that our host communities look in the rear view mirror and see an industry whose track record in managing its impact on people and the environment is not acceptable. And as a result, their expectation of future behavior is questioned.”
Industry and regulators must find the right balance to ensure public safety while giving oil and gas companies the ability to succeed. “We need the balance between providing the community and governments with confidence in the rigor of oversight, while making sure regulation is not actually detracting from real performance and improvement,” Knox said. “Regulation in our industry can be effective. But it can be extremely effective if it puts the onus on the operators to demonstrate that they can operate safely.”