Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) is the cornerstone of the oil and gas industry, and vital for safeguarding human health and protecting the environment. Besides, fostering HSE practices is essential for having operational efficiency, attracting investment, and ultimately driving sustainable growth within the industry.

“We must ensure that HSE is industrialized across the sector, making it an integral part of what we do every day,” said the Minster of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi during his keynote speech in the HSE Feature that was held on the sidelines of the Egypt Oil and Gas 10th Convention.

“How do we truly advance HSE and collaborate with the team to manifest not only our commitment but also ensure that HSE is integrated across the sector? This thought process led me to consider the structure of the ministry. I was determined to appoint a first undersecretary for HSE, climate actions, and energy efficiency to underscore its significance, not just for me but for the entire sector,” said Badawi.

“HSE is not an area where people are competing. We’re all in this together. We’re all invested in this for the same purpose,” he added.

HSE Feature was held on November 24th encompassing three key presentations that focused on HSE’s role in the oil and gas industry while showcasing different companies’ approaches or rules they apply within their operations to handle hazards and ensure process safety.

“Our petroleum sector is a high-risk sector, and this is why we are keen to sponsor today’s activity and to share our experience and learn from yours,” said Dalia El-Gabry, VP and Country Chair for Shell Egypt in her keynote speech during the HSE Feature.

El-Gabry highlighted Shell’s commitment to HSE through initiatives like Shell Goal Zero, and the implementation of the company’s life-saving rules in 2009.

“While adjusting to new rules might seem straightforward, the opportunity lies in cultivating a learner mindset. A mindset characterized by curiosity, openness, and willingness to share and learn from one another,” El-Gabry said.

“It involves fostering an environment where individuals feel safe to speak up, admit mistakes, and collaborate to overcome challenges. It’s about caring for each other and accordingly achieving the best outcome,” she added.

In the same respect, Yasser Hassan, Egypt Asset HSE Manager at Shell Egypt pointed out that creating an environment where people can express their doubts and seek help is crucial. He delivered a presentation on “Safety as A Universal Language-Capitalizing on Industry Life-Saving Rules” during which he emphasized the health, safety, and environment (HSE) as an essential pillar for the oil and gas industry while showcasing the company’s application to the life-saving rules since 2009.

“In 1988, if you remember, there was the Piper Alpha disaster which led to the death of some 167 workers. Unfortunately, the industry and the whole world woke up after this incident and there was a direct change in HSE rules, requirements, and also in some regulations,” said Hassan.

The Piper Alpha disaster, which included the explosion and sinking of the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea, is considered the world’s deadliest-ever oil rig accident.

Based on the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) statistics from 2000-2010, more than 381 employees and contractors died worldwide in work-related incidents mainly due to the failure to comply with the safety rules, stated Hassan affirming that: “This was one of the turning points for a company like Shell, to implement something called Goal Zero.”

In 2007, Shell launched Shell Goal Zero with its vision, of no injuries and no leaks, with the belief that every incident can be prevented. Since then, the company’s safety performance has seen remarkable improvement, and following Shell Goal Zero, the company introduced the life-saving rules in 2009, which provided additional momentum.

“If we stick to the rules, we will reduce the number of accidents and protect our employees. We will also reduce injuries and ultimately death. It was important for us to see what each person in the company can do. This was part of the three principles that we started to implement in Shell. First, is the learner mindset. Second is the human performance and third, is the psychological safety,” said Hassan.

While Hassan’s presentation focused on personnel safety, Mohamed Sabry, the Executive General Manager of Risk Management & Loss Prevention Studies at GASCO, Egypt, talked about the process safety challenges and implementation mechanisms.

In his presentation, Sabry emphasized the importance of establishing a robust Process Safety Management (PSM) system to enhance safety and mitigate risks associated with hazardous materials. “If I want to take the first step in my company so that I can create a process safety management system, I have to start from the beginning with the process of safety knowledge.”

Sabry outlined a simple mechanism for implementing a PSM system, which includes leadership commitment, assigning responsibilities, establishing a culture of change, and managing process safety performance.

Additionally, he referred to the significance of the Center of Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) framework in guiding organizations toward effective process safety management. This framework provides a structured approach to managing risks, ensuring that organizations can prioritize their safety efforts effectively.

Emad Morsy, Egypt HSE and Regulator Manager at Chevron has given the final presentation in the HSE Feature where he explained the nine life-saving rules applied to provide the workers within the oil and gas operations with actions to take and protect themselves and their colleagues as well.

The nine life-saving rules were implemented by the IOGP including bypassing safety controls, confined space, driving, energy isolation, hot work, line of fire, safe mechanical lifting, work authorization, and working at heights.

“There is a very important principle that says, there is time to do it right. If you don’t have the time to do the job properly, don’t do it. If you can’t do the job properly, also don’t do it. Because in the end, there are many hidden costs as a result of accidents,” said Morsy.

Morsy delved into the step by step for implementing the rules starting from having toolbox talks and safety meetings, doing pre-job planning and last-minute risk assessment doing post-job reviews, observations walkabouts, and intervening if a rule is not being implemented.

In the end, Morsy underscored the importance of Stop Work Authority (STA) stating that: “Anyone of us can, if he or she sees something wrong, work on it. And we should always remember that we have time to do our work in a simple way. Because if we don’t do it in a simple way, it won’t affect us alone, but it will affect the whole team that we work with. It will affect the reputation of the company. It will affect the number of accidents.”