INTRODUCTION.

Safety, Health and Environment management is one of the main constituents of Oil and Gas industry activities because of the operational conditions, chemicals and products (Hydrocarbons and other compounds) associated with Oil and Gas production are well known to pose serious safety, health threats to the workers and environment.

We at Prolog Energy, knowing the import of this has put together a management system that addresses how our HSE is to be managed in its entirety as every other HSE policy document will be hinged on this management document.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

We, PrologEnergy are players in the service sections of the entire Oil and Gas value chain;

Upstream: Exploration and Production.

Midstream: Transportation, Storage and Marketing.

Downstream: Refining, sales and Distribution.

To buttress the place of HSE in our system, examples of some non-compliances in and around the industry are drawn such that we as an organization would always be abreast of key HSE issues and the dangers associated with negligence of HSE and the implications thereof;

In April 20, 2010 explosion and subsequently fire engulfed the deep water horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore unit (MODU) and 11 workers were killed and 16 injured. The explosion caused the deep water horizon to burn and sink, resulting in a massive offshore oil spill in the golf of mexico.

In August 2012, the leakage of Gas and the Amuay Oil Refinery caused an explosion and killed 48 people and injured 151 others. There has been cases of explosions, Oil and Gas facilities blow-out and fire incidences, huge traffic accidents and incidences in Nigeria leaving many killed and injured, and great damage to the environment.

According to NORA Oil and Gas extra council report in the US between 2003 –2008, 648 Oil and Gas extraction workers were fatally injured on the job, resulting in an occupational fatality rate of 29.1 death per 100,000 workers.

Close to half of all fatal incidents in the oil and Gas Industry results from highway crashes (29%) and (20%) workers struck by equipment and objects.

The above ridiculous incident data defines why there has to be emphasis on the need for an effective safety, health and environmental management system that integrates safety, health and environmental concerns into a daily routine.

The Risk exposure Oil and Gas Workers calls for continuous monitoring of the working conditions and well-being. Health protocols and periodic medical check-up is defined, pre-defined and done for every worker depending on the job and the work area type to identify possible deviations from the normal health and to confirm that necessary actions are taken ahead.

HAZARDS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

Hazards in the Oil and Gas industry are divided into two main categories and we at Prolog Energy recognize them and keep watch on them in all we do given that as a service company in the entire value chain of the Oil and Gas, we are so much exposed to them.

• Safety and injury hazards.
• Health and illness hazards.

SAFETY AND INJURY HAZARDS.

Workers in the oil and Gas industry are exposed to the following safety and injury hazards which we at Prolog Energy are not exempted;

HEALTH AND ILLNESS HAZARDS.

Workers in the oil and Gas industry which is the space Prolog Energy plays can be affected by the following agents which could lead to various health and illnesses hazards;

Chemical hazards (toxic, corrosive, carcinogens, asphyxiates, irritant and sensitizing substances), physical hazards (noise, vibration, radiations and extreme temperature) biological hazards (virus, parasites, bacteria) ergonomic hazards ( manual handling activities, repetitive motions, awkward postures) psychosocial hazards ( over work, odd working hours, isolated sites, violence).

Below shows the potential health effects from key processing in oil and gas industry which Prolog Energy service.

MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RISKS.

The aim of occupational safety and health risk management is to identifyand assess safety and health hazards existing at the workplace and to define appropriate control and retrieval steps.

Business processes in Oil and Gas industry are very complex. Hence it is essential that a systematized approach should be used for managing occupational safety and health hazards. Its solution model can be based on the PDCA Cycle:

PLAN

Strategic HSSE Roadmap

• Work Flows
• Objectives and Targets
• Key Priorities

DO

• Risk & Injury Management
• Health & Illness Management
• Training & Assessment
• Regulatory Compliance

CHECK

• Monitoring
• Modelling
• Trends
• Performance Indicators
• Audits

ACT

• Management Review
• Actions for Continuous Improvements.

Risk Management Process

As stated earlier, risk management is crucial for preventing work related injury and illness. It includes:

• Identifying the risks
• Evaluating and prioritizing the risks
• Implementing preventive/protective measures to control the risk

There are a number of circumstances in the Oil and Gas industry where a proper risk management process is essential. For example:

• Job safety analysis: It is a process of systematically evaluating certain jobs, tasks, processes or procedures and eliminating or reducing the risks or hazards to As Low As Reasonably Practical (ALARP) in order to protect workers from injury or illness.
• Workplace inspections and audits.
• Change management – identification of new hazards, introduction of new equipment/process, or regulatory needs.

We adopt the general Risk Management Process in the Oil and Gas Industry which involves the Following Key Steps:

PLANNING

• Identify persons taking part in the risk management process
• Gather health and safety information pertinent to Oil and Gas Industry
• Define strategy and workflows as per the business/legal requirements
• Evaluate the risk arising from each identified hazard

RISK ASSESSMENT

• Identify existing precautionary measures and what went wrong
• Determine what kind of injury or ill health might occur
• Rank the risks on the basis of severity

RISK CONTROL

• Define and Implement preventive measures to eliminate or minimize the risk of an incident/accident

RISK IDENTIFICATION

• Identify possible safety and health hazards within workplace through work area inspections, previous accident/ ill-health records, etc.

RISK RECORDING

• Record the findings of risk assessment for defining control measures, audit, internal review, regulatory purposes

FOLLOW ON ASSESSMENT

• Ensure that implemented control measures are being used and are effective
• Reassess the efficiency of preventive/control measures

MONITOR AND REVIEW

• Regular review andupdating of riskassessment.

Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)

The insinuation of implementing an occupational Safety and Health Management System at all workplaces came into limelight, when Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health: Conclusions were adopted by the ‘International Labour Conferenceat its 91st session, 2003. The Strategy advocates the application of a systems approach to the management of national OSH systems. Also, Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO-OSH 2001) provide national/organizational framework for occupational Safety and Health Management Systems. As per these guidelines, the OSH management system should contain the main

elements of policy, organizing, planning and implementation, evaluation and action for improvement8.

 Key Features of our Efficient Safety and Health

Management System are as Follows

• It should ensure safety of different operational sites by correctly mapping the business processes, risks, and controls involved in all the three segments (upstream, midstream and downstream) of Oil and Gas industry
• It should enable workers to follow consistent health and safety practices
• It should help in managing site inspections, permits, violations, lessons learned and best practices execution for Oil and Gas sector
• It must be well documented (strategies and action plans) and should be easily understood and readily available to all the workers.

 Effective Occupational Safety and

Health Management System

Requirements

1. Health and Safety Plan: Oil and Gas Company’s vision and approach towards Health and Safety.
2. Administration Organizational hierarchy: Key details of persons responsible for managing health and safety plans
3. Work Area Management: Proper demarcation and management of workplace according to processes, activities, design, etc. Worksite inspections Implementation of best practices and lessons learned from the past experiences at workplace
4. H&S Risk Management: Set of systems and processes for managing Health & Safety risks Job Hazard analysis. Hazard ranking/risk matrix Corrective action plans Risk control levels analysis
5. Inventory Management: Maintenance of hazardous substance database
6. Task and Workflow Management: Calendar management Role assignments – Involving and informing workers, safety officers and others about their roles and responsibilities, allocated tasks, etc. Automated notifications
7. H&S Maintenance Systems: Performance and monitoring of H&S activities and corrective action as needed
8. Incident Management: Recording, processing, investigation, reporting and root cause analysis of any reported incident/accident/near miss/safety observations. Following key components should be encompassed in an activeoccupational Safety and Health Management System:Occupational Safety and Health Management System is one of thecritical factors whose successful execution confirms operational safety inupstream, midstream and downstream segments of Oil and Gas industry.
9. OccupationalHealthManagement: Health protocols, Medical appointments, Injury/Illness management. Drug, alcohol and other medicaltesting
10. Managementof Change: Identification of new hazards, Introduction of new equipment, Process change, new regulatory requirements.
11. EmergencyResponse Plan: Disaster management/Emergencyresponse plan for all the potentialpredicaments based on predictiverisk analysisAlarm system.
12. ComplianceManagement: Comply with the obligations underpertinent local/national/global H&Sregulations.
13. CompetencyManagement: Track capabilities/skills of workforce, Trainings for employees, contractorsand visitorsAssessments.
14. ContentManagement: Management of SOP, SDS, Health andsafety documents.
15. ContractorManagement: Managing and coordinating activitiesof contractors.
16. RehabilitationManagement: Tracks number of compensation days,rehabilitation information of workers
17. Statistics,Reporting andDashboard: Relevant report generation fromhealth and safety dataInteractive dashboards for highermanagement view and decisionmaking.
18. Audit andReview: Audit and review programs to checkand improve the effectiveness ofimplemented Safety and HealthManagement System.

Benefits of Occupational Safety and Health Management System

• It enables Oil and Gas industry in performing hazard identification, risk assessment and implementing various control methods
• It ensures well-being of all the employees and thus contributes to a more inspired, and performance driven workforce
• Regular risk assessment process helps in frequent tracking and monitoring of health and safety indicators (both leading and lagging).
• Reduced costs associated with accidents and incidents
• Improved regulatory compliance
• Implementation of OSH management system gives competitive edge and improves relationships between stakeholders, such as clients, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, employees and unions

Conclusion

Given the perilous nature of the Oil and Gas industry, the need for implementation of an efficient occupational Safety and Health Management System is important for improving safety and health performance. Many countries have extensively participated in it by making strict and obligatory OSH standards and legislations. For example, on 10th June 2013, the EU adopted a Directive on safety of offshore oil and gas operations. The new directive sets clear rules that cover the whole lifecycle of all exploration and production activities from design tothe final removal of an oil or gas installation.

Because of the regulatory compliance pressure, the principal responsibility of ensuring operational safety and sustainability is placed on the Oil and Gas industry.

OSHMS not only provides a systematic and synchronized proactive approach to managing occupational health and safety risks, but also helps in defining strategies for implementing control actions, performance substantiation, resource mapping and competency management. Moreover it also helps in enhancing organization’s brand image in today’s competitive scenario.