Esso Australia and Chevron Australia have received major honours at the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) Conference & Exhibition, the largest annual upstream oil and gas event in the southern hemisphere which was held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre between 6–9 April.
Image credit: www.appea.com.au
APPEA Chairman Rob Cole presented Esso Australia and Chevron Australia with the Safety Excellence Award and the Environment Excellence Award, respectively, at Tuesday night’s APPEA 2014 Conference Dinner in Perth.
Mr Cole said Esso Australia had achieved outstanding results in prevention of major accidents, safety culture, workforce engagement and industry safety leadership.
“In 2013, the company worked to complete the Kipper Tuna Turrum project in Bass Strait. This saw a new offshore production facility — Marlin B — beginning production in October,” he said.
“Despite the concentrate effort and pressure involved with building a major project, Esso Australia achieved a record year in its safety statistics. It posted a total recordable injuries rate of just 1.4 incidents per million work hours. This reflects the efforts its entire workforce made to prioritise safety.”
According to the media release by APPEA, Esso screens its contractors on a regular basis to ensure they are aligned with the company’s safety focus and fully integrated into its safety programs.
Mr Cole said that even though the oil and gas industry remained one of the best safety performers in Australia, there was still room for further improvement.
“We recognise the need for constant leadership and vigilance. APPEA plays an important role in developing and coordinating industry safety programs and promoting high standards through benchmarking and identifying global and local best practice,” he said.
“The Australian oil and gas industry continues to strive for constant improvement in its safety performance, and companies such as Esso Australia are leading the way.”
Presenting the Environment Excellence Award to Chevron Australia, Mr Cole said the judges concluded that the company demonstrated overall excellence against a broad suite of criteria.
He said Chevron’s Operational Excellence Management System enabled employees, team leaders and senior staff to evaluate environmental performance, seek continuous improvement and strive for environmental excellence.
According to him, Chevron Australia had a long history of cutting-edge environmental management.
“For more than 50 years, the company has operated on Barrow Island, a Class A Nature Reserve,” he said.
“During this time, Chevron has successfully protected the island’s conservation values.”
Chevron’s formal Environmental Stewardship process communicates its principal value of protecting the environment to the entire workforce, which means that their staff is expected to diligently implement environmental plans, always consider environmental risks, seek ways to demonstrate good environmental stewardship and contribute to the ongoing improvement of Chevron Australia’s environmental performance.
