The importance of health safety and environment cannot be overemphasised in the global oil and gas industry.
It underscores the need for operators in the industry to be alive to the primordial responsibilities which add value to lives apart from their profit considerations
Observers said health and safety have continued to be priority issues for the Nigeria oil and gas industry, as they are germane to the sector’s overall success.
There concerns that some operators in the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry engaged in unwholesome health, safety and environmental practices; resulting in widespread ecological disturbances, including pollution from pipe-line leaks; blowouts; drilling fluids and refinery effluents; land alienation; and disruption of the natural terrain during oil and gas operations.
Little wonder ,protests from host communities have escalated into all-out assaults in various forms on oil companies and their workers, exemplified by raids on both onshore and offshore oil facilities and infrastructure, shut- downs of oil wells, and recurrent cases of kidnapping of workers by militant groups.
Observers also said these have engendered an atmosphere of insecurity in the sector and brought to the forefront the issues of health, safety and environmental management.
Recently, the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, OGEES, of the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, stated that the implementation of laws governing environmental issues in the Nigerian petroleum industry remained weak, while the agency in charge of regulating the industry appears distracted.
OGEES, in a report on its research conducted on the oil industry and presented at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, also stated that there was need to clarify and streamline the functions of the Department of Petroleum Resources, to enable it carry out its functions effectively in this regard.
According to the report, the implementation of the regulatory framework for environmental protection in the Nigerian oil and gas sector was still very weak despite the existence of a rich set of regulations contained in the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria EGASPIN.
The research was conducted by a team including the OGEES Institute of the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti. EGASPIN is a set of regulations that was initiated by the DPR to govern health safety and environment (HSE) activities in the oil and gas industry.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop to validate the findings of the research team, Mr. Damilola Olawuyi, the Executive Director of the OGEES Institute, said the team did a comparative assessment of the environmental framework in the oil and gas sector especially whether EGASPIN complies with international best practices, adding that the assessment found that EGASPIN was rich but implementation was the weakest link.
He said: “There is confusion on the roles of agencies with multiple and overlapping responsibilities. We think this does not provide the right atmosphere for a strong implementation of environmental guidelines in the oil sector,” he said.
“We also found that DPR has a lot on its plate, it is not in line with international best practices for an entity to be the licensing authority and to also be the environmental watchdog,” Olawuyi said.
But the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has assured the country that it’s equal to the task in discharging its responsibility as the regulator of the oil and gas industry in spite of the calls in some quarters that the agency should streamline its operations.
The agency remained a modern and competent grouping of professionals with rounded and complementary functions actively managing the dynamic and fast-paced oil and gas industry, adding that the development became necessary to better enlighten the stakeholders who were calling for streamlining of DPR’s functions.
But the DPR statement said that the agency has been upright in implementing its obligations which conform to international best practices, while advising those calling for the streamlining of the agency to engage in issues based argument and stop engaging in campaign of calumny.
It said no project in the industry comes on stream except after the DPR has ensured environmental due diligence, adding that most companies complain that the DPR Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA) process is more stringent than what’s obtainable at the Federal Ministry of Environment.
“That is a deliberate effort by the DPR because it has access to vital information that is not obtainable elsewhere in the entire country. Such information include details of the engineering designs of projects, which are all reviewed, approved and monitored by the DPR to the highest international standards.
No good EIA can be written without DPR and the operators know this. Conversely, there are stringent punitive measures for defaulters, which range from heavy fines to withdrawal of operating permits and licenses.”
The agency also said that through stringent and strategic operations monitoring and regulation, the DPR has been able to keep hazardous incidents very low while also not relenting on research into new frontiers such as a conscious effort to end the discharge of produced water into our near-shore waters, however harmless that may currently appear.
It said it would not compromise Health, Safety and Environment standards in the nation’s oil and gas industry in line with international safety requirements.
The agency also said it would not leave any stone unturned to ensure that operators in the industry comply with set rules with a view to minimising inherent risks as well as evolve standards in the sector that can stand the test of time.
Besides, the agency said it is considering stringent actions against the indiscriminate citing of gas stations in the residential vicinity and the activities of tanker drivers in the country.
At its 18th edition of the Health, Safety and Environment conference in Lagos last November, themed “Driving Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Industry Through Improved Stakeholders Environmental Stewardship”,the Minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachukwu directed the DPR to commence the implementation of Progressive Discharge Deterrent Charge and “NO OSP no offshore Travel” policy with effect from January 1, 2019 with a view to ensuring safety and environmental sustainability in the nation’s oil and gas industry
He launched the revised edition of the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN 2018) ,regulatory Guidance for the Management of Norm in the Petroleum Industry: Abandonment, Decommissioning and Decontamination of Oil and Gas Installations (2018) as well as Occupational Health Guidance and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (2018),which he hopes will strengthen the HSE culture, compliance and overall sustainability in the industry.
He also acknowledged that the theme of this year’s conference aligns with the Ministry’s Seven Big Wins agenda and vision of the federal government to convert the environmental challenges to great opportunities in the industry.
One key area of the agenda is the new gas policy, which seeks to incentivise the existing flare-out policy. Through the policy, such gas is expected to become available for power generation, petrochemicals and other beneficial uses.
He further pointed out that the government’s push for increased investments in modular and conventional refineries aims not only to improve availability of refined petroleum, but also to stop the scourge of local unconventional artisanal refineries that has led to massive oil spills and associated environmental impacts.
He pointed various achievements of the conference since its inception in 1979, including the popular monthly national Environmental Sanitation Day, which subsists in some parts of the country, establishment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and the subsequent establishment of the respective State Environmental Protection Agencies.
In his remarks, the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources, PR , Mr. Modecai Ladan ,recognised that the industry has come a long way in the development and management of HSE issues associated with Nigeria’s Petroleum Resources.
He reiterated the need to continue to review and improve our commitment to human/facilities safety, health and environmental protection specifically by adopting a more robust stakeholder’s engagement approach.
He reminded delegates that it is pertinent to entrench sustainability into prospecting, drilling, production, transportation and usage of petroleum, as well as management of its wastes; and that the task rests on the shoulders of not only the DPR but all stakeholders.
He enjoined all stakeholders to join the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in pursuing sustainability of the industry.
A communique issued at the end of the confab suggested that the biennial conference should be sustained in view of its benefits and status as the primary forum for discussing and sharing experiences on health safety and environment issues in the oil and gas industry.
It emphasised Improved collaboration across key industry players; the Regulators, International Oil Companies (IOCs), indigenous oil companies, service providers and communities is required as well as continuous investment in stakeholders engagement, capacity building, technology advancement and allocation of budget are key to sustained HSE performance in the industry
It added that the IOCs HSSE performance should be sustained and improved upon, while indigenous oil companies urgently need to improve their HSE performance.
The Passage of the long-awaited PIGB remains an important and urgent step towards improved stakeholders environmental stewardship, adding that the much spoken about harmonisation and cooperation across regulators cum regulatory functions needs to be urgently actioned.
According to the communique, illegal artisanal refining is now a major source of pollution and needs to be tackled, through immediate multi-stakeholders engagement among operators, regulators, Government Security Forces, and community leadership.
“The Federal and State Governments need to address the underdevelopment and feeling of neglect in the Niger Delta as this remains a challenge to improved environmental stewardship.
Some of the statutory fees currently paid in foreign currency should be considered for payment/imbursement in our local currency. While HSE practice in the upstream sector has achieved a commendable minimum standard over the years, the downstream sector requires sustained attention to improve HSE performance,” it said
All industry stakeholders – government, operating oil & gas and service companies are encouraged to integrate physical activity and exercise within the workplace through modern technology such as gymnasium facilities the communique said, while accreditation of qualified medical professionals and facilities is important for the successful implementation of the new Occupational Health and Guidance and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria.
It said the practice of Hyperbaric Medicine (health of divers), requires urgent intervention particularly in data collation, deployment of qualified medical personnel, and training facilities, adding that mental health should be integrated in the company’s wellness programmes using assessment, promotion and preventives strategies
Emphasis must be paid to depression, which has been recognised by WHO as the most common type of mental health challenge that can be resolved with early intervention and Employee Mental Health Provisions Using Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) should be included in the National Occupational Safety and Health policy and Occupational Health and Safety bill for effective legislative enforcement in all workplaces in Nigeria.
SOURCE: DailyIndependent