Oil and natural gas operators aim to enhance environment, health and safety collaboration in the Atlantic Offshore region: CAPP

ST. JOHN'S, Feb. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Safety and sustainability of operations are top priorities for the companies operating offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

In CAPP's latest report, Collaborating for Safety and Sustainability: A Continuous Improvement Plan, offshore operators have committed to exploring a number of environment, health and safety (EH&S)-related focus areas and developing specific actions to improve performance.

The report includes 13 initial focus areas, developed in consultation with regulators, governments, and other stakeholders aimed at raising the bar on performance. It includes near- and long-term objectives to increase understanding and information sharing, and enhance performance. Initiatives include:

• Establishing a common language to manage risk.
• Improve understanding of the perception of safety culture.
• Share lessons learned among industry.
• Collaborate to identify opportunities for alignment and improvement.
• Enhance training, learning and information sharing.
• Work with the fishing industry and other stakeholders.
• Share and adopt best practices.
• Evaluate options for additional simulation training to enhance learning.
• Conduct an assessment of spill response capabilities.
• Map greenhouse gas emissions for producing assets.
• Work with government and regulators to enhance training for wildlife observers.
• Evaluate and adopt new leak detection and subsea monitoring technology.
• Identify research and development opportunities.

Collaborating for Safety and Sustainability: A Continuous Improvement Plan will continue to evolve and change as CAPP engages with others that share the same goals of strengthening EH&S in the offshore region. More information about the report can be found here.

CAPP quotes: Paul Barnes, Director of Atlantic Canada and Arctic

• "We are confident that through enhanced collaboration between industry, government, regulators and other stakeholders, we will raise the bar on safety and environmental performance in the offshore region."
• "Canada's standards for EH&S in the offshore region are among the most stringent in the world. Our members have developed comprehensive safety management systems to ensure they meet or exceed regulatory requirements."
• "It is our belief that EH&S goes beyond the individual operators and must be industry wide, increasing collaboration and information sharing."
• "We are looking to address concerns today while establishing and maintaining a long-term plan for EH&S offshore Newfoundland and Labrador."

Supporting Information

• The 13 focus areas outlined in the report were created as the first steps to explore change. The focus areas were developed in consultation with the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, governments, and local stakeholders.
• The safety of the people working in Canada's offshore oil and natural gas industry are a top priority for all operators.
• The objective of the report is to enhance collaboration and communications with a focus on incident prevention, training and competency with the offshore workforce; spill response capability to minimize the impact of potential release on the environment; and to support efforts to reduce GHG emissions.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) represents companies, large and small, that explore for, develop and produce natural gas and oil throughout Canada. CAPP's member companies produce about 80 per cent of Canada's natural gas and oil. CAPP's associate members provide a wide range of services that support the upstream oil and natural gas industry. Together CAPP's members and associate members are an important part of a national industry with revenues from oil and natural gas production of about $101 billion a year. CAPP's mission, on behalf of the Canadian upstream oil and natural gas industry, is to advocate for and enable economic competitiveness and safe, environmentally and socially responsible performance.

SOURCE Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Jill Piccott, Advisor, Communications and Policy, (P) 709-724-4204, (C) 709-685-4812, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.capp.ca