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EHS at Tullow
At Tullow, we are committed to the highest standards of EHS
performance across our business and we seek to continuously
improve all our EHS activities. We regularly set and review our
EHS objectives and targets and benchmark our activities, with
the aim of achieving consistent improvement in EHS knowledge
and performance.
EHS responsibility
Tullow’s EHS policy, which was updated in
March 2007, aims to ensure that the Group
manages and minimises its impact on the
environment and ensures that Tullow
employees and contractors have a safe place
to work with safe systems and procedures.
We aim to comply with the appropriate
environment, health, safety and welfare
legislation in every jurisdiction where the
Group has operations.
A reflection of Tullow’s commitment to the
sustainable development of the Group is that
responsibility for EHS and CSR resides at the
highest level. Aidan Heavey, Tullow’s founder
and Chief Executive Officer, is the Nominated
Director with responsibility for EHS and CSR.
EHS performance is reported to management
on a monthly basis and any material issue is
reported and dealt with immediately. There
are formal presentations to the Board on this
subject a minimum of twice a year.
EHS culture
We promote a strong EHS culture by
embedding EHS throughout the business,
and in the conduct of our day-to-day
activities. We manage our EHS performance
through the Group’s IMS and related tools.
All Tullow job descriptions clearly identify
the general health and safety responsibilities
for the individual as well as any specific
requirements for their role. Health and safety
awareness is one of the five key qualities that
are assessed as part of Tullow’s performance
appraisal process, where employees are
evaluated by how well they understand the
importance of EHS issues in all aspects of
the business and whether they fully and
actively support Tullow’s EHS policies and
objectives. There is a strong EHS culture
which ensures high levels of employee and
contractor awareness and a willingness to
contribute individually and collectively to
EHS issues.
At a senior level, there are bi-monthly
EHS management meetings and health
and safety is on the agenda at the Group’s
monthly meeting, feedback from which is
widely circulated. For high risk activities,
such as drilling and seismic acquisition,
there is direct involvement with the
contractors managing the project to
ensure that health and safety standards
are being met and maintained.
EHS leadership
We provide strong and visible leadership
in EHS. Each year, Tullow’s Chief Operating
Officer, Paul McDade, holds a week-long
seminar which is attended by business unit
and country managers and other senior
personnel including those responsible for
higher risk activities such as drilling and
seismic acquisition. This meeting includes
two days dedicated to EHS to ensure a
consistent message and standards across
the Group and to get senior management
input into upcoming EHS activities. Subjects
covered this year included EHS leadership
and commitment, an introduction to the
improved Accident and Incident Reporting
and Investigation Procedures and a
discussion regarding the annual EHS
management review. Briefings were also
conducted on crisis and emergency
management, ISO 14001 certification and
environmental standards management,
and CSR initiatives.
‘Step Change in Safety’
As a member of the United Kingdom
Offshore Operators Association
(UKOOA), Tullow participates in a key
industry initiative called ‘Step Change
in Safety’, which aims to make the
UK the safest place to work in the
worldwide oil and gas industry by the
year 2010. To support this programme
Tullow encourages business unit
managers to visit key operational
sites to raise the profile of safety
and safety awareness. In 2006,
Mike Simpson, UK Business Unit
Manager, visited the Ensco 101
drilling operations and Bacton Gas
Terminal as part of the ‘Boots on
for Safety’ element of this campaign.
12 Tullow Oil plc Corporate and Social Responsibility Report 2006