ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

We acknowledge that oil and gas operations have the potential to damage the environment but, if managed well, any negative impacts of activities can be minimised. In doing so, we maintain a reputation of being considered a partner of choice.

We have specific Group requirements and recommendations governing our identification and management of potential impacts of projects that carry particular environmental and social risks; these apply to new projects and acquisition negotiations.

We have developed systems and practices that are designed to help us:

  • identify and assess potential environmental impacts in the early stages of a project or acquisition;
  • take necessary action to mitigate impacts throughout our operations; and
  • leave a limited footprint, in line with local regulations.

OUR APPROACH

We work to understand and manage the sensitivities of the environments in which we operate, and our responsibilities to them, throughout the lifecycle of our operations. We are committed to making a positive contribution to the protection of the environment in areas in which we operate and aim to minimise any adverse effects of our operations. We want to contribute positively to global sustainability through our operations, the development of our fields, the adoption of new technologies and the conduct of our relationships with all stakeholders.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

All energy companies face a wide range of health and safety challenges ranging from industrial accidents to occupational illnesses.

A major event can impact on our employees, contractors and local communities leading to a potential loss of reputation. Our ability to demonstrate a strong track record is an important factor in obtaining stakeholder approval for proposed projects. As such, a strong health and safety record is one of our key business drivers and also forms part of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by which we monitor our performance.

Effective safety performance across our operations depends on the right behaviour and attitude. This requires:

  • setting the right expectations for all employees and contractors – we require that everyone behaves in a safe manner and follows all applicable safety rules;
  • empowering people to intervene to stop a task if they believe it to be unsafe or intervene if a colleague’s behaviour could lead to harm;
  • accountability – requiring people to take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others and to be accountable for their behaviour;
  • leadership – managers and supervisors are expected to lead by example and demonstrate their personal commitment to safety; and
  • safety management systems being implemented at all sites, both operational and administrative.

OUR APPROACH

We are very proud of our health and safety performance and believe it assists in making us a partner of choice. Safeguarding people working for our Company and ensuring that all of our operations are designed and managed properly and to high international standards is always at the core of how we operate our business. Our goal in this area is zero injuries and fatalities across all areas of our operations and to minimise and/or negate operational health issues.

It is the Company’s responsibility to minimise our employees’ exposure to health and safety risks of any kind. In implementing health and safety systems, we balance the need to protect our workers with the knowledge that working practices and traditions vary by location and so we amend or tailor where necessary. All sites are covered by safety management systems with general managers responsible for overall safety measures. We also ensure that our contractors adopt these principles.

Our employees have the authority to intervene in a task if they believe it could lead to harm or is considered unsafe.

We do, however, appreciate that no organisation is immune to a crisis, which can happen at any time. Due to the potential consequences that these can have, we recognise the importance of being prepared for such an unfortunate incident. We continually review crisis management systems to ensure that our processes match our needs and requirements.