Our goal is to eliminate all injuries, occupational illnesses, unsafe practices and incidents of environmental harm from our activities. We believe that our work is never so urgent or important that we cannot take the time to do it safely and in an environmentally responsible manner.
Our SPIRIT Values - Safety, People, Integrity, Responsibility, Innovation and Teamwork – inspire all our actions and confirm that safety is core to how we operate.
The 8 Life Saving Rules were introduced in 2013 to reduce the risk of serious incidents while workers perform critical, high-risk activities, and to save lives. They define how we work and communicate expectations to employees, contractors and partners. While minimum requirements have always been associated with each rule, we’ve taken it one step further by implementing a system to ensure that our workforce is working within those requirements.
All operations are required to perform verifications of the Life Saving Rules in the field. This means performing sample checks periodically to verify workers are performing work according to the minimum requirements and appropriate controls are in place. The verification process can take different forms, from a paper checklist to an app or other existing methods, but we’ve learned that an effective field verification system engages workers in meaningful dialogue and results in a better understanding of work and expectations. This process helps create a culture of verification, where controlled work is a habit.
Company and contractor management reviews data trends and analysis of Life Saving Rules verifications each month to assess areas for improvement. As an example, more than 1,600 Life Saving Rules verifications were performed in Alaska in 2016, and analysis of these verifications identified an opportunity to develop enhanced energy isolation training.
Emergency Response
We prepare detailed emergency response plans that specify steps to take depending upon the type of emergency and list the names and phone numbers of personnel and contractors to call. Municipal representatives, including local police and volunteer firefighters, join in mock drills simulating conditions requiring an emergency response. ConocoPhillips also has a highly trained emergency response team ready to respond to incidents wherever we operate around the world.
Offshore Safety and Response
Offshore, we implement systems that allow us to operate, monitor and maintain the stability of a platform remotely from anywhere in the world, while focusing on technologies that enable us to optimize production and operate safely. Prevention of spills or other safety incidents, through appropriate project planning, design, implementation and leadership, is of primary importance to us. Yet, if and when these incidents occur, quick and effective response is paramount.
In July 2010, ConocoPhillips along with ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell founded the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC), an independent company that provides well containment equipment and technology in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. MWCC’s interim containment system first became available for use in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in February 2011.
The interim containment system, which can handle pressure up to 15,000 psi, meets the needs of all member company wells currently being drilled in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The system has the capacity to contain 60,000 barrels per day (and 120 million standard cubic feet per day) with potential for expansion. Through the mutual assistance of MWCC members, the interim containment system includes capture vessels for surface processing and storage.
Our company’s focus and investments in offshore safety and environmental protection are best summarized in three primary areas:
Prevention – To reduce the risk of an incident from occurring.
Containment – To reduce the footprint and impact of an incident and maximize the response capability.
Response – To mitigate incident damage rapidly and effectively.
Emergency Preparedness
We dedicate significant resources to enhancing our emergency preparedness and response capabilities. As part of our Global Incident Management Assist Team (GIMAT), more than 120 employees recently received third-party certified training in the internationally recognized Incident Command System (ICS). We conducted three regional emergency response exercises in Australia, the United States and Norway. The Norway exercise was carried out in collaboration with Statoil where our GIMAT integrated directly into Statoil’s emergency response structure. For further assurance, we subscribe to land, on-water and subsea oil spill and emergency response entities, participate in mutual aid agreements and collaborate with regulators and external agencies which may further augment and support a response, if needed.
