Developing countries are embracing an initiative to develop international health and safety standards for the oil and gas industry, with Gulf states among the most enthusiastic supporters.
The finding has emerged from a study commissioned by the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) to explore how the globalisation of the industry is affecting its safety requirements.
"Contrary to perceived wisdom, emerging markets were cited by a few interviewees as being unexpectedly positive" about enhancements to health, safety and emergency-response training, Rita Marcella and Tracy Pirie of the Aberdeen Business School of Robert Gordon University in Scotland wrote in a recent report.
Their study drew on long interviews with senior managers and safety specialists at 60 oil and gas production and services companies based in almost as many countries.
"There is a reason for that. They have been neglected for whatever, 25 years, 30 years, so they have a hunger to learn, a real genuine interest, and want to get better and know where they want to be," said one anonymous respondent. "So we have been not so much caught out but refreshed by the enthusiasm with which people are embracing it."
Ian Laing, the Dubai-based manager of the Middle East and Africa office of OPITO, agreed. "There is strong support for standards in the Gulf region," he said. "We are seeing a greater number of trained people coming through."
Qatar has been a strong supporter of OPITO's programmes. Its government has mandated that oil producers and contractors operating in the emirate train employees to the standards developed by the not-for-profit industry group, which is owned and funded by its members.
Qatar and the UAE were behind a recent initiative to develop international safe-driving standards for oil workers. The new OPITO driving code was introduced about nine months ago, after an 18-month development period.
Even Libya, a country that until recently had one of the worst international reputations for oilfield safety, now backs OPITO's agenda, urged on by the regional managements of BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
Throughout the North African country's oil sector, there is now "real interest in what we do", said David Doig, the chief executive of OPITO.
"They can see the value in common standards. But it's only in the last year that they've come on board."
Another prospective supporter is Iraq. OPITO is already in talks with the country's oil ministry and representatives of companies working in its oil sector. A formal announcement on safety standards is expected soon.
Although OPITO now is a truly international organisation, with members from more than 30 countries, its roots are in Mr Doig's home country, Scotland. It was founded two decades ago in Aberdeen, at a time when North Sea oil and gas producers were grappling with the implications of the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster, in which an explosion destroyed an offshore gas platform, killing 167 people.
At the organisation's heart is the principle that every oil industry employee has a "fundamental, basic right" to expect that all co-workers and managers - including the people riding in the same helicopter or working on the same rig - have been trained to the same standards, explained Mr Doig, who started his career working on offshore rigs as a pipe-fitter.
That "right", however, is still not universally recognised by the oil industry, the recent study suggests.
Many of the respondents indicated that, for their companies, it was more important to be able to prove that training had been done than that it had been effective.
"It was also interesting that of all the interviewees responding to this particular question, only one cited that their organisation's training development was driven by a moral obligation to keep its employees [and the environment] safe," the researchers wrote.
"This must change if the industry wants to improve its reputation and attract a new generation of talent," Mr Doig commented.
Already under fire from environmental activists and proponents of renewable energy, the petroleum industry has been severely tarnished this year as a result of the April 20 blowout at BP's Macondo exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico. That accident, which killed 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform and unleashed a catastrophic oil spill, has once again focused intense international scrutiny on safety standards across the oil industry.
Mr Doig, for one, believes this is warranted: "The industry needs to take a good look at itself."
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
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Company%20Profile
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
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Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
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● No of employees: Nine
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Rating: 2/5
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Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
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Chennai win by eight wickets
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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