Middle East embraces process safety culture

Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has joined the worldwide push to improve process safety in the chemical and process industries by hosting the first ever Fundamentals of Process Safety course in the region, organised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

Process safety is the discipline designed to prevent the unintentional releases of industrial chemicals, energy or other hazardous materials.

The nature of the hydrocarbon industries means process safety failures often result in major loss of life and financial cost – the 100 largest accidents in the hydrocarbon industry has been estimated at around £22 billion (US$34 billion).

Delegates from organisations including ADCO, ADMA, BG Exploration and Production India, ENOC, Lloyd’s Register, Marsh, Palm Utilities and Sabic attended the intensive five-day Fundamentals of Process Safety course delivered by John Atherton CEng, FIChemE and Dr Hisham Saadawi.¹

Neil Atkinson, IChemE’s director of qualifications and international development, said: “Oil and gas production in the UAE and wider Middle East employs tens of thousands of people and is home to major assets and infrastructure that need protecting from failures of process safety.

“The scale of investment is impressive with 553 active rigs in the Middle East. The UAE alone has over 1,700 active wells and refineries at Al-Ruwais, Umm Al-Narr, Fujairah and Jebel Ali.

“It’s important that we share the wisdom and knowledge of the discipline of process safety, the hazards, risks and its management with as many major chemical engineering hubs across the world as possible – and few are bigger than the Middle East which holds over half of the world’s known crude oil reserves.

“Our first course in Abu Dhabi has been a great success and supported by major employers in the region. We hope it is the first of many similar courses and continues to embed a process safety culture in industries that can little afford disasters like Piper Alpha and Deepwater Horizon.”

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), located along the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been producing oil since 1958.

The UAE is a member of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and holds the sixth highest reserves of crude oil (8.1 per cent / 97.8 billion barrels). Overall, the Middle East holds around two-thirds (66 per cent) of all OPEC crude oil reserves.