DNV has signed a contract with Algerian oil national Sonatrach for the development and implementation of an emergency and crisis management system for the organisation’s 127 sites in Algeria.
“DNV Consulting will be responsible for the development and implementation of the emergency systems, which is the first phase in the development of an overall risk management programme,” says Nick Jackson, Director of DNV Consulting. “The work will involve a series of assessments and gap analyses focussing on the hazards and risks inherent in major hydrocarbon activities in a desert location.”
Sonatrach’s President Director General, Mr Meziane points out: “Thanks to the ICS (Incident Command System), the Sonatrach Group will attain a high level of mastery of the risks that workers, people living alongside the units and the Group’s industrial assets may be exposed to,” and adds, “This system, which is the 9th element in the Sonatrach Group’s HSE (Health, Safety and Environmental) management system, will reinforce the proactive process for managing the risks related to our activities.”
The work commences immediately and is planned for the forthcoming 18 months. DNV will place teams in Algeria to conduct the work, drawing resources from its offices in the UK, Benelux and Norway.
Sonatrach, the 11th biggest oil and gas producer in the world, employs 120,000 people and has been operating in Algeria for over 40 years. It is one of the major suppliers of gas to the central European markets, and one of the world’s leading exporters of liquefied petroleum gas.