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Abstract

Incidents and accidents continue to occur in our business. Nonetheless, the follow-up and implementation of various recommendations from incident investigations and analyses have yielded tremendous results. Over the years, GDF Production Nederland B.V. and Gaz de France Produktion Exploration Deutschland GmbH (PEG), part of the Gaz de France Department of Exploration and Production has become significantly ‘safer’. However, despite the attention to this issue and the efforts over the years, the safety performance improvement results have been showing a declining trend. There seems to be a ‘glass ceiling’ that the methodology used to further reduce incidents can not break trough. 

More or less simultaneously, and independent of each other, initiatives have been started both within GDF Production Nederland B.V. (GDF ProNed) and PEG to break through this ‘glass ceiling’. The aim? To increase safety awareness, for the purpose of achieving a significant decrease in the number of incidents and accidents.

The purpose of this paper is to share our practices with the industry and to provide feedback on our approach and the results via the 2008 SPE HSE Conference in Nice.

Introduction / Background

PEG and GDF ProNed are two well-known gas and oil producers in Germany and the Netherlands, respectively. PEG joined the Gaz de France group in 2003 and GDF ProNed was acquired in 2000 for the purpose of realising Gaz de France’s ambitions in Exploration and Production.

GDF ProNed is the third producer on the Dutch Continental shelf with about 23 offshore production locations with an average crew of 120 to 150 employees for routine operations, of which less than 30% are GDF ProNed employees. More than 100 employees work at the two onshore office locations. The history goes back to the early 1970’s when GDF ProNed’s predecessor Placid International Oil Ltd. started first production.

PEG’s history goes back to 1888 to the establishment of the future C.Deilmann AG (CDAG). In 1923 the Deutsche Schachtbau- und Tiefbohrgesellschaft GmbH (DST) was founded in Lingen, in 1991, a merger of Preussag Erdöl und Erdgas GmbH (PEEG), CDAG and DST created a large organisation that initially was called Deilmann Erdöl Erdgas GmbH (DEE), but later became Preussag Energie GmbH. Gaz de France took over this company with its domestic activities in 2003. In 2006 PEG share of total German production was 13% oil and 7% gas. 

Approximately two years ago both PEG and GDF ProNed started an intensive safety programme. PEG opted for the name PEGasus, which stands for PEG Arbeitet Sicher: Unsere Stärke! (PEG Works Safely: Our Strength!), while GDF ProNed summarised all the activities aimed at increasing safety under the name: Safety in the Backbone. Though the safety programmes are not identical in terms of definition and scope, there are many similarities. Both programmes seek to increase safety awareness and to bring about a change in behaviour and have been created for all levels and disciplines within the organisation.

A different approach to safety

It goes without saying that in our sector, safety is always given high priority. PEG and GDF ProNed have therefore taken all possible precautions to limit the risk of accidents. The installations meet the strictest safety norms and the work is carried out in accordance with strict rules and procedures by competent staff. Nonetheless, both companies were convinced that more of the same safety initiatives would not make the company safer.