A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia’s oil export earnings swelled to around $351 billion last year while the UAE’s income grew to a record high of nearly $124.7 billion. The income rose to $107 billion in Qatar, to $35.9 billion in Oman and to $16.5 billion in Bahrain.
The higher earnings boosted the GCC’s current account surplus to a record high of about $375 billion in 2012 from $328 billion in 2011. The bulk of the increase was in the current account of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with their surplus swelling from $41 billion to $60.5 billion and from around $144.7 billion to $170 billion respectively, according to IIF.
GCC oil and gas sector and an impact of possible disaster will be tackled by local, regional and international experts who will meet in Doha to focus on issues of sustainable corporate governance in wake of Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Sustainable corporate governance comes under the spotlight at the 9th Annual HSE Forum in Energy, which takes place at the Doha Grand Hyatt in Qatar on 30 September to 2 October 2013.
Held under the patronage of Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, the two-day conference and exhibition, with workshops on day three, is designed to help support initiatives to reduce workplace fatalities, maintain employee wellbeing and ensure sustainable environmental protection.
Moderating the executive plenary session at the forum, Mahesh Patel, assistant manager, HSE liaison and acting manager, HSE business strategies in HSE regulations and enforcement, at Qatar Petroleum, will lead a panel of experts to examine what energy sector organisations can do individually and collectively to drive change within their respective organisations, to develop sustainable corporate governance strategies.
“Successful corporate governance can also depend to what degree an organisation’s management is committed in their approach and responsibility for implementing their corporate governance and CSR action plans,” said Patel.
“HSE in the oil and gas sector has to be in line with the business process and the CSR mission. A serious threat exists if the HSE, the business and CSR strategies are heading in different directions and for different purposes.
“The industry as a whole has to be committed to social responsibility and social development. Priority must be given to human development and the sustainable health of the workforce, while social and environmental requirements are a must legally,” he added.
According to Patel, sustainability reporting by the industry is the starting point of sustainable corporate governance.
“Transparency through reporting is increasingly being recognised as an important driver of improved sustainability performance by organisations. It is an important tool for overseeing, monitoring and reviewing an organisation’s relevance to society,” he said.
The industry was shaken to its core by the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and put health and safety and workforce competence centre stage, particularly within organisations operating in the oil and gas sector. The incident killed 11 people and discharged 4.9 million barrels of oil devastating almost 500 miles of the US eastern seaboard from Louisiana to Florida.
The other panelists at the executive plenary session include; Nasser Mohamed Ali Mubarak, Qatar Petroleum, Corporate HSE Support Manager; Ali AlRahbi, Dolphin Energy, Vice President, QHSE & Security; Brian Sullivan, IPIECA , Executive Director; Iain Mackay, Petrotechnics, Executive Vice President; Kathy A. Seabrook CSP, CMIOSH, ASSE, President Elect 2013-2014 and Pol Hoorelbeke, Total Refining & Chemicals, Vice President Safety Division.