Doha: The 7th edition of the SPE Middle East Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainable Development Conference and Exhibition (MEHSE) returns to Doha, Qatar, 22–24 September 2014. The event will be held under the patronage of Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of Qatar Petroleum (QP).
Organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the event will be largest society-led, oil and gas HSE event in the Middle East and the first of its kind to include sustainable development as one of the core discussion topics. The opening ceremony will feature keynote addresses by H.E. Dr. Al-Sada; Saif Saed Al Naimi, Conference Chairman and Director of QP’s HSE Regulations & Enforcement Directorate; Barton Cahir, President and General Manager Qatar, ExxonMobil; and Jeff Spath, 2014 SPE President.
“Today, there is no doubt that HSE is an integral part in the operations of the oil and gas industry. In this region, we’ve seen a gradual shift in focus from the implementation of standard HSE programmes to the customisation, continuous assessment, and consolidation of the same programmes as per each corporate entity’s requirements. The 7th edition of this event will provide an excellent opportunity for experts to discuss these issues and the associated challenges, both in regional and international contexts,” Al Naimi, said.
Starting with the subject at the heart of the health and safety discussion, the Executive Plenary Session aims to answer the question, “Protecting People, Environment, Asset, and Reputation—Are We Prepared?” This session will see some of the region’s HSE heavyweights—Jassim Abdulla Jassim Al-Mohannadi, Onshore Operation Manager, Qatargas, Jim Zimmerman, Vice President, ExxonMobil Research Qatar, Steve Norton, General Manager, Health, Safety, Environment and Social Performance, Qatar Shell, Tom Knode, Director, HSE Standards and Performance, Halliburton—discuss ways to improve environmental and safety performance while implementing plans that are tailor-made to mitigate each organisation’s unique risk management challenges.
“Now in its 7th year, the event will bring together international and regional HSE experts to discuss the latest developments, strategies, technologies and case studies. For the very first time, this year’s event will include sustainable development as a core topic for discussion, highlighting the importance of sustainability in HSE procedures for the long-term preservation of human, energy, and environmental assets,” said Waleed Refaay, Managing Director, SPE Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
All the panel sessions at the event will be led by the industry’s foremost experts in HSE. The “HSE Management” panel session will focus on efficient disaster management planning, the essential elements in a plan, and ways for organisations to develop critical operational approaches to HSE disaster management. Panel Session 2, “Business Case for Managing Health”, will feature discussions about managing and improving the health of the workforce using a holistic approach, and the positive, ripple effect that this has on HSSE, quality, productivity, business relationships, and the business itself. The panel session on “Climate Change” will enable delegates to take stock of the environmental challenges that the industry faces, especially in the Middle East context, and discuss mitigation, adaptation and management strategies, alongside practical solutions that can be implemented.
The session, “Establishing Organisational Belief in HSE,” will focus on the characteristics of the ideal safety culture and the international and regional barriers that companies encounter while addressing these characteristics. Another panel session, “Sustainability Reporting within Middle East,” will focus on sustainability reporting with an overview of the recent sustainability reporting effort, led by QP with the support of venture partners and operators in Qatar.
The “Best Practices in Water Management” panel session will take an in-depth look at the issues that should be addressed when effective water management strategies are in place. Process safety management, safety cases, asset integrity, and regulatory frameworks are key topics for discussion in the final panel session on “Process Safety in the Middle East”.
Apart from the plenary and panel sessions, the 7th MEHSE will feature 60 technical presentations under the umbrella of 20 technical sessions and more than 50 knowledge sharing ePosters.
A new addition to this year’s edition of the conference is the 2014 SPE Regional University Student Programme, themed, “HSE: A Way of Life”. Through this programme, SPE will conduct several activities that aim to inform and educate young members and students about the advantages of joining this exciting sector. They will also have the opportunity to network with future colleagues and employers as industry representatives will be holding presentations and discussions under the HSE theme.
The exhibition running in parallel to the conference will showcase the latest in HSE technologies and services. Exhibiting companies will include 3E Qatar, Baker Hughes, CSA Ocean Sciences, Dolphin Energy, ExxonMobil, Falck Safety Services, FrontierMEDEX, International SOS, Maersk Oil, OhSung Chemical, OPITO, Oxy, Petroleum Development Oman, Providence Photonics, Qatar International Safety Centre, Qatar Petroleum, RasGas, RDT, Reef Arabia, Schlumberger, Shell Qatar, Terralog Technologies, Total, United Safety, and many more.