A variety of factors are key to health, safety, and environmental considerations when planning and working on an oil and gas jobsite. These issues are always critical to ensure the safety of the people at the site. But they are also part of a larger effort to build an understanding by impacted communities, of the importance that the industry, and associated regulatory personnel, place on creating low-impact, environmentally safe operations at the local level. Many factors determine the success of a project in the energy industry. Technologies and resources are certainly critical, but there are five factors that form the main ingredients for a social license to operate. These are: health, safety, security, environment, and social responsibility. These five factors ensure a positive relationship between companies, the people working on the project, and the broader community of stakeholders. That positive relationship is what forms the basis of “social license to operate” and determines in many cases whether a project will proceed or not, along with whether it will be commercially viable or an economic disaster due to challenges community members might present, if they don’t feel their concerns are being adequately addressed. At its most basic level, social license to operate is the informal “license” given by the community hosting an oil and gas project, and when not present can lead to protests, court challenges, and other forms of contesting a project. It is in the industry and regulatory community’s best interests to build a positive social license to operate and maintain it over the life of a project. This lesson will examine the lifecycle of a project and discuss the various ways to allow a project to achieve the sustainable success it was designed to achieve.
Why It Matters
Sustainability is a key part of planning for any large project. Balancing economic growth and the resulting social development with environmental protection and responsible resource management increases the long-term success of any industry or human initiative.
Learning Objectives
- Identify and prioritize potentially hazardous situations on location at the site
- Describe the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed in various scenarios
- Identify who is responsible for ensuring safety at the site
- Demonstrate how to use H2S and other safety monitors
- Determine the concentrations and health effects of various H2S levels
- Describe actions to take upon approaching a site with H2S or where H2S is suspected
- Summarize methods to help ensure worker and public safety
- Describe BTEX and other components, their health impacts and sources
- Catalogue basic safety tips
- Recognize components of a basic field first aid kit
- Recognize some of the public’s biggest concerns related to oil and gas operations
- Explain the importance of a social license to operate to various stakeholders related to oil and gas operations
Images: “Sunrise drill site” by Michael Black