Adnoc focused on safety of assets, risk management says official

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) aims to be the global benchmark for safety and asset integrity and has been taking several initiatives in this regard, a key official said during an industry event held in the Capital.

In December 2021, Adnoc announced a $127-billion capital spending plan for 2022-2026, as it reported an increase in the UAE’s oil and natural gas reserves. Dharmeshkumar Dalwadi, process safety specialist, Adnoc HQ, told Khaleej Times that the Group is heavily focused on asset integrity and process safety (AIPS).

“Asset integrity and process safety is of paramount importance for any business to have a safe and reliable production. There is no way we can run a business without having the right focus on these elements. There have been several Adnoc-wide programmes set out to ensure that there is a clear focus covering all the three pillars of asset integrity and process safety: people, plant and process. It has been well communicated from top-down and there have been a lot of initiatives going on,” he said during the second Asset Integrity and Process Safety Conference held in Abu Dhabi.

Dalwadi noted that recently Adnoc has aligned all process safety into a single network called: AIPS framework. The Group is leading in implementation of the Process Safety Fundamentals rolled out by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), which has been developed to support companies as they seek to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, fatal and high severity process safety events.

“There have been a lot of technologies, which have been implemented, digitalisation is at the forefront of that. We closely monitor risk management. We are using latest technologies, like use of drones, 3D modelling, remote monitoring of process parameters among others.”

Dalwadi pointed out that such new collaborations and knowledge sharing at such conferences help to avoid chemical catastrophes like the Bhopal gas tragedy in India and the BP Texas refinery explosion.

“Having such collaborative events like this one, where you learn from each other, knowledge sharing, helps us in preventing such incidents in future. This is a much-needed event for the industry, which has brought a lot of experts together,” he noted during the two-day conference.

More than 120 delegates including decision makers, industry experts and key stakeholders in oil and gas sectors shared insights and best practices to tackle current and future challenges to achieve productivity gains while meeting safety and environmental standards in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry in the region.

In the oil and gas sector, the market for AIMS is set for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.74 per cent between 2022 and 2027. The value of AIMS in oil and gas globally is forecast to reach a value of $30 billion by 2027, up from $17.81 billion in 2020, according to a recent report from Mordor Intelligence.

Martin Robinson, founder and CEO, IRISS, added that a well-defined asset integrity system can save up to 40 per cent capital in an oil refinery. “So, it is a huge savings. Designing for Safety and Reliability can ensure a huge savings in asset integrity and process safety and industries should ensure this.”

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), oil revenues in the region are projected to reach $818 billion this year. And with crude oil prices hovering around $120 per barrel, experts pointed out a need for increased investment in asset integrity and process safety management.

Leila Masinaei, managing partner, Great Minds Event Management, said: “The latest rally in oil price will not only increase the revenues of the oil exporting countries, but also increase investment in oil and gas assets to improve the asset quality and extend life cycle. In this context, this regional conference is crucial in assessing the opportunities.” — ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai