Importance, Challenges, and Approaches in Post-Sanction Epoch

Iran is considered as one of the main countries possessing the greatest oil and gas reserves.

Aiming to reserve preservation, optimized exploration till production, safe transmission with least wastes & final refinement, require up-todate technologies as well as practical commitment to apply the highest level of safety & quality within the oil & gas sector.

Domestic & global major challenges

Oil & gas projects have always been associated with uncertainties & various risks affecting quality, safety, cost & time of each single project in. During the past years, the industry was suffering from those issues as the sanctions were avoiding new technologies to come into the country. On the other hand, the world has been in challenge with some critical environmental crises such as climate change & global warming which are threatening the earth & people’s health. Strategic planning in terms of QHSE to be in such a way to overcome the current industry risks and to take serious steps towards our social responsibilities in protecting the world particularly by copying with greenhouse gases sources.

How to overcome challenges?

QHSE is believed as a mutual responsibility among involved parties.

All organizations must allocate sufficient resources for improving QHSE and have to make sure their management systems are capable to maintain the whole operation within acceptable boundaries.

It is crucial to fortify the QHSE atmosphere in the post sanction plans as this will lead the O&G sector to protect people, country capitals & environment etc. Similarly, operation must be absolutely aligned with strategies & plans. Thus constant monitoring of the system and performance based management, would be an inevitable approach to be chosen. Notably, applying this approach requires introduction of national integrated documents; specialized integrated training system; and integrated auditing system, which can build up a mutual language through the whole O&G companies. Those items along with resource allocation, are considered as the fundamentals of a comprehensive management system. Furthermore, the management system has to comply to international models such as OGP’s operating management system (OMS). In this comprehensive model, all concerned segments must gather together and by means of an integrated management approach, the whole industry towards will be directed towards goals and objectives. Since Iran has one the most educated young populations in the region, there are many individuals including HSE degree holders, are potential to assist O&G professionals in implementation of the integrated management system.

Way forward

Considering six key elements in organizational dimensions, many of national oil companies (NOCs) tends to outsource their services to a range of competent operators & contractors. Hesitating to deal with large amount of details, NOCs are attempting to support all their affiliates up to the subcontractors and are monitoring their performances accordingly. To achieve this goal, they need to have an efficient & effective mechanism enables them to overcome the challenges in projects specially in QHSE related fields.

This mechanism would be a supportive umbrella to be defined through the highest executive body in oil & gas sector. The umbrella would be an integrated management system complies to international structures. All active companies & segments must be covered through this comprehensive managerial system. The leading part of this plan, would be a tool to make this system, dynamic; Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) software, would play a vital role, ensuring all elements of the opted management system is being followed properly. Online data gathering & processing, will provide a powerful platform for knowledge management and assist the managers to take the best decisions in terms of quality, safety, environmental protections & technical matters. Conclusively, obtaining higher level of safety; sustainable development; and commitment to social responsibilities in oil industry can be undertaken with an unprecedented pace by boosting systematic thinking model through development of a national integrated management system & implementing it through an ERP tool. This will result in people & organizational maturity in Iran oil & gas sector & will lead the industry towards continuous improvement mainly regarding QHSE principles, in post sanction epoch.