Raising Environmental Awareness in an Oilfield Services Company
Authors: Bouzet P. , Sealy I. 
Published: December 2007

Statistics show that improvement in general environmental conditions will come as much from improving individual's behaviour as from improvement in industrial processes. The Schlumberger environmental awareness programme is aimed at securing all employees commitment on this issue by improving the quality of risk identification.

The paper describes the programmes used in the Schlumberger Wireline & Testing North Sea Region (NSR) organisation to successfully raise awareness of environmental issues amongst employees. Examples of the Risk Identification Report (RIR) and Safety Action Checklist (SAC) programmes: are used to illustrate employee involvement and improvements in performance. The successful development (in NSR) of a truly integrated health, safety and environmental management system that incorporates these (RIR and SAC) and other environmental management tools (including the Site Environmental History File) is described.

Introduction - A Broad View Of Environmental Risk

Awareness of and concern over environmental impact in its present form is traceable to eighteenth century observations of the impact of industrialisation. In its early form however, environmental concerns were rooted in self-interest and no-one in particular took offence at the early reports of environmental degradation. Polarisation of the debate started in earnest in the 1970's. In particular, Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" initiated a general assault against private interests responsible for environmental degradation. Highly visible, large industrial sources of pollution then became a convenient (and legitimate, in many instances) targets for environmental activists first and the public in general later. So over the last twenty years, growing pressure from shareholders as well as government intervention has shaped new industry practices with regard to the conservation of natural resources.

More recently, heightened concerns and better environmental monitoring have broadened public understanding of the nature, the magnitude and the sources of pollution. With large industrial releases generally under the control of national or international environmental monitoring programmes, attention is turning to smaller, diffuse sources. Because of their dissipative nature, these are more difficult to control and remain largely unchecked.

The US Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) experience provides a good illustration of that. Each year the data on wastes sent off-site for disposal and on other releases are reported factory-by-factory and made public in the TRI. The TRI is rightly considered the most comprehensive database of industrial emissions in the world. (The European Union is taking note and is presently designing its own format on industrial release.) When TRI data is scrutinised however, it tells an interesting story. Comparison with independent estimates based on material balance suggests that TRI figures may underestimate total releases of toxins by a factor of ten. It is believed that small businesses, discarded used end- product and household discharges account for the difference. In another, more relevant example, estimated figures on the input of oil into the ocean show that the contribution of run-offs and what are referred to as "intentional releases" contribute 12% of the total, as much as all input from tanker accidents. Household releases account for .25%. As for the E&P contribution, UNEP estimates it at around 2%.

With heightened awareness of the pattern of environmental impact, the environmental debate is taking a new form encompassing all sectors of society. Individual behaviour is also taken into account. Large industrial sources of pollution will remain a prime area for control and legislation. It is with these that technology, engineering and the dedication of economic resources will provide the best basis for improvement. With smaller, diffuse sources, it is education and awareness which are likely to provide the largest gains.

Environmental issues in a Service Company. As mentioned earlier a large portion of what is not captured by existing government driven release inventories on pollutant discharges originates in runoffs, domestic releases and small businesses. As a result of enforcement procedures, or because they lack economy of scale, these small industrial concerns are often excluded from burdensome environmental regulations.

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