Oil & Gas UK’s Efficiency Task Force (ETF) launched the Industry Behaviours Charter at the trade association’s Annual General Meeting and Joint Council – with full support from its Board, whose members represent a cross-section of the industry, including representatives from operator companies and contractor companies, alongside Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK.
The Charter, signed yesterday (December 9) by members of Oil & Gas UK and supported by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), is a collective commitment to work effectively, efficiently and co-operatively in order to achieve transformational change for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry.
Deirdre Michie, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, said:
“Improving the performance of this industry will only come about through real collaboration between operators, major contractors and SMEs, embedding new ways of working and creating new business models. The ETF aims to support that shift and the Industry Behaviours Charter, which has the full backing of the Oil & Gas UK Board, will be one of its principal mechanisms. We need the rest of industry to get fully behind it, taking the principles and incorporating them within their own organisations to help deliver a safe, competitive and enduring future for our sector."
The Charter (below) was signed by Deirdre Michie alongside Oil & Gas UK co-chairmen, Trevor Garlick of BP and John Pearson of Amec Foster Wheeler – who leads the ETF. By signing, they agreed on behalf of their companies to:
1. Be an early adopter of efficiency initiatives and new technology, sharing learnings with others
2. Provide access to decision makers through a specific, fast access point, in order to escalate issues
3. Strengthen industry co-operation through continual improvement in and support for, industry codes of practice, forums and standards
4. Contribute to performance improvement by ensuring transparent and time-bound legal, commercial and contractual engagements
5. Commit to continuous improvement through regular review of the delivery of this Charter, across all levels of my business.
Sir Ian Wood, whose review of the industry recommended greater co-ordination of activities and collaboration, said in support of the Charter:
“There is absolutely no doubt that the drive to industry collaboration and greater efficiency needs an Industry Behaviours Charter and it’s great that the Efficiency Task Force has now brought this out. Achieving the essential collaboration requires a change in behaviours both between operators and also with the supply chain. The good thing is the Charter goes well beyond the obvious headlines and identifies some of the key areas of behaviour that will require changing, indeed are beginning to change, but the Charter will undoubtedly enhance the process and provide constructive guidelines on how business should and must be conducted. If the industry really takes this to heart, and I believe they will, then it will be a big step ahead.”
Andy Samuel, OGA’s chief executive, said:
“Cultural change and greater collaboration is needed, more than ever, to reinvigorate the basin and drive simplicity and efficiency. It is great to see industry making this commitment. It is particularly good to hear companies offering to hold each other to account and sustain a new way of working and the OGA will happily support this change. The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has very significant remaining potential and this is a good step towards maximising economic recovery.”
The ETF is taking a three pronged approach under the themes: Business Process; Standardisation; and Cooperation, Culture and Behaviours - focusing on two or three projects in each.
Mark Richardson, North Sea projects group manager at Apache Corporation, led the project to create a Charter. He added:
"It's one piece of a bigger efficiency picture. We need to take on more individual responsibility and become less risk averse, in order to reap the rewards. There is still a huge opportunity in the North Sea which is being missed at the moment, and unless we collectively do something about it we are going to lose that prize."
Deloitte will be involved in tracking progress made in collaborative working, with director, Nick Clark, saying:
“The Charter provides an excellent way for companies in the UKCS to show their collective commitment to work effectively, efficiently and co-operatively in order to achieve transformational change for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry. Deloitte is delighted to be working with Oil & Gas UK on this initiative and in particular looking at ways to track the impact on collaboration performance in the UKCS, building on the successful industry collaboration survey we ran earlier this year.”