HEALTH & SAFETY

Excerpt from 2004 Annual Report

Oando has become proactive in Environmental,Health, Safety & Quality related issues. Safety of men and equipment continued to receive prime attention in 2004 with EHSQ given a full departmental status. The EHSQ Department was strengthened with a new Head of Department and new staff to enable the department perform its assigned roles effectively. Various programs were executed in continuation of the company’s Enlightenment Campaign and EHSQ Awareness Training for all stakeholders. EHSQ Monthly Updates were regularly circulated to all staff. EHSQ data collection and utilization was strengthened and is now carried out routinely in Oando for both internal and external (statutory requirements for monitoring agencies) reporting as well as for business performance improvement. The company continues to witness a reduction in the number of lost work hours attributed to injuries/accidents.

Training sessions and various meetings were held with Contractors and Transporters/Drivers on the new EHSQ direction of the company and the responsibilities, which this have bestowed on every stakeholder. These meetings also served as fora to receive feedback on earlier training activities of the company relating to EHSQ. The feedback received assisted the department in no small measures to plan areas of improvements.

Oando held the gains of 2003 and continued in 2004 to improve on its performance through continuous emphasis on Quality Assurance and an integrated ISO 9001 Quality Management System. The ISO Certification Program was launched in 2004 and we are on track for an External Quality Audit which will culminate in a company-wide ISO certification of Oando’s quality processes including design and development planning, resource management, purchasing, customer-related processes, measurement & analysis and continuous improvement. As usual, Oando continues to play a leading role in the EHSQ issues in the industry. The company was actively involved in the organization of the 2004 EHS International Biennial Conference on Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria and several other activities of similaragencies in creating the much needed EHS Awareness in the country.