August 21, 2013, (Lagos, Nigeria): Oando Energy Services Limited (“OESL”), an Oando PLC subsidiary and Nigeria’s leading indigenous operator of swamp drilling rigs services has achieved an excellent performance of four years of continuous operations without a Lost Time Injury (LTI) on its flagship rig, ‘OES Integrity’, one of its four rigs on Friday, August 8, 2013.
The ability of the OES Integrity crew to maintain four years of operations without witnessing an LTI is a reflection Oando’s commitment to Health, Safety and the Environment, and the determination of the OES team to remain the leading service provider in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
LTI is a measure of injury sustained on the job that is capable of preventing a worker from performing or continuing with a task or resulting in downtime in the operation. It is an oil and gas industry benchmark that evaluates adherence to safety and environmental requirements in the course of operations. As a result, LTI is a critical Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Oando’s conformity with the best practices of the oil and gas industry.
Commenting on the accomplishment, Oando Energy Services CEO, Mr. Bandele Badejo said: “The OES Integrity crew has done tremendously well to achieve 1,062,342 LTI Free Man hours. This is a prime example of the commitment of OES employees towards ensuring safety and high quality work performance on all our installations. The health and well-being of our employees and those visiting our workplace are of the utmost importance at Oando PLC. We are truly pleased with this safety milestone.”
‘OES Integrity’ swamp rig has successfully drilled, completed, and worked on 18 Wells in the course of its campaign. The rig is the first 3,000 HP modern swamp drilling barge to operate in the Niger Delta, and is equipped with 15,000 psi Blowout Preventers (BOP), which are designed to drill High Pressure/ High Temperature (HPHT) wells to depths of 30,000 ft.
The rig is an exceptional drilling platform due to its high quality, safety record, and special features that keep it technologically ahead of other conventional rigs. Unlike most conventional rigs that require the driller to manually drill and hold the brake during drilling operations, ‘OES Integrity’ auto drilling capabilities allow for the option of automating the drilling process. As a result, the driller can set the trip-in rate for example at 5 feet per minute and the drilling operation runs on its own.
Oando PLC’s Chief Environmental Health Safety Security and Quality Officer, Mr. Chjioke Akwukuma also praised the achievement saying: “This is an important and commendable feat in the history of OES. The OES Integrity crew has worked for 1458 days without any disruption to operations resulting from personnel injury, and this proves our dedication to the safety culture that exist company-wide and adherence to best practices. We continue to strive to integrate stringent safety processes in day-to-day business practices across our locations.
Oando PLC has vibrant policies and procedures covering product quality, safety, environment, health, security and emergency readiness, to ensure that all its operations meet international safety requirements. The company is very keen on safety and in an effort to inculcate this culture amongst its employees, training, regulatory certifications, and a “stop work” policy where employees are empowered to stop work if they observe an unsafe condition is encouraged. An Annual Safety Week is also held companywide to deepen awareness and strengthen an incident-free work life culture.
Ends
