Tullow invests in creating a safe workplace
for all employees and contractors
working on our sites, wherever they are.
As a core pillar of our sustainability approach, and supported at Board level through the Safety and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors, safe operations are at the forefront of our daily work and is, an important element of decision making at every stage of our operations.
Occupational Health & Safety
Following a return to work after the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, not only did we maintain the strong safety performance achieved in 2021, we were able to improve performance with zero lost time injuries and zero recordable injuries – this is the first time in our history that Tullow has achieved a full year of global injury-free operations. It comes as the cumulative result of continuous reinforcement of our safety leadership, culture and practices over several years and throughout 2022.
A step towards ensuring that we maintain an injury-free workplace is addressing high potential incidents (HiPos). With seven HiPos in 2022, the threat of a serious safety incident remains a concern. To reinforce safety thinking and practice, and reduce the chances
of work-related injuries, we conducted incident investigation training with regular fortnightly coaching to embed investigation practices. We engaged an external safety coach to deliver training and coach our teams through the steps needed to thoroughly investigate incidents and identify measures to prevent recurrence. Specifically, we made an external coach available to support the investigation of actual HiPos throughout the year.
We delivered a year of positive safety performance in 2023. We achieved our target of below 0.60 for Total Recordable Injuries Frequency (TRIF) and achieving a reduction in the number of High Potential Incidents (HiPos)1 by more than 50% compared to 2022.
Disappointingly, there was one Lost Time Injury (LTI) involving an offshore worker in the Jubilee field who sustained injuries which required offsite treatment. We also recorded three Tier 2 Loss of Primary Containment (LOPC) incidents compared to one Tier 2 LOPC in 2022. All injuries and incidents were subjected to full investigations and corrective actions were taken to prevent recurrence.
In 2024, we will continue with further intensive activities to reinforce our safety culture through awareness and training at all levels.
During the year, we conducted a safety culture assessment with particular focus on our Jubilee FPSO operations after transition to new management in 2022. The objectives of the assessment, conducted by an independent Safety expert, were to provide insight into the adequacy of our current management systems in supporting a proactive culture of safety, the level of commitment of our leaders in ensuring a safe working environment and opportunities for improvement. The findings of the assessment were positive, indicating strong integration of safety systems and practices, alongside recommendations which we are adopting in our ongoing safety programmes.
Our process safety management system includes policies, standards and risk management activities and covers all our operations from exploration and production through to decommissioning.
In 2023, we maintained zero Tier 1 LOPC for the fourth consecutive year. However, we did experience an increase in Tier 2 LOPCs, which, although less severe, reinforced the opportunity for further improvement.
We ran an intensive process safety awareness and training programme on one of the IOGP Process Safety Fundamentals (PSF) elements, ‘We Sustain Barriers’. We also launched our ‘Own Your Barrier’ programme with emphasis on improving detailed understanding of barriers and the role each person has in maintaining them to prevent major accident and environmental events. As part of the campaign, we worked with employees to improve practical ways to identify and fix barrier impairments.
We maintain a high level of preparedness to respond to any emergency to minimise negative impacts on people, the environment and our assets while assuring business continuity.
We adhere to our detailed asset protection-related policies, standards and plans which include crisis and emergency management, ensuring employees are fully trained to respond to emergency situations.
At any given time, many workers at our facilities onshore and offshore are contractors.
It is imperative that everyone who works at our sites or supplies materials or services to our facilities has a full understanding of our safety procedures and knows our requirements on how to comply. To engage our contractors on EHS matters, and promote learning and sharing, we hold bi-annual EHS Contractor Forums, with each meeting focusing on a different aspect of EHS. Our first forum of 2023 ran under the theme of “Safety Leadership: The Key to Healthy and Safe Workplaces,” and covered several areas including improving EHS leadership and enhancing medical emergencies response.
We believe in helping our colleagues to meet personal wellness goals as this helps individuals be happier and more productive and contributes to a positive spirit at work.
We operate a year-round Global Wellness Agenda to support employees in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and we retain in-house medical professionals to provide guidance to employees as needed. Our Employee Assistance Programme offers individual counselling on any personal issue, including mental health challenges.
Many of our activities continued to focus on mental health, including dealing with fatigue, insomnia and anxiety and this year we highlighted the topic of neurodiversity, which was well received. We again encouraged physical health with our annual sports day and employee on-site health check-ups. A first this year was the launch of our film club, to complement our book club, enabling employees to share insights and enjoy fun conversation after watching the selected movie. During the year, we also expanded our wellness activities to include financial health and ran our first Financial Wellbeing seminar which was attended by 180 employees. On World Malaria Day, a blood donation campaign was run in Ghana. Employees donated a total of 33 units of blood to the Blood Bank.
Our Sustainability Report 2023
This Sustainability Report complements our 2023 Annual Report and provides further details of our environmental and social performance over the past year.
