Mr. Tariq S. Al-Ghamdi, President of ASSE Middle East Chapter, reflected:
“Upon reviewing the IQPC program of Process Safety in Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals 2009, the ASSE Middle East Chapter feels that the conference would provide an opportunity to the region's ASSE members and other professionals. Vital information, including the best up-to-date international industry standards and practices, will be shared amongst delegates. The ASSE-MEC extends the invitation to the delegates and the region's concerned professionals and industries to participate in the 9th PDC organized by the ASSE-MEC from February 20-24, 2009 in Bahrain which would provide an additional mega-platform for expanding networking possibilities amongst the HSE experts in the region and internationally"
The Middle East Chapter was inaugurated on September 15, 1982 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The Chapter's territory covers the following Arabian Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. The Middle East Chapter was the first foreign chapter established outside the United States. The current Chapter membership is approximately 225.
Abdulmohsen Almajnouni, Chairman of SAS-AIChE will facilitate the interactive “Process Safety Expert Q&A Session” enabling delegates to seek answers to their key industry challenges. Abdulmohsen reflected: “The importance of Process Safety in oil, gas, refining and petrochemical plants is no secret to anyone. Hundreds of thousands of people work in the industries, as it is a vital component of the national economy. For this reason, a worker’s safety and health becomes even more important.
We have to create a safety culture in light of the major disasters that have occurred in the past which caused large scale fatality and damages. Such culture creation can be attained by close interaction, being open and candid and taking full advantage of this conference.”
On 22 June 1908, nineteen men working in what was then a new and emerging discipline (chemical engineering)
The Saudi Arabian Section of the AIChE is a self-governing unit and was founded in 1988. Since that time, the Section has been arranging activities and programs of interest to the membership.
Scott Berger, Director of supporting organization Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) said: “A rigorous process safety management system is essential for the short-term and long-term success of any oil, gas, and petrochemical company. Engineers and managers at all levels should take time to improve their knowledge of process safety and to learn the lessons from past accidents.” Pronob Mukherjee, Regional Manager Asia-Pacific will be presenting at the conference on “Discussing Human Reliability to establish a Process Safety Culture” and will facilitate a workshop on Wednesday 18th November on “Discussing critical issues in Process Safety: A CCPS-Middle East model steering committee meeting”.
The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) was formed in 1985 by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers as the chemical engineering profession’s response to the tragic 1984 accident in Bhopal, India. Nearly 25 years later, more than 125 member companies of CCPS work globally to advance the practice of process safety. CCPS members benefit by the in-depth learning obtained via participation in CCPS projects and by information gained by networking with the leaders in process safety, leading their companies to improved process safety results.
Process Safety in Oil, Gas & petrochemicals 2009 is chaired by Colin Dyer, Asset Integrity & Process Safety Manager at Shell EPM. Colin reflected: “We have a duty of care to our staff, their families, the community around us and the environment, which are compelling reasons to prevent major incidents.” The conference is co-chaired by Steve Arendt, Vice President Process Industries at ABS Consulting, who has over 30 years experience in chemical process safety and risk management and has performed hundreds of process safety and security analyses, risk assessments, audits and accident investigations on a variety of oil, gas, chemical and related industry processes. In 2006, Mr. Arendt led ABS Consulting’s project to provide support for the BP Independent Safety Review Panel (Baker Panel) evaluation of PSM effectiveness, process safety culture, and corporate oversight of BP’s five U.S. refineries.
Other speakers at Process Safety in Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals 2009 include:
Hany Abdel Aziz, HSE Expert General Manager, Rashid Petroleum Company; Dietrich Roeben, Head of Maintenance, Qatar Shell; Ron Ward, Visiting Fellow, University of New South Wales; Graeme Ellis, Principal Consultant, ABB Engineering;
Further details can be obtained at www.oilandgasprocesssafety.com
