SPE HSSE-SR Reviews 25 Years of Progress, and What Lies Ahead

The SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility (HSSE-SR) – the oil and gas industry’s premier HSE event – got underway today, with over 700 HSE professionals from the oil and gas industry and beyond, as well as academics and scientists, expected to attend and contribute.

HSSE-SR is in its twenty-fifth year, and the opening session was a chance to look back at the enormous progress the energy industry has made in this period, as well as forward to what lies ahead. Keynote speakers including Maria Moraeus Hannsen, CEO, Engie E&P; Kristin Halvorsen, CEO, Cicero; Rupert Thomas, VP – Environment, Shell and Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, SVP – Sustainability, Statoil shared their perspectives on the opportunities for the energy industry to innovate and collaborate in addressing the subject of climate change, while continuing to balance economic, environmental and societal priorities. Discussions touched upon a wide range of issues including carbon capture, energy storage and carbon pricing.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Nathan Meehan, SPE’s 2015-6 President, said, “A lot of the issues associated with climate change tie to engineers in the oil and gas industry. For example, we are the ones that know how to inject and store CO2 and make sure that it stays where it belongs”.

Øystein Arvid Håland, Conference Programme Committee Co-Chair and SVP – Drilling & Well at Statoil added, “Statoil is proud to be the host organisation for this year’s conference. Sustaining our future through innovation and collaboration is this year’s theme - this fits very well with the values that we have in Statoil. We believe high standards, cost-efficient services and close co-operation between peers within HSE matters are more important than ever.”

Trust in the energy industry, that it will look after its workers, the environment and the communities it works in, has taken many knocks in the past. As global demand for energy increases, the oil and gas industry will continue to be a key source of primary energy for decades to come. Later this morning a high-level panel composed of Terry A’Hearn, CEO, Scottish Protection Agency; Cameron Ironside, Sustainability Director, IHA Sustainability; Peter Seligmann, Chairman, Conservation International and Eldar Sætre, CEO, Statoil explored how this trust can be built in order that the industry can continue to help meet the world’s energy needs.

Throughout the day, students from across Europe presented technical papers in the European Regional Student Paper Contest, for the chance to proceed to the International Student Paper Contest at SPE’s annual conference in Dubai later this year. Among the topical themes covered included reservoir prediction and control, productivity of underground gas storage wells, and econometric modelling for African oil production.

Over the next three days attendees are set to hear from high-profile speakers and enjoy a packed technical programme covering environment, safety, health, HSE management, sustainability and social responsibility topics. Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit the exhibition running alongside the conference as well as attend a variety of networking events.

HSSE-SR will be hosted by Statoil, Platinum Sponsors are Baker Hughes, ExxonMobil and Shell, and ERM is the Gold Sponsor. The event is endorsed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).