AUGUST 28 ― The state of the world that we live in, with climate change, fresh water depletion, over-fishing in oceans, deforestation, air and water pollution, is growing along with global economic growth and the struggle to feed a planet of billions in the next 30-50 years. How do we balance the need to survive with the depletion and pollution of our natural resources? The need to do so is at a critical level, more so now than ever.

While natural catastrophes such as tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions and climate changes are unavoidable to a certain degree, we are at a point in humanity where we should be learning from our past mistakes and not repeat human induced disasters. Sadly, history has shown us time and time again that often times we are our own danger.

In 1984, a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India released 30 metric tonnes of methyl isocyanate into the atmosphere. Years before the accident, the Union Carbide India Limited chemical plant was in extremely poor condition and had violated dozens of safety regulations. Unofficial records cited 8,000 deaths or more that were reportedly tied to the disaster.

More than a decade later in 2010, what is considered the worst oil spill in history happened. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the sea leaving the drill hole completely open. Crude began to blow out directly into the waters, and discharged 780,000 cubic metres of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, claiming seven lives.

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While the environment and the nearby communities take a battering over countless oil spills, pipeline leaks and explosions from around the world, it’s the disasters closer to home that are the most worrying to us.

More recently, in just over one year since the last disaster, Pertamina made headlines again with the oil leak beneath its Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) offshore platform located two kilometres north of Karawang, West Java. It’s reported that the effects of this leak will only be fully contained by March 2020, and may take at least half a year for environmental recovery efforts. The 84 km oil slick is projected to spread further due to winds.

It’s been a month since the leak started and residents have reportedly begun to bear the brunt of the damages. To date it has reportedly affected 13 villages and waters north of Jakarta, threatening the livelihoods and health of at least 7,800 people.

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To contain the oil spill, Pertamina has deployed 37 monitoring ships and stretched out more than 2,000 metres of static oil booms, a temporary floating barrier used to reduce the pollution on shorelines. To help in recovery efforts it has roped in the United States well control company Boots & Coots, which handled the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

While countermeasures are in place to contain the leak and repair damage at the same time, what actually led to the leak in the first place? Was it a failure in safety regulations, structural issues, incompetency or weak procedures? The Indonesian government has recently initiated an investigation into the leak.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, the local oil and gas (O&G) sector, to a large degree has been spared the fate of many of our neighbours, not due to good fortune, but to well managed disaster risk mitigation in oil and gas projects by established industry players.  

In the last almost five decades, the safety, health and risk management of the sector has been responsibly and well managed through the implementation of a culture of safety, long-term commitment, experience and professionalism.

More recently, with several oil producing states clamouring for increased or full control of their oil and gas resources from the Federal Government, do they have what it takes to maintain the safety track record and culture that is so vital to the future and sustainability of the industry and its contribution to the nation?

We need to understand that O&G projects take several years to complete and involve large capital outlays. With cost pressures continuing to have a lasting effect on this industry, achieving the maximum value from the exploration and production process remains crucial. While lucrative at best, profit margins in the oil and gas industry have proven to be extremely volatile. Driven by a stronger focus on growth and profitability today, oil & gas companies cannot cut their way to growth, especially not at the expense of health, safety and the environment (HSE).

As oil and gas will get more push from the Government this year due to its potential growth amid rising exploration and production (E&P) activities, maintaining safety and managing risks through continuous asset monitoring and connected technologies that can highlight equipment failures and operational issues before they contribute to disaster, becomes paramount. It’s clearly no child’s play as mishaps in the O&G industry can have catastrophic effects on people, the environment, assets and reputation of companies and nations.

While our planet has shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from some of these disasters, will it be as resilient today as it was several decades ago? Can we afford to take that risk?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.