Safety meeting on Bunga Orkid-A platform in Malaysia
Health, Safety, Environment and Operational Integrity
Talisman’s ability to conduct activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner has direct bearing on its people, reputation, operational flexibility and business success.
In 2008, Talisman made strategic changes to its approach to health, safety, environment and operational integrity (HSE/OI). This included the creation of a focused Board Committee, the development of a new global HSE Policy and the establishment of the first two global HSE/OI standards.
corporate governance
In 2008, the Board of Directors constituted an HSECR Committee. The new Committee will review HSE/OI policies, management systems, internal controls, regular reports, significant issues and recommend approval of the Corporate Responsibility Report to the Board of Directors.
global HSE/OI
In 2008, Talisman changed its approach toward HSE/OI management by adopting a global rather than regional philosophy. The function is now led by a team of senior executives from across the Company’s worldwide operations. The Company also completed two global baseline studies, which provided a strategic overview of HSE and process safety management.
global HSE policy
Talisman revised its HSE Policy in 2008 and launched it in 2009. The HSE Policy is the foundation for all HSE principles, standards and procedures. The goal of the HSE Policy is to create a working environment such that the Company will cause no harm to people and will minimize its impact on the environment. To achieve this, the HSE Policy states that Talisman will:
- always comply with the law, or Talisman standards, whichever are higher;
- operate its business to ensure proactive risk mitigation and continuous improvement;
- set goals and targets, and measure performance against them;
- hold itself and its contractors accountable to meet Talisman standards; and
- communicate openly with those who may be affected by its activities.
Safe operations in all Company activities is a core value. If operational results and safety ever come into conflict, Talisman employees and contractors are empowered to choose safety over operational results and Talisman will support that choice.
Talisman strives to create a working environment that causes no harm to people.
HSE/OI management system
To ensure the HSE Policy is effectively implemented, Talisman created a new HSE/OI management system in 2008. The new management system is a hierarchy of elements with the global HSE Policy as the cornerstone for the HSE/OI principles, standards and procedures that will follow. Implementation of the HSE/OI management system will enable Talisman to establish global performance standards as a basis for continuous improvement and will be one of the key missions for the global HSE/OI team in 2009.
Talisman’s regional operations are empowered to organize their HSE/OI programs and systems in ways that are locally meaningful and address their unique risks and priorities. Regional HSE/OI specialists in Talisman’s operating regions monitor operations and regularly report to senior management.
global standards
Talisman developed two global standards in 2008 including Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Reporting and Incident Reporting, Investigation and Analysis.
The KPI Reporting Standard establishes global requirements for monthly, quarterly and annual collection of safety, environment and operational integrity statistics in a manner that allows for internal and select external performance benchmarking. This Standard also facilitates an HSE/OI performance tracking system to better monitor the global working environment, capturing both potential and actual events.
The Incident Reporting, Investigation and Analysis Standard provides a framework for incident classification, investigation and follow up with appropriate levels of management. It also ensures the global sharing of root cause analyses and lessons learned which can in turn be applied to local prevention programs.
Talisman’s global HSE/OI group plans to develop and implement other standards in 2009, including those related to contractor management, leadership and commitment, equipment integrity and hazard identification and risk management.
Talisman recognizes that its activities have impacts on the environment. The Company’s goal is to minimize these impacts.
health and safety
Tragically, Talisman recorded three contractor fatalities in Canada, Malaysia and Indonesia in 2008. The lessons learned from these incidents greatly influenced the Company’s priorities for setting global standards. Further information related to these fatalities can be found in the North America and Southeast Asia sections of this Report.
Globally, Talisman’s Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) was 1.83, which was higher than last year and can be partially attributed to more robust reporting practices in 2008. The global Total Recordable Injury Frequency (TRIF) was 5.03. Peer comparison with the International Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) reporting companies for 2007 revealed that Talisman needs to improve its global safety performance in a number of areas. Each regional area within Talisman will continue to focus on mitigating risks, utilizing monitoring and integrity management systems and tracking metrics and indicators to strive for no harm to people within the Company’s global operations.
environment
Talisman recognizes that the Company’s activities have impacts on the environment. To minimize these impacts, Talisman is identifying key environmental performance indicators and intends to manage its environmental performance against these indicators. The previous three years of environmental KPIs for global and key regional operations are shown in the Performance Data Tables.
emissions
Talisman understands that climate change policies being discussed and developed in jurisdictions around the world will impact the manner in which the Company conducts its operations. For information about Talisman’s regional climate change progress see the North America, North Sea and Southeast Asia sections of this Report. The Company intends to formalize its approach to climate change management in 2009. This is expected to provide a sustainable platform for measuring performance, driving continuous improvement and adapting to the evolving public policy of climate change.
