"Corporate citizenship in this changing world is a fundamental driver and corporate priority for our industry," Dr Malcolm Garratt, Chairman of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) said yesterday.
"An important challenge facing the industry over the next decade will be continuing to be granted a licence to operate - not only by the regulators of our industry, but also the communities in which we operate and the people with whom we work," he said.
APPEA is the nation's peak body representing 49 full member companies exploring for and producing oil and gas within Australia.
Dr Garratt, who is also vice president external affairs for BHP Billiton Petroleum, was speaking yesterday at the opening session of APPEA's inaugural annual workshop combining Health, Safety and the Environment.
The workshop, which will conclude today, has attracted more than 150 delegates, including representatives from conservation organisations, regulators and the petroleum industry.
Dr Garratt said best practice safety and environmental management was an integral part of the way the upstream oil and gas industry did business in Australia.
"APPEA and its members believe that as a general principle, managing the upstream oil and gas industry's health, safety and environmental performance should not be done on the basis of prescriptive regulations and inflexible operational targets," he said.
"The greatest gains for the community at large, including the industry, will be achieved if health, safety and environmental issues are managed by a system of performance outcome indicators.
"We believe that our performance will be best managed by drivers for performance.
"A system that facilitates the pursuit of continuous improvement which is based on sound science and risk assessments is, in our view, the best tool to drive us to meet the challenges of this changing world.
"Yes, there are times when the risk is too high, but these times should be the exception, not the rule."
Dr Garratt said the workshop was a key component of applying continuous improvement by APPEA in the pursuit of its vision of zero fatalities and zero safety occupational health and environmental incidents.
"This workshop is a great opportunity for APPEA and its member companies to communicate with their peers, regulators, our work force and the broader community about the environmental, occupational health and safety performance, while gaining a better understanding of expectations and the future directions towards improving our performance," he said.
The workshop - titled Health Safety and Environmental Responsibility - Corporate Citizenship in a Changing World - is being held at Perth's Sheraton Hotel.
The workshop has engaged speakers not only from the oil and gas industry, but also from community groups, the workforce, government, and other industries.
