The safety wards have come under criticism in recent years after Esso won the awards for two years running after the Longford disaster and injury causing incidents on platforms in Bass Strait.

Inpex Browse won the award for exploration companies while Bonus Well Servicing and Diamond Offshore won the Category C for onshore and offshore drilling companies respectively.

Our performance as an industry in 2003 has not been all that we should have been able to hope for.

APPEA chairman Malcolm Garrett said the performance of the industry in 2003 had not been all that it should have been able to hope for.

“On one side the broad indicators of industry performance are trending downwards and compare favourably to most other industries in Australia and to industry performance overseas. However, these overall indicators hide an unacceptable and highly regrettable situation. In 2003 the industry had four fatalities - one offshore and three onshore,” he said.

“In the areas of safety and the environment, good performance requires two things – management leadership and an operational culture that pervades all decisions at all levels of operation. Safety is a necessity every hour of our lives every day of the year. The only acceptable benchmark is zero incidents.

“While these are messages that we repeat every year at this time, they are vital messages for us as individuals, as companies and as an industry. Only the world’s best standard of performance is acceptable. It can never be a matter of standing still.”

APPEA 2004 Conference news is proudly brought to you by