Safety and environment

P&T is responsible for safety not only in the design and engineering of new wells and facilities, but also in their construction. It also defines the management framework for controlling risks to health, safety, security and the environment in Shell’s operating assets. This framework is expected to be in place so as to achieve no harm and no leaks across all of our operations. We refer to this as our Goal Zero ambition.

The management framework defines the controls and physical barriers we require to prevent incidents. For example, our offshore wells are designed with at least two independent barriers to mitigate the risk of an uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons. We regularly inspect, test and maintain these barriers to ensure they meet our standards. We also routinely prepare and practise our emergency response to potential incidents, such as an oil spill or a fire. This involves working closely with local services and regulatory agencies to jointly test our plans and procedures. These tests continually improve our readiness to respond. If an incident does occur, we have procedures in place to reduce the impact on people and the environment.

We continue to strengthen the safety culture among our employees and contractors. We expect everyone working for us to intervene and stop work that may appear to be unsafe. In addition to our ongoing safety awareness programmes, we hold an annual global safety day to give employees and contractors time to reflect on how to prevent incidents. We expect Shell employees and contractors to comply with mandatory Life-Saving Rules. If employees break these rules, they face disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. If contractors break the Life-Saving Rules, they can be removed from the worksite.