OREANDA-NEWS.    Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), one of the world’s foremost oil producers, is preparing to double production by 2020. Already a top global exporter of crude oil, KOC plans to drive up production from 2.1 million barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day—but greater production means greater risk, cautions H.E. Khaled Al Mansouri, president of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and International Center of Business Resilience (ICBR).

The need to secure some of the world’s oldest oil fields during any and all emergencies has compelled leading figures in the region’s oil, gas and power industries to assemble at the 2nd Annual Crisis & Risk Management Summit in Kuwait City. From 4 May to the 7 May, H.E. Al Mansouri and other emergency response experts will exchange knowledge and expertise, focusing on critical topics, such as risk management, fire safety, computer-aided emergency dispatch, loss prevention, and PTSD recovery.

“As long we operate in a risky working environment, such as the oil and gas industry, incidents will happen, and we will see our share of them. The outcome will depend on how well our emergency responders, employees, and contractors respond, manage, and learn from them,” said Nasser Al Buhairi, Chief Security Officer & Head of the Emergency Coordination Unit, KOC. “Kuwait has had its own challenges—not the least of which was recovering from the invasion in 1991—and we have our methodologies for dealing with them.”

During the conference, Al Buhairi will present a case study that illustrates how managers can prioritise emergency response plans according to the criticality of different equipment.

Commenting on the significance of crisis and risk management in Kuwait, Peter Johnson, HSE Trainer at Chevron, Kuwait, and former Incident Commander of the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA, USA), said, “Risk management is a discussion that occurs each and every day around the world in all sectors. We are having this discussion in Kuwait because the oil and gas industry here is seriously committed to worker safety, asset protection and environmental stewardship.”

Johnson, who will chair the two-day event, will also deliver a lecture on how best to involve senior management, EPC contractors and solution providers in comprehensive response systems. “It is only through the development of partnerships at all levels that any company or government can succeed in their goals. This is truest in emergency response, where all concerned entities need to collaborate in order to effectively respond to a disaster, and ensure the welfare of people first. When I was at FEMA, we interacted with over 70 other federal agencies and works with contracts in order to respond to disasters effectively.”

H.E. Khalid Al Mansouri will speak to the changing nature of crisis and risk management systems in his keynote speech. “Crisis and risk management is evolving in Kuwait. Both the government and private sector entities, such as power companies, are invested in it. There is even talk that the government is starting a new emergency management authority. I am happy that this conversation is happening in Kuwait.”

Notably, Ali Hussain Asad, an emergency response consultant with RIMSCO and former Head of Emergency Coordination at KOC, will detail the construction of a comprehensive crisis management system that integrates corporate health, safety and environment (HSE) plans and site-specific emergency mechanisms.

On the margins of the conference are pre- and post-conference workshops. In the pre-conference workshop, entitled “Managing health, safety, rescue and maintenance programs”, Peter Johnson will draw from his 30 years of experience in emergency response to demonstrate proper planning for the indirect costs of health and safety preparedness.

The post-conference workshop on incident command systems (ICS) will be led by Dean Monterey, Emergency Management Specialist at Kinder Morgan, Canada, and author of Bahrain National Oil Spill Plan. Monterey advised the governments of Bahrain and Qatar during the Gulf War and is a seasoned manager who will invite managers to see how their plans hold up against international best practices.

The conference is held under the official patronage of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate, and has been supported by RIMSCO, the Official Strategic Consulting Partner of the event.

According to conference organizers IQPC, the 2013 edition of the event was well received, and the series has continued to grow, with the Director General of KFSD, Yousef Al Ansari set to deliver the opening keynote address.

Major General Yousef Al Ansari, Director General of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate, praised the Crisis and Risk Management series, saying, “The Summit will present attendees the information needed to meet the new challenges that lay ahead, and it is an excellent opportunity to network with their peers participating at all levels.”