Nearly 2 weeks later, it was apparent that something significant happened June 5-6 when Canada's National Energy Board held its pipeline safety forum in Calgary. "It was our first time, and it was very successful," Abha Bhargava, NEB's energy integration, strategy, and analysis director, said on June 18 during a break at the US Energy Information Administration's annual conference.
"The companies' response was remarkable," she told OGJ. "I was impressed by their commitment to safety and minimizing incidents, particularly among the pipelines. Everyone realizes that more work needs to be done. I believe we'll have many more of these forums."
Participants included pipeline companies, governments, landowners, oil and gas producers, service companies, natural gas utilities, safety regulators from Canada's provinces, and experts from academia, NEB Chairman Gaetan Caron said in his welcoming remarks on June 5.
"This broad range of participants demonstrates that safety in the energy sector is a top priority for a large number of people, just as it should be," he maintained.
Changes already had occurred at NEB in 2013, Caron said. The Jobs Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act increased inspections by 50% and doubled the number of comprehensive audits. Canada's federal government provided another $13.5 million (Can.) for NEB to hire additional staff, and administrative monetary penalties will be in place by July to promote safety and environmental compliance, he noted.
"The year has also seen some challenges for industry," Caron continued. Northern Gateway, Keystone XL, and other proposed pipeline projects are undergoing greater scrutiny; the public is demanding more environmental accountability; and "growing concern over the safety of the energy infrastructure," he said.
Key topics
The forum's key topics included safety performance measurement, effective management systems, and corporate leadership's role in building and maintaining a safety culture, NEB's chairman said.
The board recognizes that safety is a shared responsibility, he indicated. "We expect pipeline company executives to set performance measures that provide a complete view of their organization's current state of safety in order to identify areas of weakness and to proactively manage safety before an incident occurs," Caron said.
Thirty companies submitted their first reports last year on a suite of forward looking performance measures for 70 pipeline systems across the country, he reported. NEB will examine the reports in 2013 to see if they need to be improved, he said.
Caron emphasized the forum was only the first step in building a pervasive safety culture across Canada's pipeline industry. "The Board has embarked on a journey to continually improve our requirements," he said. "We expect our regulated companies to demonstrate a similar commitment to continually improve their safety culture."
