BPTT places priority on environmental protection

Release date: 01 November 2011

Rachel Mungroo-Ramsamooj gives updates on the oil spill deployment exercise to the various observers and answers their questions.

Energy company BP Trinidad and Tobago conducted a simulated exercise last week in order to improve its crisis and emergency response capacity.

The exercise involved response to a scenario in which a 20-inch loading hose malfunctions at Galeota, leading to an oil spill. Computer-based simulations have demonstrated that the trajectory of such an oil spill would threaten the mangrove and surrounding areas located along the mouth of the Nariva River in Manzanilla where the drill actually took place.

Members of the response team from Eastern Divers Company Limited deploy the containment boons during the oil spill simulation

Observing and critiquing the exercise was Bob Pfannsteil, BP’s Senior Crisis Management Advisor for the Western Hemisphere, who is based in Houston. He was also involved with the two-day incident command training exercises conducted by bpTT earlier during the week for various agencies including specific government ministries.

According to Pfannsteil, “I think that everyone did a great job here today. Valuable lessons were learnt including the importance of working with the prevailing environmental conditions in finding a solution to each crisis. Everyone worked well together and this exercise was an overall success. Protecting the environment requires constant vigilance and these exercises help to instil this approach.”

Godfrey Williams, Operations Coordinator in charge of oil spill response at bpTT answers questions about the oil spill simulation

Godfrey Williams, bpTT’s Operations Coordinator in charge of oil spill response, acted as the on-scene commander for the exercise – the person designated to coordinate the response efforts at the site of the incident.

Williams explained the objective of the exercise: “In order to ensure that we are ready and able to respond quickly and effectively to any incident, we practise these drills periodically. They allow us to ensure that all of the required mechanisms are working, including the equipment, the performance of the response crews and the communication between on-site control and the emergency management teams.”

Members of the response team ready the other equipment

Eastern Divers Company was in charge of the physical operations. Eastern Divers is contracted by bpTT with the responsibility of being on call on a round-the-clock basis to handle oil spill control and clean up.

The Eastern Divers crew completed the drill successfully despite challenges presented by the inclement weather, high winds and difficult currents. The on-site response consisted of the placement of containment booms at the mouth of the river to protect the mangrove and prevent the spread of the oil slick. They also tested weir oil skimmers in conjunction with pumps used to remove the oil from the surface and transfer it to holding tanks.

Representatives of a number of stakeholder companies and agencies were on-hand to observe the drill. They included the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, the Environmental Management Authority, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, the National Gas Company, Clean Caribbean and the Americas and Repsol YPF. Apart from benefitting from exposure to the scenario-based response, the representatives offered suggestions for improving the response mechanisms.

BPTT’s Crisis Management and Emergency Response Coordinator, Rachael Mungroo-Ramsamooj, said that the targets of exercise were met. “Today we were able to test our response to an oil spill in terms of operational procedures, strategy and tactics. We verified the adequacy, mobilisation and application of resources and the mutual arrangement and integration between all of the stakeholders including communication and notification. Overall, this was a very successful exercise for everyone involved,” she explained.

Hansraj Sookoo, of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, gave his assessment of the exercise: “These drills are very important to ensure that in the case of an actual incident, everything works as it should and that everyone fulfils their responsibility. It is good to see that corporate citizens like bpTT are taking their roles seriously and that they, along with the other stakeholders, are placing great importance on protecting the environment.”

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