Health, Safety and Environment

It is one of AFPC’s prime objectives to operate safely, with zero harm done to its staff, its contractors and to the environment. A notable achievement was reached in 2006 when AFPC achieved 16 million man-hours (1year) without one Lost Time Incident. Although safety statistics are among the best in the industry road safety, with 33 mln km driven each year by AFPC staff and its contractors, remains a key concern and focus area. Action plans are in place to minimize road traffic incidents, by reducing the number of km driven, enforcing journey management procedures both within AFPC and with AFPC contractors and by applying strict penalties for non-compliance with AFPC procedures.

In 2008, AFPC introduced “Goal Zero”, an initiative that is aimed at minimizing harm to people and the environment. In mid 2009, AFPC implemented 12 so-called “life saving rules” that are based on an analysis by Shell of fatalities that occurred in the oil industry since 2000. It is strongly believed that compliance with these rules (e.g. wear seat-belts at all times when driving) by both AFPC staff and AFPC’s contractor community will reduce the chance of a future fatality significantly. Implementation of these rules has been accompanied by the introduction of tough consequent management.

Environment: The impact of AFPC’s operations on the environment is monitored continuously, with considerable effort spent on minimizing the risk of oil spills and minimizing the flaring of gas. In addition, all the produced water is treated and re-injected



The production of water from the reservoirs sometimes leads to the chemical precipitation of radioactive minerals inside AFPC’s production facilities. To protect the health of AFPC’s employees and the population in general, the handling and disposing of this “Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material” or (NORM) is treated carefully, and is dealt with in a special (NORM) Decontamination Facility (NDF), in conjunction with the Syrian Atomic Energy Agency. The NDF is unique in the Middle East; its operation is costing the company more than 100 mln SYP per year.