HSE Now Debuts

This month, SPE will launch a new web- and app-based publication focusing on the health, safety, security, environment, and social responsibility (HSSE-SR) discipline.

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This month, SPE will launch a new web- and app-based publication focusing on the health, safety, security, environment, and social responsibility (HSSE-SR) discipline. With news, updates, and technical information needed by oil and gas professionals working in this discipline, HSE Now will be updated continually and will be available on the web and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. It will be free to all SPE members.

Unlike other SPE publications, HSE Now will include articles, reports, government documents, and other material from both SPE and non-SPE resources around the globe. The amount of information in this area has exploded in the past decade as the oil and gas industry is being held to higher standards in areas such as environmental responsibility, sustainability, and workplace safety. The occurrence of high-profile accidents such as the US Gulf of Mexico Macondo explosion has heightened public scrutiny of industry standards and practices.

The new periodical also reflects an outreach by SPE to a group within the industry that does not have an obvious professional home. Last year, SPE launched a print publication, Oil and Gas Facilities, targeted to the increasingly important projects, facilities, and construction discipline and the publication has been very well received. The primary objective is to make it easier for SPE members working in this discipline to find critical information they need to do their jobs.  Because the subtopics in this discipline are so diverse, there is no single source of information on the collective topic, and the SPE vehicle will serve as a curator of information, bringing together high-quality SPE and non-SPE information on the discipline.

An editorial advisory board will help HSE Now plan and develop content. Its members are Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil, chairman and SPE Technical Director for Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility; Tom Knode, ­Halliburton; Emmanuel Garland, Total; Herman Vacca, EP Energy; Davide ­Scotti, Saipem; Dave McLeod, Halliburton; Mark Whittenberg, Schlumberger; Chris ­Deepak, Halliburton; Clarion Johnson, ExxonMobil; Andrew Wojtanowicz, Louisiana State University.

Moreau describes the increasing importance of HSSE-SR in the industry in this month’s Guest Editorial. Operators, service companies, and others involved in producing oil and gas to meet growing global demand are challenged today to do so safely and in a way that is compatible with the environmental and economic needs of local communities.

SPE is also meeting the demand for more information and dialogue in this area through a growing number of regional HSSE-SR conferences around the world, in addition to workshops and on-demand web events. This month, an SPE Americas HSSR-SR conference will take place in Galveston, Texas, and similar conferences are scheduled this year in London, Lima, and Doha. The SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment will be held in March 2014 in Long Beach, ­California.