On the details of the new contract with Germany's Institute Bruno Schmaeling Consulting Group (IBS), Mohammad Reza Yousefipour said, “during the past year, numerous talks have been conducted with companies from France, Germany, Australia and Britain.”
National Iranian Gas Company’ Health, Safety and Environment director deemed enhancement of the quality and security of Iranian gas systems and equipment as the main axis of negotiations with gas giants asserting “after months of talks, the proposal submitted by the German company was found to have a higher quality leading to the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Germany’s IBS company.
“The signed agreement will be implemented in three phases in 36 months adopting new health, safety and environment policies in Iran’s gas industry,” underlined the official stating “in other words, full implementation of the project by the German side will minimize the rate of accidents in the gas industry.”
Yousefipour reminded that the German company has already carried out similar schemes in European countries like Switzerland; “IBS has also performed similar activities in the Middle and Far East.”
Recalling that the rete of accidents in the Iranian gas industry is standard and acceptable, he noted, “the main focus of the new approach is to reform the previous HSE policies promoting safety practices in the country’s gas industry.”
The official further explained that, “the first phase, which is also the most important one, encompasses a comprehensive study to assess NIGC's current situation and analyze contractors' behavior when it comes to HSE culture while the second phase, which will focus on educating the staff, is scheduled to run in 21 months based on the findings of the first phase.”
“In the third phase, which is basically to get feedback, the HSE policies will be modified to ensure the adoption of the best alternatives to handle HSE-related concerns,” he noted.
“The German company had previously offered a high price for the project but they changed their attitude after visiting Iran’s gas systems and equipment,” maintained Yousefipour adding “Enhancing the quality and security of gas systems and equipment in addition to training personnel to follow the latest HSE standards will approximately cost four to five million dollars.”
NIGC’s HSE director concluded, “we intend to turn Iran’s gas industry into the world’s most secure gas industry in order to compete with international gas giants.”
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