By Lisa Hamilton
GUYANA has become the first Caribbean country to have a tailored programme for its workers geared towards the health and safety inspection of its offshore Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

This is being done in preparation for the oil and gas sector, through a five-day FPSO Certified Safety Inspector training programme being conducted by Business Crisis Consultants Limited. The training is sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is being offered to Safety and Health workers of the Ministry of Social Protection, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and other key stakeholders.

An opening ceremony to launch the training programme was held at the Ministry of Social Protection, Department of Labour, on Monday. Addressing some 17 Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) workers, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott, said that while there had been much publicity about Guyana’s emergence into oil production and the possible benefits to arise, not enough was being said about human development and safety.

However, he was pleased to note that the men and women present will now serve as the future “torch bearers” of FPSO education in Guyana. “While several persons are talking about money, we in the Ministry are talking and focusing on people and their health,” he said.

The Minister stated that the programme was specifically designed with the Liza Destiny in mind and comprised of five modules with over 60 subject areas. Scott encouraged the OSH workers to pay special attention to the subjects of risk management, assessment and control as experience had shown that most accidents happen due to failure to conduct risk assessments at various parts of the process.

He assured the public that the Department of Labour will not become complacent and will work until Guyana is home to OSH officers of the highest standard. Facilitating the training is Consultant/Trainer at the Business Crisis Consultants, Garth Vincent. Vincent brings 26 years of experience in Emergency Response from both the municipal sector and the oil and gas industry.

He possesses Masters Degrees in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester and Occupational Health Safety and Environment from the University of Greenwich in the UK. He previously served as Chief of Emergency Response Operations for the Bp Trinidad and Tobago (BpTT) Emergency Response Team, managing the daily emergency co-ordination efforts of the 65 contracted emergency response staff at BpTT onshore and offshore assets.

In brief remarks he stated that one of the main parts of the programme will be based on preventive control and preventing an incident before it happens. Vincent said that OSH workers can expect to visit the FPSO at some point to see the equipment they would have learnt about.

Ultimately, an examination will determine whether the workers receive certification.
“This programme is actually the first of its kind in the Caribbean so you guys are also pioneers when it comes to FPSO [Inspector training]. Remember Trinidad didn’t do any drilling or exploration via FPSO. So it’s the first of its kind in the Caribbean,” he explained.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, was Labour Officer, Latoya John. She told the OSH workers that if the sector is not cautiously managed challenges can arise. John reminded that OSH workers trained in FPSO Inspection are critical as there must be monitoring of the sector to ensure compliance with international standards. “You the inspectors must be equipped with the technical skills to ensure that oil companies FPSO vessels meet the international bench marks for safety,” she said.

Also addressing the gathering, Vice Chair of NACOSH, Patricia Woolford stated that NACOSH has been advocating for the strengthening and expansion of its small unit of OSH workers as it sees the need for these persons to be further developed through international-level training. “I hope that every officer will apply themselves and really take in all that will be offered so that Guyana will be in a better position to manage and inspect the sector that is so new to us,” Woolford said. The Liza Destiny, Guyana’s first FPSO vessel, is expected to pave the way for unimaginable development for Guyana. It has a production capacity of up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million barrels. During normal operations, there will be at least 80 persons living and working onboard the vessel.