Bapco and JGC Corporation signed an agreement awarding the Japanese company a $431.6-million Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management lump sum (EPCM-LS) contract to execute Bapco's Low Sulphur Diesel Production (LSDP) Project on January 10, last year.
The total project value is estimated at $685 million. The contract strategy is based on maximising the use of local Bahraini contractors under JGC management.
The LSDP project forms the main element of Bapco's Strategic Investment Programme. The primary objective of the project is to reduce the current high-sulphur content of the Bapco diesel pool from an average of 0.7 per cent (7000 ppm) down to 0.001 per cent (10 ppm) to ensure continued sales in the international diesel market.
• Petroleum Engineering Department took home the trophy for the department which contributed the most to 'A Good Idea' suggestion scheme at the Bapco Club on January 14, last year.
The then president of Bapco, Mohamed Saleh Shaikh Ali, presented the trophy and certificate to Manager Petroleum Engineering, Faisal Al Mahroos.
Petroleum Engineering winning the 2003 trophy is especially noteworthy considering that the department was placed only 22nd in 2002.
In second place was Projects Engineering. Plant Maintenance was placed third.
Two new trophies were introduced and presented during the ceremony. The first new trophy, for the Most Active Participant, was presented to Fatima Fakhroo of Process Control & Instrumentation - the person who contributed the highest number of suggestions during 2003.
The second new trophy was presented to the Supervisor whose employees submitted the highest number of accepted suggestions during 2003 Waleed AI-Dhaen of Plant Maintenance.
• As part of expanding Bapco's current paper recycling programme, a project was developed to recycle used catridges for recycling.
This would help the society to raise cartridges and toner bottles. All Bapco's used cartridges from printers and copiers were thrown away. A vast majority of these used cartridges could be refilled or recycled.
• About 30 Bapco engineers left for Yokohama, Japan, to embark on the design and procurement stage of Bapco's Low Sulphur Diesel Production (LSDP) project and work closely with JGC Corporation, the contractor.
• Bapco underwent its first periodic audit of OHSAS 18001.
Lead auditors Ilango Chandran and P Rajan of Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Middle East conducted the audit, held on April 27 and 28.
Ten departments were assessed during this audit, and audit findings were presented during a meeting attended by general managers and managers concerned, including those of the departments audited.
The DNV auditors highlighted only a few minor non-conformities and observations.
OHSAS 18001 is a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) management system designed to enable organisations to control OH&S risks and improve their performance. Bapco received OHSAS 18001 accreditation in November last year from DNV - Middle East, an international accreditation organisation.
• Twelve employees who embody Bapco's corporate values received Gold Awards at a special ceremony, which also celebrated the achievement of 11 million man-hours worked without a lost-time accident, on May 5.
• Bapco received the "Highly Commended in the Oil and Gas Industry Award" from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), a leading safety organisation based in the UK.
The award was accepted on Bapco's behalf by fire, health and safety manager Ahmed Khalil at a special awards ceremony held on May 13 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, UK.
The awards presentation was held as part of the RoSPA Congress and Expo 2004, a major UK occupational health and safety exhibition held at the National Exhibition Centre.
This award is only one level short of the "Sector Award" which is given to the best company in the oil and gas industry, and is the second such award given to Bapco. The first "Highly Commended" award was given to Bapco in 2002.
• Bapco's waste paper recycling programme was extended to include all upstream areas. It was decided to place large green bins bearing the Bapco Materials Recycling logo in all the major buildings in upstream areas.
These 31 large green bins are specifically meant to collect clean waste paper in areas where large quantities are generated, such as copy and printing rooms and other common areas.
Every upstream office would receive one of almost 300 small green bins printed with the Bapco Material Recycling logo. These small green desk-side bins were to collect all clean, used office paper and cardboard generated in offices.
• The board of directors, on July 7, confirmed Hussain Tadayon's appointment as chief executive (Downstream), the first Bahraini to be appointed to this position.
• Tim J Coombs assumed the position of deputy chief executive (Downstream), taking over from Colin Geer who left Bahrain.
• Bapco decided to undergo its second periodic audit of its OHSAS18001 system.
Auditors Ilango Chandran and Richard Xavier of Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Middle East conducted the audit on October 30 and 31. Refinery Operations Planning, Materials, Technical Services, Fire, Health & Safety, Process Control and Instrumentation, and Personnel were assessed during the audit.
• Prime Minister and Supreme Oil Council chairman Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued a decree on October 20, appointing GPIC general manager Dr Mustafa Ali AI Sayed as Bapco's new president.
Mustafa succeeded Mohamed Saleh Shaikh Ali, who continues as Oil Ministry Under-Secretary. Shaikh Ali will devote his efforts to his administrative duties at the Ministry.
• Bapco's Refinery Energy Team togethe with the Energy Champions from Refining and Maintenance Divisions launched a 100-day energy conservation campaign.
The aim of this 100-day Energy Blitz, part of the Company's strive for excellence, was to increase awareness of energy conservation issues both at work and at home, and to explore new ways to conserve energy at the Refinery with the ultimate goal of reducing Refinery energy consumption by 6.5 per cent by 2007.
