9 Best Practices for a Successful Succession Planning Program
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Succession planning is defined as the ongoing process of identifying and tracking high-potential employees who are able to fill top management positions when they become available. It involves assessing and developing a talent pool of employees who are highly capable. Not only does this ensure a continuity of leadership for all critical positions but also allow employees to receive targeted training and development activities. Succession planning is a specific strategy, which identifies the steps to be followed to achieve the mission, goals, and initiatives identified in workforce planning. It is a plan that managers…
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Types of Joint Ventures: Incorporated and Unincorporated
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes In the oil and gas and petroleum sector, international joint ventures are very common. A joint venture is an alliance in which two or more companies, individuals or organizations operate jointly owned properties. Most companies are willing to take partners for large-scale investments in high-risk oil and gas ventures for the following reasons: Overcome a budgetary constraint Develop a prospective area owned jointly Accelerate the development Spread the available budget over more wells and areas Sharing of risk capital Assist in building a closer relationship with a local company With over 71% of upstream investment…
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Notice of Readiness for Laytime Calculation (With Real-Life Case Study Example)
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Laytime and demurrage are one of the most litigious issues in shipping. The terms in the contracts are tricky as it is commonplace that shipowners and charterers face delays in ports, leading to demurrage charges to be incurred. The vague wording in the charter party contracts also provide lots of grey areas, a common cause of disputes. Hence, shipowners are often looking for ways to avoid and minimise demurrage charges. These include sending cargo and delivery instructions in advance, having a trucker back-up plan and requesting for extended free time at the port. …
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Effective Incident Investigation and Reporting
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes All incidents, regardless of size or impact, need to be investigated. Whether it is a fatality, injury, illness or a close call, an effective incident investigation and report process helps employers understand what happened and why it happened. It presents an opportunity to identify operational hazards and shortcomings in the safety and health programs. Most importantly, it enables employers and workers to identify and implement the corrective actions necessary to prevent future incidents. Incident investigations that focus on identifying and correcting root causes improves workplace morale and increases productivity, by demonstrating an employer’s commitment…
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Implementing a Successful Well Integrity Management System
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Developing and implementing well integrity management systems has been on the rise for the oil and gas industry worldwide. During the periods of high demand, oil and gas fields were developed rapidly. Wells were drilled and put online in a short time as drilling days, footage and direct costs became the drivers of production. Furthermore, and to keep up the high production potential, old wells were kept on production longer than their expected lifespan. To mitigate the harmful risks and hazards that comes along with the deterioration or loss of well integrity, health,…
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2019 Statistics for the API 936 Certification Program
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Refractory materials and lining reliability are key to increasing the performance of fired heaters, incinerators, kilns and reactors across a range of industries. The proper refractory lining optimises production yield and minimises energy costs, while enabling consistent high performance of a furnace over the lifecycle of the refractory lining for as long as 20 years. However, it is not uncommon for a refractory material to fail, resulting in energy wastage, reduced performance and in some cases, complete heater shutdown. Through proper training and industry-recognised certifications, personnel are equipped with the right knowledge and skillset…
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4 Phases of Plant Shutdowns
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Plant shutdown and start-up is an important aspect of plant maintenance that helps improve the life expectancy of assets. Effective planning and execution of shutdowns and turnarounds is essential to maintain inventory levels and reduce loss of revenue for the oil and gas industry, particularly if improper maintenance leads to an unplanned shutdown. Shutdowns are costly because they are labour and material-intensive. Hence, it is key that shutdowns are carried out quickly and effectively to minimize downtime and any negative business impacts. A detailed turnaround process requires a well-defined work process that helps in…
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Latest Developments in Safety Case Regime Singapore
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes In 2017, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) first announced the Workplace Safety and Health (Major Hazard Installations) Regulations. This requires all MHIs to develop and submit their respective Safety Case, in accordance to the regulations. MHIs are required to prepare Safety Case reports and present all risk reduction measures in place are effective, reliable and the risks of major hazard scenarios are reduced to ALARP (As Low as Reasonably Practicable). This allow installations to operate in a safe and sustainable manner. MHI industry leaders and Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC) supported the launch of Safety Case…
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How to Improve Corporate Communication Skills
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes The increasing importance of corporate communication underscores the need for organisations to be strategic when communicating. According to this Towers Watson study, companies with highly effective communication practices enjoy 47% higher total returns to shareholders compared to organizations with poor communication. Improved communication doesn’t only affect your returns to shareholders, it can also increase employee engagement, build stronger teams, and enhance the competitiveness of your company. Moreover, effective communication practices increase productivity, build a better workplace, and reduce day-to-day conflict between team members. Honing your communication skills is the key to building a strategic corporate communications function…
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What Is Reservoir Characterisation?
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Robust reserves and simulation are achieved by the logical, systematic integration of all relevant data. A quality reservoir interpretation is extremely cost-effective compared with data acquisition or development mistakes and essential with today’s complex reservoirs and data sets. Proper integration replaces the need to run expensive, irrelevant logs, explains apparent data conflicts and provides the correct answer faster, strengthening your position as an operator and competent petrophysicst. By contrast, stand-alone log analysis often results in wrong decisions and weakens your position in the eyes of your business partners and colleagues. Understanding reservoirs empowers better optimize…
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