(Energy Chamber, 23.May.2019) — On Thursday 9th May, 2019, Mr. Derek Hudson, Vice President and Country Chair of Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited, signed the Safe to Work (STOW) Charter, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to the objectives of STOW. Also present at the signing, which took place at the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago’s Executive Office were Dr. Thackwray Driver, President & CEO of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Fitzroy Harewood, Chairman of the STOW Implementation Board and President of Pt. Lisas Nitrogen Limited and Mr. Eugene Okpere, Chief Operating Officer of Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited.
In signing the Charter, Shell joins 21 other major operating companies in the oil and gas sector that did so previously and agreed to adopt the STOW health, safety and environmental (HSE) requirements as a mandatory prerequisite for service providers competing for business within Trinidad and Tobago.
“We are pleased to join our sector colleagues by becoming a signatory to the STOW Charter. Shell’s ambition has always been to ensure ‘no harm and no leaks’ across all of our operations and in the environment, what we refer to as ‘Goal Zero’. This is more than a company aspiration. It is a reflection of our daily commitment to running a safe business where our people – employees and contractors, can feel confident and secure. Joining our colleagues through the STOW Charter means we can continue to do so collaboratively, so that we can make this sector safe for everyone,” said Mr. Hudson.
Commenting on Shell’s participation Dr. Driver said: “Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited is one of the major players in the oil and gas sector and the Company’s commitment to use a local industry standard is a testament to the robustness of STOW in assessing contractors on HSE.”
Also commenting on the significance of the occasion was Mr. Harewood who stated “The STOW Implementation Board is pleased to witness the signing of the STOW Charter by Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited. Their signing of the charter at this time, is further demonstration of the commitment of another major Upstream Company to the continued utilization of the STOW assessment and certification process as means of establishing a local set of acceptable safety standards by Operating and Service companies in the energy industry of Trinidad and Tobago. The Board also takes this opportunity to restate our commitment to continuously improving the STOW initiative and ultimately safe work in Trinidad and Tobago.”
STOW is a certification programme for contractors’ HSE Management Systems and is a minimum requirement for contracting companies wishing to provide services to any of the STOW Charter Operating Companies in Trinidad & Tobago. The programme is governed by the STOW Implementation Board and administered on a day-to-day basis by the STOW Project Office of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago.
Since the certification of the first company in 2010, 635 companies have achieved STOW Certification and this figure is only expected to grow. For more information on STOW, please visit the STOW Website at www.stowtt.info or contact the STOW Project Office at 636 – 3749 Ext. 27, 31 or 32.
***