Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) Sdn Bhd is leveraging new technology to extend its work to deepwater and is currently drilling in nearly 1,000 metres of water, with more wells planned this year and in the future, said BSP Managing Director, Dr Grahaeme Henderson.
He was speaking to vendors at the opening of the BSP Vendor Forum 2010 at the Grand Ballroom, The Empire Hotel & Country Club. It was attended and officiated by Pehin Datu Singamanteri (Rtd) Dato Seri Paduka Awg Hj Mohammad Yasmin bin Hj Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office as the guest of honour.

While stressing on direct investment in local companies as the cornerstone for business development, Dr Henderson told vendors (contractors/suppliers) that BSP has strengthened policies and put in place more resources to improve detection of fraudulent activities, together with training and engagement of contractors and staff on integrity.

He said this in relation to the recent integrity issue involving a contractor and small group of its employees. In 2009, BSP spent more than B$2.2 billion with Bruneian companies. This has doubled in the past five years, which according to the MD represents 80 per cent of BSP’s total spending. This year saw an increase in participation with more than 750 individuals representing more than 400 companies registered for the forum. The forum is aimed at providing the latest information on the existing process and procedures of contracting and procurement in BSP as well as in BLNG, BST and BSM.

Maintaining the highest possible standards of HSE and Business Integrity is important and it is vital for bottomline performance, the MD said.

“There are no excuses when it comes to HSE and Business Integrity. Simply put, we do not tolerate any form of non-compliance on HSE or Business Integrity,” he stated.

Dr Henderson said that they have a great track record in new technologies, and they must continue to build this leadership to sustain production.

He named innovations as one of the key areas of vendor improvement to sustain mutual success, the others were “HSE and Business Integrity”, and “improving cost efficiency”.

He said quality and efficiency of the delivery across the supply chain has a major impact on the performance of Brunei Shell Companies, and that is why the Vendor Forum is a major priority in its annual calendar.

As the theme this year was “Sustaining Competitiveness”, Mr Henderson stated that they have made tremendous progress together to lay the foundation blocks for developing Bruneian business. “We now need to work together to take the next step to make Brunei’s oil and gas industry a true leader by world standards.”

Safety as has always been BSP’s top priority. The MD listed several achievements: BSP achieved its best ever performance in the history of the company in 2009 and won Shell’s prestigious Chief Executive’s Safety Award for the second year running; BLNG achieved six million man-hours without a lost-time injury; BST’s seven ships delivered 156 LNG cargoes over a distance of 700,000 nautical miles without any safety incident in 2009; and BSM reached the outstanding milestone of eight years without a lost-time injury.

“When it comes to safety, I will never rest, so expect to see us work even harder to further improve on the performance in 2010 and beyond,” Dr Henderson pledged.

The thriving oil and gas industry in Brunei is the result of a sustained and wide-ranging investment by Brunei Shell group of companies to develop Bruneian people and businesses, in close partnership with His Majesty’s Government.

“… but this is not just an initiative. Our commitment to help grow Bruneian business and the economy has become part of who we are,” he said.

Dr Henderson said, right until 1980s, very few Bruneian companies outside of Brunei Shell were involved in the oil and gas industry. Typically, all of its key project work was outsourced internationally.

“Today, when we construct and install a complex, the world-class engineering project like Bugan, it is done right here in Brunei. Bugan was delivered safely, on time, on budget by our staff with the support of 33 high quality local businesses across a range of disciplines,” he stated.

The local business development story here in Brunei is one of incredible transformation, he further said, where these extensive capabilities are now allowing Bruneian firms to win businesses internationally.

BSP encourage all vendors, including SMEs, to work at expanding their customer base both domestically and internationally. This not only sustains the individual businesses, but also underpins long-term economic growth.

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