Engen Refinery places the highest premium on safety and carries out regular emergency response exercises to test and perfect preparedness for dealing with incidents that could potentially put people at risk. As such, plant personnel supported by emergency services conducted a major simulated emergency exercise on Thursday, 27 September 2018.
The purpose of this exercise was to test the Engen Refinery On Site Emergency Plan (OSEP) that is followed during emergencies. The OSEP is in place to ensure the safety of people, to minimise environmental impact and for the preservation of assets.
The exercise involved the simulation of a crude tank fire and patient rescue at the Refinery’s Oil Movement and Storage Unit. Engen Emergency and Operations teams collaborated with eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services and the South African Police Services to bring the simulated situation safely under control.
Emergency exercises also test the interaction of the Refinery and its mutual aid partners in the public sector such as the city councillors, community representatives and the media.
A group of local evaluators and independent assessors from Engen’s parent company, PETRONAS observed the exercise to identify any shortcomings or ways in which procedures for dealing with incidents can be improved.
Local evaluators agreed that there was improvement since the last exercise. The PETRONAS evaluators shared best practices and recommendations for more improvement.
“The site of the simulation was well managed and there was a good interaction and communication amongst all key stakeholders to bring the situation under control,” said Eric Zondi, Chief Fire officer at the Transnet Fire Department.
Safety is entrenched in every aspect of the Engen Refinery’s operations. World-class standards and guidelines govern safety practices and these are applied rigorously to ensure operational excellence and a constant improvement of safety performance.