Methanex Egypt sponsored a webinar hosted by the Egyptian Process Safety Management (PSM) Steering Committee titled “Modernizing Process Safety Management: From Vision to Reality.” on February 1, 2021. The webinar was led by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources H.E. Tarek El Molla. The speakers’ panel included the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) CEO Abed Ezz El-Regal, the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) Chairman Saad Helal, Methanex Egypt Managing Director Mohamed Shindy, in addition to representatives of the Egyptian PSM Steering Committee and attended by over 570 executives of the petrochemicals and downstream oil and gas industry in Egypt.

The Minister commenced the webinar affirming the sector’s commitment to developing PSM practices in various petroleum activities in line with the Modernization Project’s Safety Week initiative. The minister stated that “PSM must be part of our decision-making process for new projects and existing operations through sound engineering judgment, dedicated budgets, and risk management.” El Molla also expressed the ministry’s keenness to implement effective initiatives to enhance safety in all projects to ensure the safety of people, the environment, and assets.

The webinar showcased the journey leading up to the formation of the committee, following the partnership between ECHEM and Methanex Egypt to introduce PSM through two successful conferences in 2018 and 2019. The speakers also introduced the three-year PSM roadmap for safer processes within the Egyptian oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, and provided an update on the progress delivered during a challenging year in 2020. The formation of the Technical Sub-committee was highlighted, which utilized the drive of the capacity building of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resource’s Modernization Program coupled with the expertise of steering committee members. The webinar also presented the recent and newly launched website – www.PSMEgypt.com – providing the sector with credible and consistent information about PSM and a forum for country-wide discussions about the topic.

“I am very pleased with the creation and progress of the Egyptian Process Safety Committee, and happy to be part of this event today representing EGPC to support the committee in its efforts to make our industries safer through raising awareness and establishing a network of likeminded professionals keen to have honest dialogue about Process Safety Management and Asset Integrity as a first step to embedding these principles across all oil, gas and petrochemical industries in Egypt,” said EGPC CEO Abed Ezz El-Regal.

In his opening remarks, ECHEM Chairman Saad Helal said: “I am very proud of ECHEM’s partnership with Methanex to launch the PSM initiative across Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources back in 2018. It is this partnership that enables our event today, providing us with the forum to share the successes of our journey so far.”

Commenting on the webinar, Methanex Managing Director Mohamed Shindy said: “This is a continuation of Methanex’s contribution to enhancing PSM processes within the industry. Today is about celebrating the PSM committee’s success since its inception and sharing a common vision in line with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources modernization program to embed PSM as a key pillar in all our activities.”

This webinar builds on the industry-wide PSM dialogue and vision initiated and shared by ECHEM and Methanex Egypt in 2018 and 2019. This journey was later reinforced by the first Process Safety Management Workshop and Conference and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Methanex Egypt in February 2020 to embed the PSM culture within the oil, gas and petrochemical sector, in alignment with the ministry’s Modernization Program and international best practices, guidelines and standards. The MoU mandated the creation of an Egyptian PSM Steering Committee comprising leaders from the Ministry of Petroleum, EGPC, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), ECHEM and Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) in addition to Methanex.