Shell holds oil spill response drill

MANILA, Philippines – Officials from the Shell Tabangao Refinery and OSEC ARAT (Oil Spill Expertise Center–Asia, Russia, and Australasia Team) recently led a multi-agency oil spill response drill that involved 75 key authorities from both government and the private sector in Batangas City.

The exercise was held to test the response capability of Shell and its partner agencies in utilizing local and regional resources in mitigating a Tier 2 incident that could affect the waters and shoreline of Batangas City.

“We want to test how well we work together on the common operating platform, which is the Incident Command System (ICS),” said Jodi Nypuik, OSEC regional response manager.

ICS is a standardized on-site management system designed to enable effective, efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure.

“We commend Shell for initiating this kind of activity. It is crucial that we integrate ICS process in a government setup with that of a private entity to ensure a cost-effective response,” said City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) chief Rod Dela Roca.

The drill was spread over two days, focusing on exercise introduction, Incident Command System (ICS) 300 setup and scenario briefing on the first day.  The actual emergency response exercise for a simulated oil spill was held on the second day.

Participants from the government included officers from Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), CDRRMO, City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), and representatives from the shoreline communities of Batangas City.

Waterborne Industry Spill Equipment (WISE)–Philippines cooperative, a collaborative effort of the oil industry players for Tier 2 response, also rendered its expertise during the exercise.

Each participant was assigned roles in the areas of command, operations, logistics, public relations, and finance and administration to manage the incident and to prevent further damage to lives, reputation, and the environment. 

The PCG, with Lt. Eugenio Federico at the helm, and Shell ICS team supervised the entire operation, integrating and aligning the processes to form one efficient Unified Command System.

The team’s ability to make wise and prompt decisions was tested as possible scenarios in a real oil spill were simulated one after another during the entire exercise.

Shell has had no oil spill in the 52 years of its refinery operations in Tabangao. The company ensures preparedness for oil spill incidents through OSEC, a global center of expertise that develops oil spill mitigation plans, relevant training and exercises, among others. 

Shell OSEC also handles the Global Response Support Network (GRSN), a network composed of global and local Shell staff trained to respond to a Tier 3 incident.

“We have the internal capability to provide the right kind of response to a dynamic and changing crisis that may happen,” said Nypuik.

He says that for Shell, it is a priority to build relationships with local and global authorities to make sure that “if we have to respond, we can respond together.”

Despite the general success of the oil spill response exercise, the Unified Command recognizes the opportunities they could explore to reinforce the system, as well as the need to reconvene and further discuss how to embed the complexity of ICS process.

“What we are seeing today is a continuous journey,” said Shell HSSE (Health Safety Security Environment) regional manager for manufacturing Venkat Subramanyan.

“We hope that everyone will continue the support, energy and willingness shown in the exercise moving forward.”