Testing readiness: a multi-day exercise with Tullow Ghana Limited
As part of Tullow Ghana Limited’s (TGL) continued commitment towards emergency response preparedness, a major exercise designed to test every function of the TGL incident management system was recently conducted. Led by the company’s Incident Management Team (IMT), the four-day event brought together response personnel from both OSRL and TGL, as well as involving key local stakeholders, and was the perfect demonstration of TGL and OSRL’s commitment to working locally in Ghana.
Challenge
Day one
The first day of the exercise focused on managing an offshore incident. It involved the relevant TGL teams working in partnership with an OSRL duty manager to manage the logistics for a dispersant equipped aircraft, several ships, an oil skimmer, and over 200 metres of heavy duty offshore boom.
Day two
Day two focused on managing ‘pre- impact shoreline preparation’ and securing areas which could be impacted in a real spill incident. Two locations were chosen, and the shoreline team mobilised with a utility task vehicle and a boom system, which was deployed to protect the inherent sensitivity of the Casa Blanca Beach Resort. The field response team also setup a shallow water skimmer and a collapsible storage tank to simulate recovery operations.
Day three
The third day of the exercise concentrated on using Tullow’s Site- Specific Plans (SSP), which detailed a section of Ghana’s western coastline, and were developed by the OSRL specialists embedded within TGL - highlighting the long-term nature of the relationship between the two parties. After the initial field work, TGL tested the plans with visits to the sites, driving the routes and meeting key community contacts at each location. Utilising the oil spill modelling information received from OSRL, numerous sites were identified as being likely to be impacted by the exercise scenario; 13 of which were prioritised by their sensitivity ranking. This analysis then provided the basis of the exercise surveys, the detail of which was fed back to the incident management team via TGL’s remote communications package and used to enhance an ongoing table top exercise that would cover waste management on the last day of the exercise.
Results
The final day was centred on developing an Incident Action Plan (IAP) that would address the complicated logistical considerations and bulk waste management required in the event of an incident. Tabletop exercises were run simultaneously in Takoradi and Accra, interfacing with the OSRL Duty Manager who had identified an enhanced need for additional equipment packages and OSRL personnel to support the ongoing spill response effort. The TGL logistical support team in Takoradi identified means of moving equipment and personnel to the various shoreline locations, while Accra concentrated on equipment arrival into Accra and background requirements, such as visas and welfare.
Conclusion
This exercise tested TGL’s preparedness across every operational department and it was considered a great success; highlighting significant preparation that already existing within the organisation, as well as identifying a small number of areas for improvement. With a wealth of knowledge being shared throughout the event, and daily feedback being turned into action plans that will further enhance the credible response capability that is already in place, it’s clear that regular exercises like this are critical to responsible operation
