BP 2011 Annual Report Download - page 49

Business review: Group overview
BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2011 47
We went into 2011 with a clear set of strategic priorities and determination to
rebuild the company. Our employees have worked to make BP a safer business
and to earn back trust. We also pushed forward on the journey to grow value over
the short, medium and long term. The key measures in this section show our
progress in numbers, and here you can also read about some of the significant
actions and events that defined our year.
2011 was a year of further stern tests for BP. Our
challenge was to stabilize the company and meet
our commitments in the Gulf of Mexico while
laying firm foundations for the future.
Our performance
Left The BP-Husky
refinery in Toledo,
Ohio – in operation
since 1919.
Right Azeri-Chirag-
Guneshli is the
largest oilfield under
development in the
Azerbaijan sector of
the Caspian basin.
Safety
Our safety and operational risk function (S&OR) is driving the systematic and
disciplined application of global standards in safety and operational risk across the
company. We recruited 87 new employees into S&OR during the year, taking its
total headcount to around 600 against a target headcount of 800.
During the year, as part of our enhanced focus on safety and operational risk
management, we completed a programme of 47 major upstream turnarounds.
We set enhanced voluntary standards for how we drill in the Gulf of
Mexico, and implemented new global standards in our operations worldwide.
For example, in deepwater drilling, where we use drill rigs that are maintained in
position by computer-controlled systems rather than fixed moorings, we require
BP-contracted drill rigs to have no fewer than two blind shear rams and a casing
shear rama in order to provide additional assurance.
We initiated a review of the way we work with contractors and other
industry partners. Guided by our findings, we have implemented a range of new
measures, starting with our offshore rigs. We also reviewed and updated our
system of risk management – see Our management of risk on pages 42-46.
And we reviewed and updated our values and behaviours, linked them explicitly
to an enhanced code of conduct and embedded them in our approach to safety,
performance management and reward.
a Shear rams are devices within a blowout preventer designed to cut the drill pipe and seal the well in the
event of a blowout or other operational emergency.
In detail
For more information,
see Safer drilling.
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