BP 2014 Annual Report Download - page 73

Corporate governance
its work, in particular by giving committee members the ability to examine
how risk management is being embedded in businesses and facilities,
including management culture.
Gulf of Mexico committee
Chairman’s introduction
The Gulf of Mexico committee continues to oversee the group’s response
to the Deepwater Horizon accident, ensuring that BP fulfils all its legitimate
obligations while protecting and defending the interests of the group. In the
past year the focus has been on the review of ongoing proceedings in
Multi-District Litigation (MDL) 2179 and 2185, the assessment of natural
resource damages, and of a number of other legal proceedings in relation
to the Deepwater Horizon accident.
I believe the committee has been thorough in the execution of its duties.
The high frequency of meetings and long tenure of committee
membership has enabled members to review an evolving and complex
spectrum of issues.
Ian Davis
Committee chair
Role of the committee
The committee was formed in July 2010 to oversee the management and
mitigation of legal and licence-to-operate risks arising out of the Deepwater
Horizon accident and oil spill. Its work is integrated with that of the board,
which retains ultimate accountability for oversight of the group’s response to
the accident.
Process safety expert – Downstream
Mr Duane Wilson continued to report to the committee in his role as
process safety expert for the Downstream segment. He continues to work
with segment management on a worldwide basis (having previously
focused on US refineries) to monitor and advise on the process safety
culture and lessons learned across the segment. He twice reported
directly to the SEEAC in 2014 and presented detailed reports on his work
(including reporting on a number of visits he has made to refineries and
other downstream facilities). Mr Wilson will complete his engagement in
April 2015 and delivered his final report to the SEEAC in January 2015. The
committee wishes to thank him for all of his work during the course of his
engagement and believes he has made a lasting and positive impact on the
process safety culture in the Downstream segment.
Reports from group audit and group ethics and compliance
The committee received quarterly reports from both of these functions.
These included summaries of investigations into significant alleged fraud or
misconduct (which are now undertaken through the business integrity
team established in 2014). In addition, both the general auditor and the
group ethics and compliance officer met in private with the chairman and
other members of the committee.
Field trips
In May the chairman and other members of the committee visited Baku in
Azerbaijan to examine both offshore facilities (Central Azeri platform) and
the onshore gas reception terminal (Sangachal) operated by the group. In
October the chairman and another committee member visited operations
at the biofuels business in central Brazil. In September all members of the
committee visited the Whiting refinery in Indiana, US, as part of a larger
board visit. In all cases, the visiting committee members received briefings
on operations, the status of local OMS implementation, and risk
management and mitigation. Committee members then reported back in
detail about each visit to the committee and subsequently to the board. In
addition the local management team reported back to the committee
regarding the status of the issues raised during the visit.
Committee review
For its 2014 evaluation, the SEEAC examined its performance and
effectiveness with a questionnaire administered by external consultants.
The topics covered included the balance of skills and experience among its
membership, the quality and timeliness of the information the committee
receives, the level of challenge between committee members and
management and how well the committee communicates its activities and
findings to the board.
The evaluation results were generally positive. Committee members
considered that the committee possessed the right mix of skills and
background, had an appropriate level of support and had received open and
transparent briefings from management. The committee considered that
the field trips made by its members had become an important element in
Group chief executive’s operations risk reports.

integrity.
reporting annual overview.

the SEEAC (including visits to
Azerbaijan and Brazil biofuels).
* Undertaken jointly with the audit committee.
SEEAC focus in 2014

sustainability reporting.

internal control.

audit).

Major security incident (terrorism).




internal control and risk management.*


investigations reports.
ethics and compliance reports.

Monitoring of
operations and
reporting
External and
internal audit
Risk reviews
System of internal
control and risk
management
BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014 69