Oil and gas installations, pumping stations and every operation related to oil and gas amid humid weather may not sound pleasant, but young service workers at Iran’s petroleum industry keep working thanks to devotion. However, all this due to the peace of mind they have because they would receive the best treatment services if any accident arises.
In a bid to better understand the conditions of young people working on the platform we would make everything more tangible. As an example, we can draw a parallel between living and working in Iran’s capital or other onshore cities where everything is normal with living on water and metals under changing and sensitive conditions that are likely to get worse at any moment.
Gas and condensate produced at SPQ1 platform in Phase 1 of the offshore South Pars gas field are moved to an onshore refinery via a pipeline, measuring 32 inches in diameter, after full dehydration.
When you fly from Assaluyeh oversea you will see a variety of South Pars platforms scattered here and there in the Persian Gulf waters. These platforms supply gas to Iranians amid cold winter and to industries. This sustained gas supply is owing to round-the-clock efforts by petroleum industry service workers.
After arriving in Assaluyeh, arrangements were made for a flight by helicopter to SPQ1 living quarter gas platform. For an hour, we saw activities under way on water and metal. SPQ1 is the only living quarter platform in the South Pars gas field and is located 120 kilometers from land.
Paying attention to physical and mental health as well as health, safety and environment (HSE) issues have always been among top priorities of petroleum industry. In line with such objective, the Petroleum Industry Health Organization (PIHO) moved to equip the SPQ1 platform with telemedicine facilities in February 2017, which was the first of kind in Iran.
The telemedicine apparatus was inaugurated during a ceremony attended by Mohammad Meshkinfam, CEO of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), Habibollah Samie, CEO of PIHO, Abbas Ali Jafarinasab, CEO of Iran Oil Pipeline and Telecommunications Company (IOPTC), and a group of senior petroleum industry managers.
At the entry into the platform when we were stepping off the helicopter the first thing that struck our mind was the strict observance of safety principles and the presence of HSE staff.
Bahman Taherpour, manager of SPQ1, and his colleagues welcomed us very warmly. He was explaining about different sections of the platform. A natural attraction at the platform was that the fish and the birds were living near metallic installations. Growing plants and flowers on the platform was a manifestation of friendship between the staff and nature.
He invited us to his office and explained very patiently and in details about POGC activities in the development of South Pars.
“Gas recovery from the jointly owned South Pars gas field has been defined under 24 development phases, 22 of which have so far become active. Phases 11 and 13 are set to come online by next March,” he said.
Taherpour said: “I can say that effective steps have so far been taken to boost gas recovery from this field, the bulk of which has been operated in recent years by Iranian youth.”
Between technical issues, he also spoke about tough days which have now turned into sweet memories for him and his colleagues.
Taherpour went on to underline the need for PIHO presence at such industrial environments, saying: “In light of the startup of new platforms in South Pars, increased medical services and handling emergency cases are visible. Therefore, the presence of PIHO staff gives assurances to service workers at any time of the day and night.”
Doctor Mohammad Talataof and nurse Ali-Reza Taqados are PIHO staff in Bushehr, who are present on this platform.
Talatof referred to his 14 years of presence and work on the platform, highlighting the significance of presence of doctors on the platforms. He said that would save time for providing services.
“In light of the toughness of job, special working conditions and distance from family, the staff here expect that their safety as well as mental health would be taken care of,” he said.
“On average, 300 persons are visited per month and over the past couple of months we have had only two dispatches. Most patients refer to us because of heat exhaustion during hot season,” said Talatof.
An agreement has been signed with Kish Hospital to provide support under emergency conditions.
“Given the round-the-clock activity on Kish Airport, we have signed an agreement with the Kish Hospital under the auspices of the Bushehr branch of PIHO for the provision of suitable services so that patients would be flown there if need be,” said Talatof.
He stressed the importance of launching telemedicine system, saying: “Among the advantages of launching telemedicine is benefiting from necessary specialized consultation in emergency conditions, which would largely contribute to saving the life of patients until arrival at healthcare centers.”
“The objective is to provide welfare to patients who have to refer to healthcare centers inside the city for treatment or for patients whose dispatch may be difficult,” he said.
Talatof said: “In light of restrictions to the presence of doctors at sea, providing services is not limited to platform workers. Workers on other vessels or fishing boats that may experience any accident would also receive such services.”
Mutual Trust at Petroleum Industry
For his part, Samie expressed gratitude to the staff for their relentless efforts under such tough conditions.
“We are all aware of the significant move by the petroleum industry staff in different sectors and I hope that we would be able to provide appropriate services to you,” he said.
Samie said: “A major task assigned to PIHO is to protect the health of staff and their families and the most important role for PIHO to play is to provide logistics to oil operations. Since taking office at this organization four years ago, we have seen few accidents thanks to cooperation with the HSE division of companies and observance of safety principles and tips.”
He highlighted the role of crisis management by PIHO and readiness to deal with any accident, saying: “Coverage of industrial accidents is a major task given to PIHO and over recent years we have always seen readiness and quick action by PIHO in providing services during time of accident in operational zones.”
“The principle of work for PIHO has been to favor prevention over treatment and therefore effective steps need to be taken in using equipment and providing suitable and high-quality services in order to satisfy the petroleum industry family,” he said.
Samie referred to the petroleum industry staff’s trust in PIHO healthcare centers, adding: “Although petroleum industry staff can benefit from healthcare services in many state-run and private centers all across the country their first choice has always been PIHO and such relationship is bilateral.”
He pointed to the readiness of PIHO for any kind of cooperation in different sectors, saying: “Fortunately, PIHO has so far fared well in providing services.”
On the sidelines of the visit to SPQ1 platform, the PIHO chief also announced the delivery of a bus-ambulance to Assluyeh.
“This bus-ambulance is equipped with specialized apparatuses like ICU, operating bed, CPU, central oxygen system, hospital air handling to handle and disinfect air, electricity generator and sophisticated medical equipment. The bus-ambulance can move six injured persons,” said Samie.
The visit had been planned and organized by Mojtaba Ali Abadi, director of human resources at POGC, and Amir Qaem-Panah, director of human resources at PIHO.
Nafiseh Hoshyar