RIYADH — Saudi International Oil Fire Safety Conference (OFSAC) 2019 concluded its activities at the Ritz-Carlton, here with more than 10,000 visitors attending.

The conference was held under the patronage of Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud bin Naif, minister of interior and chairman of the High Commission for Industrial Security, as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to secure the oil and gas sector in accordance with its ambitious Vision 2030.

Three plenary sessions were held during the conference that were well attended by international and regional dignitaries. The first session was titled: “Fire Disasters in the Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and Chemical Industries: Facts, Figures and Solutions”.

The 2nd session was titled “Best Practices and Innovations in Oil and Gas Fire Prevention”, and finally, the 3rd session was titled: “Promoting a Fire Safety Culture in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry from the perspective of the international community”.

Furthermore, six specialized training programs, which were held during the conference, promoted practical solutions to raise the competency of the participants.

Additionally, the training sessions presented the participants with insights and solutions for the various challenges in the field of fire in an effort to increase their experiences in the field of prevention, fire preparedness and disaster management.

The Saudi OFSAC 2019 conference came up with a series of recommendation to emphasize the urgent need to create a safe working environment in the fields of oil and gas through implementing fire prevention plans, preparing the appropriate equipment and training the employee on how to use them.

It also stressed on raising awareness on the increase of fire accidents in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors across the world.

Other recommendations included the need to assess fire safety regulations in the related sectors, improve capabilities and sharing of experience in fire preparedness, in addition to promoting international cooperation among petroleum producing countries on oil fire prevention and precautionary measures. — SG