Shahram Ahmadi, director general of health, safety and environment at the Ministry of Oil, said petrochemical firms have shown strong performance in establishing process safety management (PSM) systems. He spoke at a specialized gathering of HSE managers from the petrochemical industry, according to the National Petrochemical Company.

Ahmadi said the event aimed to place greater emphasis on safety, firefighting, health, environmental protection and passive defense, while promoting a new perspective on the strategic role of HSE within petrochemical holdings and companies. He said such specialized meetings should lead to strategic decision-making.

Referring to the evolution of HSE in the oil industry, Ahmadi reviewed accident trends and ways to improve corporate safety by establishing and strengthening HSE structures. He said existing legal capacities should be used effectively and described petrochemical companies’ forward steps in implementing PSM systems as highly valuable.

He also stressed the need to improve human resource structures and secure financial resources to equip and modernize company firefighting stations, outlining governance expectations for affiliated and subsidiary companies.

Davoud Emadi, HSE director at the National Petrochemical Company, said HSE should be viewed within companies through compliance-driven, priority-driven and value-driven approaches. While compliance with requirements and standards is essential, he said a shift from a priority-based to a value-based approach is unavoidable.

Such a change, Emadi said, would support organizational growth and development, protect human and financial capital, enhance corporate credibility and facilitate major managerial decision-making.