Introduction
Barzan Gas Project is a massive investment that is a joint venture of ExxonMobil and Qatar Gas. The investment is worth $ 10.4 billion, and will be operated by RasGas Company Limited upon its completion.
In such a heavy investment, it is always necessary to determine some of the risks that the project may encounter when the plant is under construction, or when the plant becomes operational. Some of the risks may have serious financial and social consequences that may force such an ambitious project to be closed down. The research will focus on risk analysis and mitigation measures in this project.
Risk Analysis
Risk Identification, quantification and qualification
This project faces a number of risks that the project management team should understand in order to determine how to develop mitigation measures. According to Sharma (1994, p. 52), the process of identifying risks involves a clear understanding of all activities that are carried out at every stage of the project, and any possible eventualities that may cause some form of risks to the participants in the project (Dasgupta 2007, p. 81).
The project faces numerous risks from various environmental factors that can be classified into three classes. The classes of the risks include natural risks, technological risks and social risks. The table below identifies specific risks in the three classes and gives their qualification on the basis of their probability and impact in case they occur.
Risk quantification
Strategies to manage various types of risks
According to Hunter (2009, p. 39), the first step in managing risks within a plant is a detailed identification of the risks. In the section above, all the possible risks that may occur in this project have been identified and classified into three categories. The first category includes the natural risks. It is important to note that natural risks are beyond the control of human forces. For this reason, it is not possible to avoid such risks. The only measure that can be put in place is to develop mitigation measures just in case they occur.
RasGas Company Limited must be ready to deal with any of the above natural risks in the event that they occur. The preparedness of this firm will define how well it will be able to respond to the risks (Singh 2006, p. 70). Technological and social risks may be prevented before they can affect the normal operations of the firm. According to Rao (1998, p. 75), the ability of a firm to address social and technological risks largely depends on its management structure.
An explosion at the facility that is caused by a failed delivery system will be considered a direct failure on the part of top managers. This is so because they failed on their supervisory roles, and that is why they never realised that the system needed some repair or a complete overhaul. The following recommendations should be followed in order to address technological, social, and natural risks.
Assumptions
According to Raghavulu (2007, p. 30), sometimes it may be necessary to make some assumptions when defining risks within a given organisation. In this research, it was necessary to make some assumption in order to develop a comprehensive risk management plan. The following are some of the assumptions.
- The project is prone to risks both at the construction stage and when it shall have started its operations.
- The environmental factors within Doha closely define both natural and social risks that the plant may face.
- Technological risks are defined by the management strategies of the firm, its technical capacity, and financial strength.
The above assumptions were necessary in order to determine the forces that may lead to the risks occurrences. For instance, an earthquake in Doha will have a direct impact on the facility.
Disaster Management Plan
Mapping the situation in terms of hazards, vulnerability and impact
Disaster management plan is important in defining the mitigation measures that can be used to address disasters in case they occur (Diwan 2010, p. 54). Mapping the situation involves identifying the hazards, determining the vulnerability of the firm to the hazards, and determining the impact in case the hazard is not adequately addressed. According to Gupta (2003, p. 46), a given hazard may not affect an organisation, unless the organisation is vulnerable to the risk.
When mapping the situation, it is important to determine how vulnerable the organisation is to the hazard. For example, when planning for the natural disasters, cartographic methods can be used to determine vulnerability and the response strategies (Palanithurai 2009, p. 31). Cartographic maps can be integrated with GIS in order to determine the geographical coverage of some of the natural disasters in case they occur.
The aerial photography, satellite imagery, hazard maps, the vulnerability maps, and the impact maps should be clearly defined in order to assist in emergency planning within the facility (Coppola 2011, p. 54). It is also necessary to engage the community when addressing such problems as terrorism in the region. Below is the vulnerability chart that the management should take note of during its operations
The Vulnerability chart
Loss estimation and resources inventory
In case an of an occurrence of the identified risks within this facility, there would be a serious damage of properties and loss of lives in case the response team fails to do the right job. The following are some of the estimated loss of resources within the plant in case of an earthquake disaster.
Casualties
The project currently employs 20,000 construction workers. It is estimated that about 190 people may dies because of the dangers posed by the construction equipments that are not yet fitted. About 5000 people may survive with serious injuries within the site, while another 8000 will survive with minor injuries.
The few who may escape without injuries are assumed to have been in safe locations. Assuming that an individual with low injuries will be given a compensation of £ 590, serious injuries £ 2100, and deaths, £ 21 000, this incident will cost an insurance firm £ 19210000.
Structural damage
Given that the construction is underway, in case a serious earthquake strikes, the better part of the building will have to be brought down. The damage on the structured can be estimated to cost about £ 5500000.
Communication management
The communication system should be highly advanced when planning a disaster response and management strategy. According to Shaw and Krishnamurthy (2009, p. 46), a plant should have a clear and reliable communication system that can be used to reach everyone in case of emergency.
Monitoring of the plan
As mentioned previously, it will be advisable for this firm to establish a monitoring unit that will be responsible for regular inspection of the infrastructure within the facility (Özerdem & Jacoby 2006, p. 78). This team should be able to identify structures that need repair and communicate this information to the top management for some actions to be taken (Singh 2000, p. 78). Their advice should be acted upon as soon as possible.
List of References
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Hunter, N. 2009, The Law of Emergencies: Public Health and Disaster Management, Elsevier, Burlington.
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Rao, N. 1998, Global strategies of clean environment, safe earth, disaster management, sustainable development and quality life: National and international obligations and priorities, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.
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Sharma, V. 1994, Disaster management, National Centre for Disaster Management, New Delhi.
Shaw, R. & Krishnamurthy, R. 2009, Disaster management: Global challenges and local solutions, Universities Press, Himayatnagar.
Singh, R. 2000, Disaster management, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
Singh, R. 2006, Natural hazards and disaster management: Vulnerability and mitigation, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
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