Our business is delivered most effectively when we maintain strong relationships with our contractors, suppliers and partners.
Using contractors
Contractors comprise a significant proportion of our workforce, so our relationships with our contractor colleagues are fundamental to our operations.
We rely on high-quality and competitively priced suppliers to provide much of the expertise, equipment and services needed to maintain our operational capability.
Assessing contracting services
Our contractor and supplier selection process assesses competency levels and management systems. At the tender stage, all potential contractors are provided with our Code of Ethics and they must agree to follow its requirements before working with us.
Contractors are assessed at the tendering stage for pre-activity readiness, and subsequently monitored and engaged during operations. We have improved our scrutiny of key equipment providers as part of the tendering process, and now assess the energy efficiency of vessels, rigs and helicopters, fuel use management and overall project footprints as differentiators in our selection process.
For many projects in the UK, we use the Achilles Oil and Gas Europe platform to identify and assess potential contractors across the European oil and gas market. We also helped to develop a similar system in Senegal through Invest in Africa (IIA).
Using local suppliers
During exploration and appraisal activities, we often use contractors from international service companies. However, we continue to promote and use local service providers wherever we can, providing our high sustainability standards are met.
Our stakeholders continue to have a significant interest in opportunities for local contracting services, which we know depends on available skills. Where locations have limited experience in oil and gas activities, it is important to build capacity in situ.