The oil and gas pipeline industry is increasinglyproficient in responsibly managing operational risks to publicand employee safety and the environment. However, all too oftenwe are less competent at managing risk-related issues. Potentialconsequences of poor risk issues management can includeseriously tarnishing corporate reputation, triggering expensiveregulatory censure, loss of investor confidence, negative impactson employee morale and significant new landownercompensation costs, to note just a few. One need only look atrecent examples from other industries to see that sometimes thepossible outcomes can even be catastrophic: the cost of the MadCow Disease issue to the UK beef industry, the effects of thecollapses of Enron and WorldCom on the accounting / financialconsulting industry and on big business generally, or the massiveclass action awards against silicon breast implant makers. Withrespect to our own industry, the Exxon Valdez oil spill thathappened 14 years ago is still one of the most commonly-evokedbuzzwords of environmental disaster and an enduring symbol ofthe risks associated with the marine transportation of oil. Thispaper provides advice and information about understanding thedifferences between – and making competent use of – themethodologies of risk communication and crisis communicationin issues management for oil pipeline companies. The knowledgegained, if applied appropriately, can help steer a pipelineoperator / owner away from – or out of – damaging entanglementin a risk management controversy stemming from an incidentsuch as an oil spill.
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