Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
Abstract
Research consists of finding and comparing data. There are different types of research; for instance, qualitative and quantitative. They have different characteristics, and they can be used on different occasions. However, the combination of them is the most effective research. In this research paper the elements of both are used. As for qualitative research, findings are used and the outcome of the research is not known from the beginning. The cause-and-effect tool is used for quantitative research. The usage of hypothesis is the other feature. The combination of these types will create a meaningful research.
Oil and gas industry is a determinant feature of economics and politics of the country. This business brings millions of dollars to it owners. Oil was found in rocks, and it was hard to get. It is widely used as petroleum for cars and heating. Rockefeller was a significant character in the oil industry. Rockefeller provided transportation system to other cities and Europe. He created a monopoly and used unethical behavior in some cases.
Forbes listed 25 major oil companies in the world. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) occupies 11th position in the world market. It operates both in UAE and internationally. Some countries are consumers of gas, and some of them are exporters.
Though this business is very profitable, it has some threats and disadvantages. First of all, it contaminates environment. Cars which use petroleum pollute environment every day, while explosions have a long-time negative influence on the environment. Secondly, alternatives such as cars on water or solar can change the significance of oil and gas in the world. The last very important issue is that employees work under conditions of risk, so the companies have to minimize that risk and create a safe environment for them.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company puts stress on safety of the workplace environment. The company has created rules and obligations both for managers and employees. They have to act in order to prevent risks. As Forbes determined, ADNOC is one of the best oil companies that follows all international standards and earns high profits. It created its own rules of high standards which can be considered as an example for other companies.
Introduction
“Energy has become the currency of political and economic power, the determinant of hierarchy of nations, a new marker, even, for success and material advancement. Access to energy has thus emerged as the over-riding imperative of the twenty-first century (Roberts, 2004).” The Politics of the Global Oil Industry (Toyin Falola, 2005) reveals three key points about the oil industry. Firstly, this industry is a complicated issue for the world. Secondly, oil plays a domineering role in influencing the politics of the countries. In addition to this, oil presents the way companies should behave on the international arena.
In 16th century oil slicks were noticed at the coast of California. Even before the Industrial Revolution, John Austin invented a lamp which worked on the oil. Soon the US market was boomed by the oil production. Rockefeller became a domineering character in the US and world oil industry. He was joining his company with competitors which meant that he became a monopolist in this industry. He provided pipelines in order to create easy transportation. After the USA market was achieved, the Standard Company started to make export to Europe. The company also influenced Congress in unethical manner (Wall). Later Russia, Europe, UAE and other countries started the oil discovery and export provision.
Oil, or in other word petroleum, was formed from the remains of plants and animals. It is generally stored under the ground and can be found in rock openings. Oil reservoir is usually compared with a sponge. Oil is a significantly valuable resource for humans because it is widely used in different industries. For instance, it is consumed as gasoline and heating. Explorers of oil have built large companies with millions of dollars in profit. For these reasons, petroleum defines the economic and political conditions of the country (Toyin Falola, 2005). The key role in the oil industry is played by explorers and scientists, who search and recycle oil into different forms for usage. However, the people who play technical roles have to understand the importance of business practices in this industry in order to maximize their profits. The interesting fact about the global oil industry is that only a small part of countries produce oil. Most of the countries are the consumers (Andrew C. Inkpen, 2011)
The production of oil has various costs, such as research, development, labor, resources, and transportation. Such producers as Russia, Chad, Cameroon and Alaska provide pipelines for transportation of gas. This allows them to trade internationally and increase their economic positions (Andrew C. Inkpen, 2011).
Forbes has revealed 25 the biggest and the most influential oil companies in the world. Saudi Aramco is the biggest company. It operates in Saudi Arabia and produces more than 12.5 million barrels a day. Its revenue is calculated as one billion dollars a day. Second place belongs to Russians Gazprom, which produces 9.7 barrels a day and supplies gas to the most of the Europe. The third place is occupied by National Iranian Oil Co. International sanctions have limited the supply of gas from this company, but it remains one of the main producers. ExxonMobil is an American company. Recently the headquarter of this company has met Putin in order to make a joint venture with Russian`s Rosneft. The other world leaders are PetroChina, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Pemex, Chevron, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, ADNOC (occupies the 11th position), Sonatrach, Total, Petrobras, Rosneft, Iraqi Oil Ministry, Qatar Petroleum, Lukoil, Eni, Statoil, ConocoPhillips, Petroleos de Venezuela, Sinopec, Nigerian National Petroleum, and Petronas (Forbes, 2013).
However, this industry faces different challenges, such as environmental problems and substitutes developments. The other natural resources, such as air and water are being contaminated because of the oil and gas industry. The population of mankind grows and the need in petroleum increases relatively. There are different types of nature pollution. First people contaminate the environment through at least the usage of vehicle in their everyday life. Secondly, there are some disasters which have a long term influence on nature, such as oil explosions and spills into the water (Toyin Falola, 2005). For this reason, the need in the environmental-friendly products continues to grow. Scientists develop cars which will work on water and solar energy in order to avoid pollution and save the environment.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was founded in 1971. It operates in all spheres which are connected with oil production. Company operates not only in Abu Dhabi, but at the other parts of UAE and overseas. It makes ADNOC one of the largest companies in the world. The Supreme Petroleum Council of UAE controls the operations of ADNOC and other oil companies. The company has expanded its opportunities, developed new programs and projects thus became a world leader. Due to the block of Iranian Oil supply, ADNOC gets new customers, such as Fujairah, and builds new pipelines (Forbes, 2013). It produces approximately 2.7 billion barrels a day. In addition to this, the company has developed a new marketing, distribution, sales and shipping spheres. ADNOC highlights the importance of discovery of the new reservoirs. ADNOC consists of 14 companies working in diverse fields, such as transportation, gas and oil spheres. Namely, these companies are: ADCO, ADMA-OPCO, GASCO, ADGAS, ZADCO, TAKREER, NDC, ESNAAD, IRSHAD, FERTIL,
BOROUGE, NGSCO, ADNATCO and ADNOC Distribution (ADNOC, 2013).
ADNOC performs its services at gas stations and in convenience stores. Its stations provide customers with car wash, refueling, and tire repair. Autocare operates in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, the Western Region and the Northern Emirates. As for Airline refueling, ADNOC performs its services in Fujairah, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Sharjah
International Airports, as well as Al Bateen Airport. Another distribution sphere is a lubricant blending. It is spread to Middle East, Europe, Africa and Far East (ADNOC, 2013).
In addition to this, ADNOC decided that Shell would be a participant in the implementation of the new gas project. Shell will own 40% stake of the project in Abu Dhabi. It will develop the gas reservoir, which will increase the productivity of the companies (Shell, 2013).
However, the issue is that an oil industry is a dangerous workplace, and the company has to create and follow safe standards in order to provide employees with safe conditions.
Research Methods and its Rationale
Research is the process of finding, analyzing, comparing and concluding data. Two types of methods are the most known for the research. They are qualitative research and quantitative research. Both of them are widely used and can be used together; however, they are different enough. For instance, qualitative research is based on finding out a problem or data without knowing the conclusions. It is mostly used in cases when the problem has to be identified, and the approach to it found. This approach helps to:
• Make the researcher understand the problem;
• Identify ideas and opinions about something;
• Get the vision of different people and groups;
• Find out what influences the decision-making;
• Provide needed information;
• Reveal findings from the research.
As for quantitative research, it is conclusive. It involves surveys, statistics and points of purchase in order to provide a meaningful research. In this type of research, a final step of action is provided. It helps to find out whether the issue has a consensus. The results are revealed to a larger audience. Cause-and-effect relationship is the most valuable tool used in quantitative research. Specific hypothetic is important in the usage. Relevant marketing segments have to be identified. The best way to conclude the most effective research is to use both types of research. However, it is expensive and time consuming (Mora, 2010).
The given research is based on both types. It will include the elements of qualitative research as well as quantitative. First of all, from the beginning of research there is no idea on what the results should be. Findings are also a significant part in research. These characteristics prove that qualitative elements should be used. On the other hand, hypothesis has to be discussed as well as the cause-and-effect relationship has to be used. As discussed before, these elements are essential for quantitative research. For these reasons, two methods may help to conduct a meaningful research.
Data/Findings
Safety means freedom from injury or danger. Safety of employees is rather a weighty issue in the workplace, especially in such industries as oil and gas companies. ADNOC operates is rather dangerous industry; thus, it has to create the most favorable conditions for employees in order to provide them with safe conditions.
First of all, workers deal with dangerous elements every day. That is why the hard hats and steel-toed boots are widely used by them. The online Time magazine reveals that in 2008, 120 oil industry workers died. 21 of them died while working with oil and gas extraction. Though, explosions and fires do not happen often, companies have to make all the efforts in order to prevent them and protect people who risk their lives. Occupational Safety and Administration (OSHA) makes standards and controls the processes in dangerous industries (Webley, 2010).
ADNOC recognizes the problem and understands the importance of training and warning the employees. The company supports the goal: not to harm stakeholders and other people, and protect the environment. The policy of ADNOC is to minimize risks to match the principle As Low As Reasonable Practicable (ALARP). Managers are responsible for monitoring the work process and making sure that no harm to the employees will be committed. In addition to this, the company controls workers not to make actions which may affect the HSE. ADNOC standards are accounted to create effective management system which will deprive workers of injuries and risks. ADNOC wants to make sure that workers are provided with all the information as well as control their understanding and using this knowledge. In addition to this, company recognizes 3 levels of risk: high, medium, and low. The high risk is a condition where the company can have losses and injuries of workers. In this case, it has to make all the efforts to improve the situation. The medium level is about acceptance, but changes as well. The situation has to be less risky in order not to make it worse. As for low level, it is acceptable, and no action is needed (Radadiya, 2008). In addition to this, ADNOC has acquired new safety principles in order to decrease the number of injuries. They were included fatal accident rate (FAR), lost time injury (LTI), lost time injury frequency (LTIF), lost work day case (LWDC), restricted work day case (RWDC), total recordable incident rate (TRIR) and medical treatment case (MTC) (OGP, 2002).
Conclusions and Limitations of Findings
As the company is considered the 11th best company in Oil and Gas industry by Forbes (Forbes, 2013), it means that the company not only does a great job in sales and business, but also in providing employees with safe conditions. Oil industry is profitable; however, it provides a risky workplace environment. Gas explosions and fires can harm employees; even if this happens rarely, ADNOC recognizes that safety of employees is rather serious issue. One of the main goals of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is to minimize risk for employees. Managers are responsible for controlling the safety while employees have to act in order to not harm themselves. ADNOC is a company with high worldwide standards, which takes care of the workplace environment. It has set unsurpassed rules and standards which can be followed by other companies as an example.
References
ADNOC. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.adnoc.ae/publications/eppublications/ADNOC-corporate-brochure.pdf
ADNOC, G. (2013). ADCO. Retrieved from About ADNOC: http://www.adco.ae/En/ADNOCGroup/Pages/AboutADNOC.aspx
Andrew C., Inkpen, M. H. (2011). The Global Oil & Gas Industry: Management, Strategy & Finance. Tulsa: PenWell Corporation.
Forbes. (2013). The World’s 25 Biggest Oil Companies. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45glfe/not-just-the-usual-suspects-2/
Mora, M. (2010, March.16). Quantitative Vs. Qualitative Research – When to Use Which. Retrieved from SurveyGizmo: http://www.surveygizmo.com/survey-blog/quantitative-qualitative-research/
OGP. (2002). ADNOC adopts OGP safety definitions. Retrieved from OGP: http://www.ogp.org.uk/news/2002/adnoc-adopts-ogp-safety-definitions/
Radadiya, D. D. (2008, February 25). ADNOC HSE MS. Retrieved from https://www.ead.ae/tacsoft/filemanager/whts%20new/ehsms/presentation04.pdf
Roberts, P. (2004). The End of Oil. New York: Houghton Mufflin Company.
Shell. (2013, April 30). News and Media Releases. Retrieved from Shell: http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell/media/news-and-media-releases/2013/bab-sour-gas-reserves-abu-dhabi-300413.html
Toyin Falola, A. G. (2005). The Politics of the Global Oil Industry: An Introduction. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Wall, B. H. (n.d.). Oil Industry. Retrieved from History: http://www.history.com/topics/oil-industry
Webley, K. (2010, April 24). Just How Dangerous Are Oil Rigs, Anyway? Retrieved from TIMES: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1984296,00.html
