DNV has signed a contract with Algerian oil national Sonatrach for the development and implementation of an emergency and crisis management system for the organisation's 127 sites in Algeria.

From left: Iain Light, COO of DNV Consulting, Mohamed Meziane, President Director General, Sonatrach, and Madjid Ait Allak, HSE Director, Sonatrach.

DNV will be responsible for the development and implementation of the emergency systems, which is the first phase in the development of an overall risk management programme. The work will involve a series of assessments and gap analyses focussing on the hazards and risks inherent in major hydrocarbon activities in a desert location.

The work commences immediately and is planned for the forthcoming 18 months. "We will place teams in Algeria to conduct the work, drawing resources from our offices in the UK, Benelux and Norway," says COO of DNV Consulting Iain Light.

Sonatrach, the 11th biggest oil and gas producer in the world, employs 120,000 people and has been operating in Algeria for over 40 years. It is one of the major suppliers of gas to the central European markets, and one of the world's leading exporters of liquefied petroleum gas.