Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) scored high in the recently released 5th annual report titled “Most Sustainable Oil/Gas Companies 2008” of the Spain-based management rating and research firm Management and Excellence (M&E). The two oil giants excelled in HSE (Health & Safety) and HSE transparency. The ratings covers 20 select leading oil & gas companies to benchmark each other which includes Total, Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and for the first time Saudi Aramco and ADNOC. The international standards against which the ranking is compiled and generated are based on standards set by institutions such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Global Compact, UN Millennium Goals, OECD, International Labor Organization, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, ISO, Sarbanes-Oxley and NYSE. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC have beefed up their transparency on HSE, technical and human resource programs. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC have solid compliance in H&S which includes complying with OSHA standards, handling of hazardous materials in the production process and emergency plans, among others, the report further said. Both companies have done well in supplier quality control, i.e., supplier management system, complaint system for suppliers, objective supplier screening system and controlling and enforcing reasonable environmental standards among suppliers, said Dr. William Cox, managing director of M&E. When it comes to the presentation of information, Saudi Aramco and ADNOC have strongly upgraded their websites following globally accepted structures and contents. The content includes their code of ethics and conduct, regularly updated press releases, confirmed oil reserves, reports and/or papers on world energy topics, annual environmental report. However, the report indicated that though Saudi Aramco and ADNOC scored big in having proven biggest oil reserves, they need to improve further their corporate governance “specially in terms of global public relations.” Cox thinks that both companies are “doing well in line with their own goals and cultures.” He spelled out the differences between Saudi Aramco/ADNOC and such firms as Shell and Total. First, both companies are not very exposed to critical media and publics as in the others' markets. “They need less social PR,” he said. Second, their expansion does not geographically impinge on land or areas occupied by people or rare species. “Thus, they do not need to generate as much public goodwill,” he said. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC are extractors more than refiners and processors, and as such, “they do not have to worry about searching for and developing alternative energies as Statoil & Company do, whose reserves are much lower,” he pointed out. __
