Brenntag – a safe partner in providing chemical products & services

Brenntag Oil & Gas Europe has recently been SCC** certified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance for its HSE working procedures. SCC**, which stands for Safety Checklist Contractors, is an international safety checklist to demonstrate that a contractor is in compliance with key requirements according to national HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) legislation. The checklist is applied and recognized in several EU member states.

More and more multinational (petro-) chemical companies, operating on a pan-European basis, demand SCC** certification from their (European) contractors. The SCC** certificate provides justified confidence that hazardous work is executed by competent organisations staffed with competent employees, with professional (safety) management and strong commitment towards safety. Therefore it is very often a prerequisite, a prequalification for tendering or a contract award for onsite services.

The Oil & Gas business of Brenntag has been certified for its technical support, distribution of chemicals and its accompanying service to the oil and gas production and processing industry. The employees of Brenntag Oil & Gas Europe have been trained and certified according to the same SCC standards.

“Policy, procedures, people and products with the highest standards of safety and health to people, the environment and installations; this is a combination which we are proud to be able to offer to our customers”, says Mr Theo Verleun, Business Manager Oil & Gas Europe.

“The Lloyds audit and certificate are documented proof that we have the elements in place to deliver this high standard. We have already been rewarded for several service jobs by major oil and gas companies in the area of Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Some said we would not have got the job if we had not been SCC** certified”, concludes Mr Verleun.

The SCC** is comprised of numerous questions related to health, safety and environment that the contractor needs to answer and, more importantly, needs to comply with. The procedures are documented in a so-called HSE manual and based on that manual, the contractor is screened and certified. A customer can always request a copy of such a manual. The manual contains among others information about following topics:

- Contractor’s HSE policy;

- Risk control to prevent accidents;

- The availability of staff with the necessary knowledge, training and expertise;

- Coordinated control of HSE risks associated with projects;

- Prevention of environmental pollution;

In 2005, Brenntag Oil & Gas Europe achieved success with its pipeline cleaning chemical N-SPEC® 50 that had been approved by UK and Norwegian authorities to be used offshore. The same applied for the salt inhibitor T-3000E, which can be applied in low-pressure gas wells. These products pose a much lower health and safety risk to workers compared to traditional chemicals. Another example of a safe chemical is the catalyst sulphiding agent SulfrZol® 54. This product, manufactured by The Lubrizol Company, has a very high flashpoint of >100ºC and as such offers a much better alternative to the traditionally used DMDS with a flashpoint of ~16ºC.