June 21, 2019
Bismarck, N.D. – On Thursday, Governor Burgum joined the ONE BASIN – One Way! Safety FIRST partners for a signing ceremony to commemorate the official start of this unique standardized contractor safety orientation program. Earlier this year, the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) announced the launch of ONE BASIN – One Way! and the North Dakota Safety Council, TrainND Northwest, and Diamond B as the training providers. The Safety FIRST partners are: Bruin E&P, Crestwood Midstream, Enerplus, Equinor, Hess Corporation, Oasis Petroleum, ONEOK, Inc., QEP Resources, Whiting Petroleum Corporation, WPX Energy, and XTO Energy.
The event was held at the North Dakota Safety Council, with one of the first ONE BASIN – One Way! classes taking place on site. This gave the Governor and attendees a chance to see the program in action and celebrate this great collaboration between producer and pipeline companies to improve safety for the benefit of the entire industry and the state. Governor Burgum congratulated the Safety FIRST partners on their achievement and also challenged them to continue looking for ways to make safety training even better!
“This collaboration is an important step forward for safety in North Dakota’s oil and gas industry,” Burgum said. “We’re grateful to see producers, pipeline companies and training providers working together, and we look forward to continued enhancements and innovations that will make safety training even better in our state.”
For the past eighteen months, NDPC members have been developing the ONE BASIN – One Way! standardized contractor safety orientation program to focus on Safety FIRST. Our Safety FIRST partners are producer and pipeline companies that will require ONE BASIN – One Way! orientation for their contractors. These companies represent nearly 50% of oil and gas production in the Bakken and we expect participation to grow as this program gets established.
With a Safety FIRST focus, the ONE BASIN – One Way! orientation curriculum is designed to raise safety awareness on over forty critical topics PLUS focus on a number of North Dakota specific job hazards that are not covered by traditional orientation programs. The curriculum delivers a robust safety message that concentrates on improving the overall industry safety record. “The first of its kind, this safety curriculum was developed in North Dakota and focuses on North Dakota specific job hazards such as operating in low temperatures and transportation hazards,” said Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “We need to attract a strong workforce and showing our commitment to safety on the job will help do that.”
The program has received a grant from North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) that will provide partial scholarships for orientation attendees. “We are proud to support the ONE BASIN – One Way! program and are happy to see the focus on North Dakota specific job hazards,” said Bryan Klipfel, WSI Director. “We are pleased the ONE BASIN – One Way! orientation places an important emphasis on transportation safety awareness in our state.”
The North Dakota Petroleum Council is encouraging all its members to join the ONE BASIN – One Way! program so we can see increased efficiencies and safety emphasis across the oil and gas workforce in the Williston Basin.
