Security and Crisis Management

Our Policy

In response to the growing uncertainties of the security environment in recent years, INPEX makes continual efforts to reinforce and improve security management overseas. We also develop emergency response plans and conduct drills to strengthen our readiness to respond to various accidents, such as fires, explosions, and oil spills. In addition to the threat of novel infectious diseases like COVID-19, we also recognize emerging threats in recent years, such as natural disasters caused by heavy rains, floods, or other abnormal weather, or cyberattacks that might suspend operations—an example being the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021. We are working to improve our readiness to manage such threats.

Evaluation and Management of Security Risks

The Middle East, one of our key regions of operation, has seen rising tensions between Iran and the United States, the change in government in Afghanistan, and missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) associated with the civil war in Yemen, among other concerns. We see these changes in world affairs, including the situation in Ukraine, as risks to our projects and employees, and recognize the ongoing need to keep a close eye on these situations.

The safety of our employees takes highest priority and we take all necessary precautions when our employees travel overseas on business in particular. Prior to employees travelling to high risk considered zones, we conduct security risk assessments and take appropriate safety measures to ensure their safety during business travel.

These pre-travel security risk assessments take a number or factors into consideration, including the political situation and law and order, with information always available for the employees to access. Assessments are used for determining any necessary safety measures and for taking appropriate countermeasures. We prepare contact details and response measures in case of an emergency, and conduct detailed local security reviews as necessary. This enables us to fully understand the regions where we operate, the local operational sites, routes of travel, accommodation used by employees, and other pertinent information, to take appropriate measures for ensuring employee safety.

For relevant overseas sites, we conduct ongoing security risk assessments, identify and implement any necessary safety measures, and prepare accordingly.

In addition, we conduct regular Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) for employees. HEAT is a comprehensive training program aimed at improving response capabilities in dangerous environments. This provides employees with the opportunity to acquire important skills for adapting to foreign cultures and environments.

Emergency and Crisis Response Structure

Our corporate divisions, our domestic and overseas organizations, and our operational sites have all prepared structures for responding to emergencies. Through drills and other opportunities, we regularly verify and update our emergency response documents, maintain and expand the required facilities and equipment. We work to elevate the level of coordination between organizations in the event of an emergency.

In 2023, we completely reorganized our Corporate Crisis Management Team at Akasaka head office, and strengthened our response capabilities, to support our crisis response personnel. We also finalized a backup Corporate Crisis Management Team office on the outskirts of Tokyo in preparation for an earthquake centered directly under the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Emergency Response Drills

Each year, our organizations in Japan and overseas conduct planned emergency response drills—both independently and together with our head office—to continuously improve emergency response capabilities.

In addition to ongoing drills anticipating MAEs impacting operations, we conducted a range of crisis response drills in 2023. They included joint cyberattack drills with our head office, emergency response drills in response to a worsening security situation at overseas sites, and drills focused on coordination with the backup Corporate Crisis Management Team office in the event of a Tokyo earthquake. Going forward, we will continue to use learning from such drills to guide improvements to existing manuals and strengthen our emergency responsiveness through various measures, including the deployment of new materials, equipment, and reserves. After the January 1, 2024, offshore earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula, our regular drills enabled us to quickly ensure employee safety, confirm damage status, and resume operations.

Response to Blowouts and Oil Spill Incident

We need to be prepared not only for large-scale blowouts and oil spills at oil and gas development sites, but also for small-scale spills from tanks and pipelines at production facilities, which may affect the local community’s safety, health, and business interests.

Taking learnings from incidents experienced by other companies, we are enhancing incident management structures for our wells, pipelines, plants, and other assets in all aspects of incident prevention, containment, and response. We have developed rules and procedures for consistent management aimed at preventing incidents. To prepare against the malfunctioning of a subsea blowout preventer in offshore drilling, we maintain a contract with Wild Well Control, Inc., a supplier of capping equipment. We also have a contract with Oil Spill Response Limited—the world’s largest provider of oil spill response services—to establish a structure for responding to a large-scale oil spill, and to constantly acquire knowledge of oil spill response technologies. There were no oil spills at our operator projects in FY2023.