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Occupational health and safety and labour issues

Health and safety

What health and safety regulations and procedures apply to oil and gas operations (upstream, midstream and downstream)?

The health, safety and environmental (HSE) regime is regulated by the Offshore Petroleum Resources Law and the Petroleum Activities Regulations.

New HSE legislation and regulations in Lebanon are being developed.

Before petroleum activities can begin, the rights holders must establish and publish a health and safety plan, including an emergency response plan, taking into consideration the specific conditions of its petroleum activities.

The current Lebanese HSE rules state that petroleum activities must be conducted in a way that enables a high level of safety and benefit from operational techniques and technological development.

Rights holders, operators and any person undertaking petroleum activities on their behalf must comply with:

  • the HSE rules of the Offshore Petroleum Resources Law and the Petroleum Activities Regulations;
  • the EPA provisions;
  • Law 444/2002 and Decree 8633/2012; and
  • the HSE Best International Petroleum Industry Standards and all other applicable Lebanese laws relating to the HSE regime and the reasonable requirements of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration or any other competent authority relating to the HSE regime.

Any person managing or undertaking petroleum activities according to a petroleum right awarded under the Offshore Petroleum Resources Law must ensure a high standard of health and safety for employees and the employees of subcontractors, and must be sufficiently prepared at all times to deal with incidents, accidents or emergencies that could lead to loss of life, personal injuries, pollution or damage to property.

Rights holders must ensure that necessary measures are taken to prevent or reduce harmful effects to persons, property or the environment, including measures required to restore the environment to the condition it was in before any incident or accident occurred.

The current Lebanese HSE regulations impose a range of obligations on an operator executing petroleum activities. An operator must:

  • establish, continuously develop and maintain a high level of health, safety and protection system for the environment;
  • prepare and regularly update and develop a health and safety plan;
  • develop a system for the registration, evaluation and follow-up of any accident, damage, injury or any other significant safety occurrence; and
  • immediately report injuries to personnel, significant material damage and hazardous incidents, as well as the results of the enquiries to such incidents, to the Lebanese Petroleum Administration.

Non-operator rights holders must continuously ensure that the operator executes the petroleum activities in a prudent manner and complies with the HSE requirements stipulated by applicable law and petroleum industry best practice. 

Labour law

Are there any labour law provisions with specific relevance to the oil and gas industry (eg, with regard to use of native and foreign personnel)?

The Lebanese Labour Law is being reviewed and shall be amended to accommodate the technical requirements of the sector. 

What is the state of collective bargaining/organised labour in your jurisdiction’s oil and gas industry?

This is not applicable in Lebanon.

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