Every day we transport hazardous materials by sea or by land, such as crude oil, natural gas, chemicals and petroleum products. Efficient risk management for product transportation is based on shared principles, supported by action plans tailored to each mode of transportation.

Worldwide, Total transported a substantial amount of petroleum products, natural gas and chemicals in 2006. More than 200 million metric tons were transported worldwide by tank truck, railcar, ship and barge. On the top of that, Total is involved in the operation of over 23,000 kilometers of onshore pipelines.

A comprehensive risk management policy

No matter what type of transportation is used, risk management is based on a set of shared principles:

• Stringent carrier selection.
• Selection and inspection of equipment used, especially for fleet replacement.
• Attention to carrier accreditation and qualification, based on legally-required training courses for hazardous materials transportation and on additional training courses, mainly focused on how to use on-site equipment.
• Carriers operating in all modes are gradually introducing safety management systems that can be audited by our units using protocols tailored specifically to each mode.
• Analysis of accident risks, for example when routes are chosen with carriers.
• Accident reporting and analysis, to support feedback and the use of safety performance tracking indicators.

For each mode of transportation, a global analysis is carried out of accidents and incidents resulting in injury or property damage in order to provide a better understanding of the associated risks and to help prepare appropriate improvement programs. Road accidents represent nearly 80% of all transportation accidents, which is why we need to implement dedicated road safety action plans across the Group.

Enhancing and extending risk analysis methods

The risk analysis method for rail transportation was enhanced in 2006 and now includes the identification of routes presenting the least risk. The method used for pipelines was also fine-tuned, with a focus on obtaining a more accurate assessment of risk levels, including probability and severity of accidents, and on implementing measures to limit the impact of such events. In addition, these analyses help us to improve our crisis management systems.

Safety management across the entire transportation chain

Total encourages the extension of safety management systems, both for activities conducted in-house (logistics) and operations outsourced to contractors, where we work in partnership with carriers.

A pipeline safety reference document based on best practices was published by a cross-industry working group in France in 2006.

To improve road safety, a guide to field surveys was added to existing guidelines to enhance carrier safety performance assessment.

Rail transportation is covered by a dedicated safety management system that is gradually being deployed across the Group. The Safety and Quality Assessment System for Rail Carriers (SQAS Rail) was developed under the guidance of European industry associations. The system addresses the full range of issues involved in rail transportation, including employee training, railcar maintenance, and managing interfaces between railcars and loading/offloading facilities.

A broad array of skills enhancement initiatives

Every transportation safety improvement plan includes skills enhancement as one of its objectives. For example, the program launched in 2002 to improve petroleum product transportation in Africa and the Middle East includes a large skills enhancement component. Thanks to our partnership with France's Petroleum Product Transportation Association (APTH), we are able to train logistics correspondents in road risk management (see Testimonials: Jean-Luc Bour and Régine Epée).