No. 1, 2004
QUALITY COMES FIRST
Oil of Russia magazine talks to General Director of JSC Bureau Veritas Rus David Fardel
Bureau Veritas Rus has been operating in Russia for ten years now as a branch of one of the largest international technical associations and recognized leader in the field of classification, certification, inspection, expert assessments, consulting, and other related spheres.
Q: Mr. Fardel, could you tell us what led up to the creation of the Russian branch of Bureau Veritas and the main stages in its activity?
David Fardel, born in 1969, graduated from Engineering School in France (specialization – chemical engineering), then from Paris University (specialization – environmental protection physics and emission control) in 1993. Between 1993 and 1995 worked at the French Embassy in Slovakia as science attache. Since 1995, David Fardel has been quality-control engineer at an electronic components manufacturing plant of the Motorola company. Since 1998, David Fardel has worked at Bureau Veritas as manager of the project to support oil and gas equipment manufacturers in Russia. Since September 2001, David Fardel has been General Director of Bureau Veritas Rus.
A: Since the time Bureau Veritas was founded in 1828, our company has placed the emphasis on the truth (veritas in Latin) and served as a reliable information bureau for providing insurance companies with the information necessary for appraising the reliability of shipping vessels and their equipment, as well as for protecting people's lives and property. Before 1913, Russian shipbuilders and ship owners also took advantage of Bureau Veritas' services. For political and economic reasons cooperation with Russia later ceased and was not restored until the beginning of the 1990s. The prerequisites for this were the expansion of international contacts of state, jointstock, and private Russian organizations and the increase in the free exchange of goods and services between Russia and foreign countries.
In September 1994, our company opened representative offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novorossiisk.
Since 1992, BVQI has been operating in Russia as an independent certification branch of Bureau Veritas, a world leader in the sphere of accredited certification in compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 international standards, and others. BVQI's official representative office was opened in Russia in 2000.
Q: How would you evaluate the main results of Bureau Veritas' ten years of activity in Russia?
A: The activities of Bureau Veritas in Russia have been developing apace with the Russian economy and its key clients. Bureau Veritas has been operating in Russia for ten years now, survived the financial crisis in 1998, and is now growing as dynamically as never before in harmony with the country's key industries, such as oil, gas, and construction. In my opinion, we have achieved immense progress since our office opened in Russia. The continuously rising demand for Bureau Veritas' services, as well as the expansion in their range and volume show how efficiently we are helping Russian organizations to overcome any technical barriers and gain access to international markets.
Now all the areas of Bureau Veritas' activity around the world are represented in Russia. Five departments operate at Bureau Veritas Rus. These are the maritime, construction, aviation, and inspection departments, as well as a consulting and training department.
Offices have opened in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Nizhni Novgorod, Novorossiisk, and Kaliningrad. The company's turnover in Russia is steadily rising by 25-30% from year to year, and the number of clients is increasing.
Evaluating the activities of Bureau Veritas both throughout the world, in general, and in Russia, in particular, I can say that the company offers clients a unique range of services, which make it possible to satisfy all their needs for independent appraisal, inspection, technical supervision, certification, and consultation regarding their assets and at every stage in their production or service life cycle.
Bureau Veritas Rus was founded in September 1994 as an affiliate of the Bureau Veritas Group (France). Offices were opened in Moscow (head office), St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Nizhni Novgorod, Novorossiisk, and Kaliningrad. Since 2000, an independent certification structure of Bureau Veritas has been in operation in Russia – the BVQI Company. Five departments are currently functioning in the company: maritime, construction, aviation, inspection, and consulting and training. As of today, Bureau Veritas Rus has more than 600 clients.
Q: What can you say about your main clients?
A: It is extremely important to us that not only foreign companies, such as General Motors, JTI, BAT, and Auchan, which are expanding their business in Russia, use the services of Bureau Veritas Rus, but also large well-known Russian companies, such as LUKOIL, Norilsky Nikel, Severstal, OMK, Baltiisky Zavod, SATURN, FESCO, Aeroflot, Transaero, Euro Finance, and many others. Moreover, cooperation is not episodic, but regular, and in many areas. This is shown by the growing culture of Russian business, on the one hand, and the efficient operation of Bureau Veritas on the Russian market, on the other, which is nothing but gratifying.
Q: What is your evaluation of Bureau Veritas Rus' activity in the oil and gas industry?
A: Russia's role in the world economy today significantly differs from the one it played five years ago. Russia has become a key producer of oil and gas and is supplying them to the largest consumers, mainly in Europe, China, and India, which have immense consumer potential and are making it possible to develop new projects in Siberia in the near future.
The demand for services in the oil and gas sector has dramatically increased in the past three years. Today the main tasks to be carried out by the largest actors on the Russian oil and gas market are modernizing production, optimizing the spending structure, minimizing the prime cost of a unit of product, introducing the latest management systems for raising quality, security, and environmental protection, participating in international projects and international development, and attracting investments. These tasks have made great changes to the oil and gas industry and created new priorities for suppliers and consumers.
In different regions of the world with a developed oil and gas industry, Bureau Veritas has opened technical centers for rendering services on project analysis (particularly for platforms), security management, environment management, risk control, inspections, and so on. Most of Bureau Veritas' projects in the oil and gas sector are related to oil and gas production, but Bureau Veritas is also active in oil and gas transportation and refining. Bureau Veritas has carried out several oil pipelines inspection projects in Brazil, Poland, and other countries. In oil and gas refining and distribution Bureau Veritas renders inspection services based on risk appraisal, asset management, brand audits, fuel quality control, and so on. It also conducts consulting and appraisal of OHSE management systems (industrial safety, labor safety, and environmental protection), including the VeriSafe rating system. In Russia, Bureau Veritas has long been working successfully with several companies that produce equipment for the oil and gas industry, render inspection services, and build oil and gas pipelines.
Q: How is cooperation developing between Bureau Veritas and Russian oil and gas companies?
A: Bureau Veritas associates the beginning of systematic work in Russia with companies engaged in oil production and refining with JSC LUKOIL. Today, Bureau Veritas Rus participates in many of this company's projects.
In 2002, a project began to introduce a system of quality management at one of the TNK-BP corporation's subsidiaries, JSC Saratov Refinery. In September 2003, the project was completed and the system successfully passed certification with BVQI. Since 1999, Bureau Veritas Rus has been cooperating with Gazprom enterprises in consultations on the development and introduction of management systems that meet international standards.
In the field of training in management systems in compliance with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 international standards, Bureau Veritas Rus is cooperating with such companies as Rosneft, Gazprom, and RITEK.
At present, Bureau Veritas Rus is supervising the construction of a network of gasoline filling stations for Surgutneftegaz.
Bureau Veritas Rus is participating in the Sakhalin-2 project and is cooperating with the Chiyoda company, which is engaged in building a compressed gas manufacturing plant, advising it on Russian legislation for building the plant and auxiliary structures.
Today, approximately 30% of Bureau Veritas Rus' annual turnover constitutes services to oil and gas companies.
Q: How would you describe the cooperation between LUKOIL and Bureau Veritas?
A: In 2000, a joint project was launched to develop and introduce international standards for the environment management system (ISO 14001) and for the industrial safety management and labor safety system (OHSAS 18001) into the management practice of JSC LUKOIL Head Office in Moscow. Bureau Veritas successfully implemented this project, which was confirmed during the certification audit of these management systems conducted by the BVQI company. In January 2001, Frank Piedelievre, President of Bureau Veritas, awarded LUKOIL Vice-President R. Maganov a BVQI certificate for the management systems in a ceremony held at the French Embassy in Moscow.
At essentially the same time, in 2001-2002, Bureau Veritas Rus successfully implemented a consulting project to introduce a management quality system in compliance with ISO 9001 standards at JSC LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez.
Implementation of the 2002-2003 project to introduce an integrated management system in compliance with four international standards – ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, and AS 9100 – at once at JSC LUKOIL-Nizhegorod-nefteorgsintez was a unique experience for both LUKOIL and Bureau Veritas. It is perhaps the only refinery in the world to successfully implement such a project.
Cooperation between Bureau Veritas Rus and LUKOIL can be described as beneficial, reliable, dynamically growing, and mutually advantageous. We view LUKOIL as our key client in Russia.
Q: One of the slogans of Bureau Veritas Rus is “Confirming a Responsible Attitude toward the Environment.” Please tell us about the company's activity in environment management and the latest projects it has participated in.
A: Environmental protection policy is having a most favorable influence on business. The matter does not only concern the company's prestige. Rational use of energy, careful selection of raw materials, and control over waste recycling are having a positive effect on the end result, giving our clients a significant edge over rival companies. Cooperation with Severstal in introducing an environment management system in compliance with ISO 14001 in 2000 was an important stage in the work of Bureau Veritas Rus. In 2002 a project to introduce ISO 14001 standards at one of the enterprises of the SUAL Group – SUAL-PM – was successfully implemented.
In 2003, a large-scale project was launched to gradually introduce a quality and environment management system in compliance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 at Norilsky Nikel.
In 2002, JSC LUKOIL-Permneft along with consultants from Bureau Veritas Rus successfully implemented a project to introduce an integrated environment management, industrial safety control and labor safety system in compliance with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.
LUKOIL's next important step was to introduce integrated management systems in compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 standards at two refineries: in Bulgaria at JSC LUKOIL-Neftokhim Burgas, and in Ukraine at JSC LUKOIL-Odessa Refinery.
Q: Mr. Fardel, what plans does your organization have in mind next?
A: We plan to further develop all areas of Bureau Veritas Rus' activity. We will also continue to focus on the oil and gas sector of the Russian economy, where Bureau Veritas' comprehensive proposals and services are unique and beneficial. Expansion of the office network in Russia and bringing our service centers geographically closer to our client enterprises will also be one of our priority tasks.
