Health, Safety And Environment Developments In Qatar

As Qatar's infrastructure continues to develop and expand in line with the National Development Strategy published in March 2011, the need for a robust health, safety and environment ("HSE") regime has become increasingly evident. Although existing legislation in Qatar addresses various HSE issues, there is no single comprehensive piece of legislation universally applicable to HSE. Ensuring compliance with the requisite provisions of the various laws and regulations in the absence of such centralised legislation has been a point of considerable concern for many companies, particularly where non-compliance may lead to the imposition of fines or criminal penalties.

However recent developments, particularly the circulation on 5 May 2011 of the "HSE Legal Framework in the Oil & Gas Sector", suggest that a more uniformly structured HSE regime may be on the horizon for Qatar.

The National Committee on Occupational Health and Safety

Cabinet Resolution No (16) of 2011 established the National Committee of Occupational Health and Safety ("Committee") at the Ministry of Labour. The Committee is comprised of representatives from various ministries (including the Supreme Council of Health), authorities (including the Public Works Authority) and Qatar Petroleum ("QP").

Although the competencies of the Committee are numerous, perhaps the most significant responsibilities for the purposes of this article are to:

propose a national policy and system for occupational health and safety; devise and revise the occupational health and safety rules and regulations; and propose the mechanisms in respect of enforcing compliance with health and safety rules and regulations Whilst not specifically stated in the resolution, the formulation of a national policy and system for occupational health and safety suggests the adoption of a more unified approach to occupational health and safety, potentially resulting in a single body of health and safety rules and regulations.

It is interesting to note that traditionally the Labour Law of 2004 and other pieces of legislation provided for specific exemptions in respect of QP employees. The inclusion in the Committee of a QP representative may be a further indication that ultimately the national policy will apply universally throughout Qatar, even extending to the energy sector.

The Health, Safety, and Environment Regulatory and Enforcement Directorate ("Directorate")

As noted in the previous paragraph, Qatar's reliance on oil...