Social

Our focus

Our contribution to Kurdistan’s social and economic development is critical to our licence to operate and our long-term future success. Our people are what make our business unique and we are proud to be a significant employer in Kurdistan. We work together as one team and we are focused on continuous improvement to enhance the safety, wellbeing, skills and diversity of our workforce. We are also committed to creating significant local economic value by employing local people, supporting local suppliers and generating revenues for our host government from the Shaikan Field. We regularly engage with and invest in our local communities, as we continue to strengthen the relationships we have built over 15 years working in Kurdistan.

Health, safety and wellbeing

The ongoing health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce and local communities is a critical priority. It is one of GKP’s six core values and integrated across all organisational levels and operational activities. We believe that no job is so urgent or important that it cannot be done safely, which is why we are committed to zero harm across all our business activities. By regularly engaging with our workforce through ongoing training, learning and development activities we seek to prevent incidents before they occur.

Health, safety, environment and quality (“HSEQ”) governance is a core responsibility for our executive team. Led by our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), the Board oversees our HSEQ strategy and receives regular updates on our performance via the Safety and Sustainability Committee. The Executive Committee addresses health and safety via ongoing operational meetings which include senior management meetings. Our Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) holds weekly health, safety and sustainability meetings with GKP’s Head of Safety and Sustainability to ensure that our HSEQ Action Plan, HSEQ-related metrics and daily actions are appropriately addressed. This includes upholding the principles and expectations outlined in Gulf Keystone’s Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Community Policy and our Code of Business Conduct.

Life saving rules

Gulf Keystone’s Life Saving Rules are based on the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers’ Life Saving Rules and provide all our people and contractors with practical lifesaving guidance required in the field. The Life Saving Rules, comprising nine Core Rules and 11 Supplementary Rules, are regularly discussed and reinforced at safety briefings, highlighted in various places around our facilities and are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure they remain front-of-mind for all our staff. In 2022, the Life Saving Rules were reviewed and extended to include coverage of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which we consider to be the most dangerous risk in our business. Two separate icons were also introduced for the prohibition of drugs and alcohol on site.

Wellbeing initiatives

In addition to upholding high levels of operational health and safety on site, we recognise the importance of helping our people live healthy and active lives in which their physical and mental health are prioritised. In 2023 we introduced a wellbeing allowance paid monthly through payroll to all employees to encourage participation in wellbeing activities. We rolled out a new Employee Assistance Programme in the UK and promoted healthy lifestyles by encouraging staff to join online webinars and take part in fitness challenges. We also introduced on-site neck and shoulder massages in our London office, as well as weekly fruit deliveries in all our facilities and offices.

Our people

Our team of staff and contractors in Kurdistan and the UK are the lifeblood of our organisation. Their dedication and expertise help us to deliver, improve and grow our business every day. To support them, we are focused on fostering a safe, diverse and inclusive working environment that enables our people to thrive and develop their careers. We are also deeply committed to enhancing employment opportunities for local people in Kurdistan and we place a strong emphasis on hiring directly from our local communities in the Shaikan Field.

Our purpose and values

As a purpose-driven business, GKP exists to develop natural resources for the benefit of all stakeholders by delivering social and economic benefits by working safely and sustainably with integrity and respect.

Our culture is underpinned by six core values which provide the building blocks for how we operate and get things done as a team. It is by embodying these values that we can deliver our purpose and meet our strategic objectives.

Diversity and inclusion

At Gulf Keystone, we seek to create a strong culture in which the principles of diversity and inclusion are promoted across the business. As detailed in our Diversity and Equal Opportunities Policy, we treat all people fairly, equally and without prejudice irrespective of their gender, sex, age, race, disability, sexual orientation or any other attributes.

We work hard to build an inclusive culture that creates a strong sense of belonging and purpose. We believe our individual differences and unique cultural perspectives add value to our expertise and enable us to find innovative solutions to solve challenges. As at 31 December 2022, our workforce was made up of 25 different nationalities.

We also recognise we operate in an industry with low rates of female participation. As a result, we make a concerted effort to attract and retain female talent, improve the balance of our workforce and to create opportunities for the development and promotion of women into senior leadership roles. In 2022, we increased the proportion of women in our workforce to 14%, a figure which we hope to build momentum on into 2023 and beyond.

Case study: Global Women’s Network

In a milestone step for gender diversity and inclusion at GKP, we established our Global Women’s Network (“GWN”) in 2022. The purpose of the GWN is to create additional growth opportunities for women within the business and to help us drive inclusivity and representation. The network is sponsored by our Chief Executive Officer and will focus on:

• delivering opportunities to enhance and upskill leadership skills;
• fostering an inclusive environment where women can support one another through a strong network;
• achieving a positive impact and contributing to GKP’s gender diversity and inclusion efforts; and
• demonstrating our core values of safety, social responsibility, trust through open communication, innovation and excellence, integrity and respect, and teamwork.

Generating economic value for Kurdistan

Kurdistan is part of Gulf Keystone’s DNA. Since our entry into the region in 2007, we have continued to generate significant economic value in partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Our focus on creating local jobs, investing in local suppliers, generating revenues from the Shaikan Field and supporting our local communities means the benefits of our operations continue to be shared with the people of Kurdistan.

Commitment to local employment

We are focused on creating a skilled and localised Kurdistan workforce to ensure the safe, effective and ongoing development of the Shaikan Field. We have several strategies in place to help deliver, including a localisation programme aligned to our business objectives and commitment to developing our Kurdistan workforce both technically and professionally.

As of 31 December 2022, we employed 349 local employees in Kurdistan, or 74% of our total workforce in the region. In addition to direct employment, our operations are also responsible for significant economic activity and indirect employment through the engagement of local contractors. In 2022, major Gulf Keystone contracts supported over 600 jobs among local communities. We also collaborate with local stakeholders on an ongoing basis to ensure that direct and indirect employment is shared across the villages surrounding our Shaikan operations.

Supporting regional businesses

In 2022, $64 million of our purchasing and contracting was spent with local suppliers, a 20% increase versus 2021. Nine new contracts were signed with local Shaikan companies during the year.

Creating economic value for Kurdistan

Since commercial production began in 2013, the Shaikan Field has generated significant revenues for our host government, the KRG, and the Kurdistan region, through ongoing production entitlements, royalties and capacity building payments. In 2022, we generated a total of $514.9 million net for the KRG, a 53% increase versus 2021 as both realised prices and production increased.

Local community engagement

Our relationships with the communities located in the Shaikan area are critical to our licence to operate. By listening and responding to their needs and by supporting valuable community initiatives, we are making a lasting impact.

We work in close collaboration with our local communities to identify programmes that promote economic growth, social development and shared prosperity. Our community focus is split into three core areas: Firstly, we support regional agriculture – the second largest sector of Kurdistan’s economy after oil and gas. Secondly, we support local education and enterprise projects. And thirdly, we support Good Neighbour projects that provide vital community infrastructure, such as power and water.

In 2022, we supported 18 villages within the Shaikan area via sustainable community projects across the areas of agriculture, education, water, electricity and healthcare. In total, over $1 million gross in community support was provided by Gulf Keystone and our partner MOL to fund these projects, representing a 20% increase from 2021 and underlining our continued commitment to providing meaningful support.

Some of the key project highlights from 2022 are as follows:

Agriculture initiatives

Gulf Keystone continued its support of local farmers and livestock breeders in 2022 by providing valuable tools, resources and training to support regional agricultural development.

• Olive tree donations: We delivered 5,600 olive trees to local farmers to provide a productive method of sequestration for the area outside our production facility and to support farmer livelihoods. As well as providing year-round greenery, the olives can be converted into olive oil via an extractor donated by GKP in 2021. Of the 5,600 trees, 1,500 were planted close to our production facility and the olive oil extractor produced 70 tonnes of olive oil. Training sessions and site visits were held to teach farmers how to maintain the trees and we will hire a cohort of workers to manage the unit for the harvesting season;
• Beekeeper support: We continued to support 60 local beekeepers within the Shaikan block by distributing 180 boxes of live bees, 120 wooden beehives, honey extractors, other beekeeper materials, as well as hands-on training and site visits during the year. As a result, honey production increased from 5kg/beehive to 8kg. The project is inspiring a new generation of beekeepers, with many of the local participants newcomers to bee husbandry;
• Sustainable fodder for livestock: We opened an innovative hydroponic fodder facility at Kani Falla, close to the Shaikan Field. Hydroponic farming enables plants and crops to be grown without soil, which is very valuable in an area that is often impacted by drought. With a little water and power that is part generated by solar panels, the facility can produce up to one tonne of fodder per day, which is enough to feed around 500 sheep, goats and other local livestock;
• Milk machine donations: We donated milking machines and stainless-steel containers to 62 local livestock breeders to enable quicker and more hygienic milking of their sheep and goats. The machines will process milk for collection and transportation to local dairy factories and ice cream shops, with any extra milk used for home consumption to make yogurt and cheese; and
• Wheat seed and fertiliser donations: We distributed 265 metric tonnes of certified wheat seeds, DAP, and urea fertilisers to over 500 local farmers in the Shaikan area to support them through the poor crop yields of recent years. The event, which took place in September, was attended by the Shaikan Mayor, as well as officials from the Shaikan area and agriculture departments, local village mukhtars and farmers.

Educational projects

We provide education provisions to children and young people in the surrounding area, including skills development programmes, healthcare initiatives and school supplies.

• Plumbing and sewing courses: Working in partnership with local NGO Armand, we delivered skills-based training to local people who have had a difficult start in life. By providing skills-based training in areas such as plumbing and sewing, we have been able to support several young people in starting their own ventures or finding employment. As of 2022, 30 young people have used the plumbing skills learned to find subsequent employment opportunities, and 15 girls from local villages have started their own home-based sewing businesses;
• School donations: We distributed 20 water tanks, 40 whiteboards and other visual educational materials to 14 schools within the Shaikan block during the year; and
• Eye tests for local pupils: We hired a mobile team of ophthalmologists and optometrists to perform eye examinations for more than 1,700 students across 16 schools in the area. Following the tests, we distributed 230 eyeglasses to students.

Good Neighbour projects

We provided extensive infrastructure support to local communities in 2022 via our Good Neighbour projects programme. Through the actions implemented, over 3,000 residents in the Shaikan block have benefitted from improved access to water and electricity.

• Water pipes: We built over 14,000m of water pipes across nine villages to improve access to clean water;
• Water tanks and wells: We constructed five water tanks in five villages with a total volume of 340m³. We also drilled a 200m water well to enable members from a local village to access a new fresh water supply; and
• Electricity support: We ran and installed more than 15,000m of power lines across two villages to get them on the grid.