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Permian Basin Road Safety Coalition becomes non-profit, promises increased effort on improving road safety

Tuesday, officials of the Permian Basin Road Safety Coalition announced the group has become a not-for-profit organization working to make the roadways of the Permian Basin safer for everyone.

PERMIAN BASIN, TX (KWES) - Tuesday, officials of the Permian Basin Road Safety Coalition announced the group has become a not-for-profit organization working to make the roadways of the Permian Basin safer for everyone.

Scott W. Scheffler was named executive director by the PRSC board of directors completing the organization’s transition from an ad-hoc group of concerned stakeholders into a full-time dedicated effort.

PRSC’s goal is to improve road safety and reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths in the Permian Basin through a collaborative effort among oil and natural gas operators, oil field service and transportation companies, non-governmental organizations and government agencies.

The PRSC board of directors is made up of industry representatives from Anadarko, ConocoPhillips, Noble Energy and Shell.

Representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Oil and Gas Association serve as advisory members on the board of directors.

Chad McAllaster, Anadarko’s Vice President Delaware Basin Development, was elected chairman of the board and says he’s interested in making roads safer for his employees..

“Simply driving down the roads of the Permian Basin is the top risk that our industry faces every day,” said McAllaster. “In an industry that is focused on zero incidents at its work sites, it is time for us to take a stand for safety on our roadways as well. A full-time PRSC effort will help do just that.”

Fifteen oil and natural gas industry operators, service providers and transportation companies have stepped up as founding sponsors of the PRSC:

  • Anadarko
  • Apache Corporation
  • Berkley Oil & Gas
  • Black Mountain
  • Chevron
  • Cimarex
  • Concho
  • ConocoPhillips
  • Ensign Energy Services
  • Hi-Crush
  • Noble Energy
  • Pioneer
  • Rogers Ford
  • Ryder Integrated Logistics
  • Shell

The vision of the PRSC rests upon three pillars:

· Host educational forums throughout the year where supporters can share and learn best practices for road safety.

· Serve as a convener of both industry and government agencies – provide opportunities to listen, collaborate, and mitigate the cumulative impacts of road usage in the Permian Basin.

· Provide outreach to communities across the Permian Basin to remind and educate all drivers that road safety is a shared responsibility.

Scheffler, who is on loan from Shell during his tenure as PRSC’s Executive Director, previously managed Shell’s external relations for its U.S. shales business and served in the volunteer roles of steering committee member, vice chairman and chairman of the ad-hoc PRSC group since 2015.

“More than 245 lives were lost on the roadways of the Permian Basin in 2018,” said Scheffler. “One lost life is too many. We as a community must draw a line in the sand and say, ‘enough is enough.’ This is a significant issue where there is no silver-bullet solution. It will take all of the efforts of the PRSC, its supporters and the community to drive the focus on personal safety principles to every driver in the Permian Basin to make our roads safer for everyone.”

Companies, organizations, and individuals that are interested in championing road safety initiatives by supporting the efforts of PRSC are encouraged to learn more by visiting www.permianroadsafety.org.

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