The Oil & Energy Forum against Corruption grew out of an initiative by the French major Total. At each meeting Forum members exchange on their practices. No common action is warranted on all topics broached but each member may find inspiration in what is debated. Legal, regulatory and judiciary matters may be mentioned and lessons drawn from them. Two policies are of particularly interest to the members: third party assurance and Ethics and Compliance training. In order to keep momentum, members meet regularly in person or by phone every six weeks.

The members of the Forum include Total, Bolloré, Bourbon, CGG, Saipem, SBM Offshore, Schlumberger, Subsea 7 and TechnipFMC. The Forum still is open to newcomers but only on the condition of a commonality of values with present participants. In order to ensure this commonality, the Forum members decided, in having each applicant’s corporate Ethics & Compliance documents reviewed in strict confidence by the Forum’s facilitator. An in-depth review of a Code of Conduct, of an Ethics & Compliance program and related corporate policies admittedly is no guarantee that a company never will fail but demonstrates its leadership’s ambition to stand by strict integrity standards.

The Forum has no legal entity and no employees, and its budget, voted by consensus every year, is limited, as every member absorbs its own cost.