Are There Legal Guidelines On Record Keeping For Oil And Gas Companies?

The oil and gas industry is expansive and involved in a wide range of regulatory regimes. As such, record and information retention for any oil or gas company is staggering. Many oil and gas businesses are also facing escalating costs right now, including costs associated with discovery. Developing a records inventory and identifying obsolete records are two of the key steps for reducing document storage costs and discovery expenses.

Regulations Mandate Need For Retention Policy

Oil and gas companies are also responsible for complying with regulatory requirements related to retained information, including new privacy laws. In order to comply with these requirements in an orderly, efficient manner, you must develop and implement a document retention policy. Your policy should include, but is not limited to, guidelines for employment tax records, federal tax records, state tax records, employment applications, payroll, actions and discriminations, employee injuries and illnesses, employee pensions and benefits, employee medical records, and hazardous exposure records.

Document Retention Is An Ongoing Process

Once you have a document retention policy up and running, you must make sure that everyone in the company is on the same page. Train your employees in the new policy and then make the guidelines readily available in the office so that workers can refer back to them as needed. Keep the lines of communication open. Employees shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions about and get help with the policy.

It’s also critical that you review the policy on a regular basis. Document retention is an ongoing process that must reflect the current industry standards. You should also take advantage of technological developments that can help you streamline your retention process.

Document Destruction Is A Major Component

Finally, one of the most important aspects of any document retention plan is destruction. After you’ve been so careful with storing your documents, the last thing that you want is for something to happen to them during the destruction process. For the vast majority of oil and gas companies, it makes the most sense to outsource the destruction. Hiring a reputable document destruction service frees up valuable employee time and ensures that your documents are destroyed in a proper, timely fashion. From shredding paper files to hauling the remains to a recycling plant, the destruction service will handle the entire process for you.

Document destruction in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle

If you would like to learn more about shredding, contact UCI Document Destruction in Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas. Our shredding team goes through background checks and drug screening before ever touching your documents and hard drives. You can reach us at (806) 372-7722 in Amarillo or (806) 722-0544 in Lubbock, or Send Us an Email to learn more about our Services.