Eliminating fatalities from the upstream oil and gas industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 601
Author(s):  
Chris Hawkes
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
International Association ◽  
Safety Data ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Process Safety ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Global Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) is a global forum in which member companies identify and share best practices to achieve improvements in areas such as health, safety, the environment, security, social responsibility and operations. IOGP members collectively produce 40% of the world’s oil and gas. IOGP has been collecting annual safety data from its members since 1985: this database has grown to be the largest in the oil and gas industry, representing 2999 million workhours and operations in 104 countries in 2017. Having this large database of information and standardised reporting allows trending and analysis on a scale that is not possible for any individual member company. This is particularly true for deriving trends for fatal, and major process safety events that individual companies may only see infrequently. In the 5 years leading up to 2015 there were 85 fatalities reported by IOGP members per year on average, but none of these incidents were ‘new’ and we recognise the causes of most of them. Started in 2016, after 2 consecutive years of an increase in the fatal accident rate, IOGP’s Project Safira aims to provide clear solutions to prevent fatalities due to process safety events, aviation incidents and motor vehicle crashes. A fourth project area is industry wide implementation of a single, common, standardised set of ‘Life-Saving Rules’. We want to make sure that never again shall we read of a fatal incident and feel like we have seen it before. We also want to learn together, as the global industry that we are, and eliminate fatalities from occurring.

From global upstream safety data to action

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 527
Author(s):  
Olav Skår ◽  
Mariana Carvalho ◽  
Wendy Poore ◽  
Kirsty Walker
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
International Association ◽  
Safety Data ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Life Saving

The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) is a global forum in which member companies identify and share best practices to achieve improvements in many areas, including upstream process safety. IOGP members encompass oil and gas companies, industry associations as well as major upstream service companies; collectively, members produce 40% of the world’s oil and gas. These member companies voluntarily report their annual safety data, which are used to compile an annual report on safety performance indicators. IOGP work groups use these data to identify industry-wide learning to enable an industry vision of no fatalities. This paper describes the trends and lessons learned from the most recent data received. The IOGP safety performance indicator dataset is the largest database of its kind in the upstream oil and gas industry, allowing the ability to analyse trends and learning from fatal incidents on an industry-wide basis. Having this large database of information and standardised reporting of fatality data by activity, category, Life-Saving Rule and causal factors allows trending and analysis on a scale that is not possible for any individual member company. The present paper provides an update on the upstream industry safety performance from the past 5 years of data collected, and discusses how this has led to Project Safira: eliminating fatalities in the upstream industry.

SafeOCS Industry Safety Data Program: An Industrywide Safety Data Management Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Demetra V. Collia ◽  
Roland L. Moreau
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Safety Data ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Near Miss ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
The Us ◽  
Recommended Practices ◽  
Industry Associations

Introduction In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the oil and gas industry, regulators, and other stakeholders recognized the need for increased collaboration and data sharing to augment their ability to better identify safety risks and address them before an accident occurs. The SafeOCS program is one such collaboration between industry and government. It is a voluntary confidential reporting program that collects and analyzes data to advance safety in oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) established the program with input from industry and then entered into an agreement with the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to develop, implement, and operate the program. As a principal statistical agency, BTS has considerable data-collection-and-analysis expertise with near-miss reporting systems for other industries and the statutory authority to protect the confidentiality of the reported information and the reporter’s identify. Source data submitted to BTS are not subject to subpoena, legal discovery, or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Solving for the Gap Across industries, companies have long realized the benefits of collecting and analyzing data around safety and environmental events to identify risks and take actions to prevent reoccurrence. These activities are aided by industry associations that collect and share event information and develop recommended practices to improve performance. In high-reliability industries such as aviation and nuclear, it is common practice to report and share events among companies and for the regulators to identify hidden trends and create or update existing recommended practices, regulations, or other controls. The challenge for the offshore oil and gas industry is that industry associations and the regulator are typically limited to collecting data on agency-reportable incidents. With this limitation, other high-learning-value events or observed conditions could go unnoticed as a trend until a major event occurs. This lack of timely data represented an opportunity for the industry and the offshore regulator (BSEE) to collaborate on a means of gathering safety-event data that would allow for analysis and identification of trends, thereby enabling appropriate interventions to prevent major incidents and foster continuous improvement. The SafeOCS Industry Safety Data (ISD) program provides an effective process for capturing these trends by looking across a wider spectrum of events, including those with no consequences.

scholarly journals United States Environmental Laws and Exploration and Production Operations

1975 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Henry R. White
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
The Government

Concern for the protection of the environment has resulted in the creation of number of new U.S. statutes and regulations which have an important impact on American oil and gas exploration and production operations. The author provides brief historical survey of some of the legislation which provided foundation for laws enacted within the past few years. He discusses in some detail the National Environmental Policy Act provisions and concludes that they have been construc tive force for change, both in the government and the oil and gas industry. The author then provides an overview of various statutes and. regulations establishing guidelines to ensure clean air and water, which are of particular importance to oil and gas producers. In conclusion, the author stresses the importance of maintaining balance between the need for healthy environment and the need for an adequate supply of energy.

Woodside and contractors—partnering for safety excellence

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 708
Author(s):  
Jim McQueenie
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
International Association ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
International Industry ◽  
Project Construction

Oil and gas industry safety performance in Australia compares well with other industries. Performance of the Australian Oil and Gas Industry, however, as reported by APPEA, lags behind the average performance of the international industry, as reported by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP). The improving trend in health and safety performance in Australia over the last ten years is continuing, but progress is slowing. This slow-down suggests that if we continue to work in the same manner as we have done in the past, we will not create the shift in performance required to match or better the international industry average. The current structure of the industry has a number of different operating companies supported by a broad base of contractors. In 2009, contractor exposure hours accounted for 88% of the total hours worked by Woodside. Each operator and contractor has their own approach to health and safety management. The industry backdrop is an increase in activity driven by coal seam gas (CSG) exploitation, a number of LNG megaprojects in development in Western Australia, a significant proportion of senior personnel retiring from the industry, and a significant influx of people new to the industry to support expansion and replace retirees. This will increase demands on existing, already stretched, industry resources and could reduce our ability to develop new approaches and effectively implement them. One of the actions taken to address this at Woodside has been to engage over 100 senior leaders in our company and the CEOs of all of our major contractors to build a commitment to change the basis upon which operator and contractor work together on health and safety issues. This has involved establishing industry sector focus groups for: drilling; exploration and geomatics; onshore project construction; offshore project construction; and, production. Each group is comprised of Woodside and contractor leadership. Given the success of these groups in formulating and driving their own agendas for improvement, and given the strong (and quite pleasing) contractor desire for ownership, Woodside sponsorship will cease at the end of 2010. The approach aims to create sustainable, self governed health and safety focus groups to develop industry solutions to our industry’s health and safety challenges. The groups operate on the premise that excellence in health and safety performance is of mutual benefit and is non-competitive.

Catastrophic Events and Human Error: A Few Rotten Apples or Organizational Dysfunction?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Vincent Bridle
Keyword(s):  
Human Error ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
The North ◽  
The Uk

Abstract In July 2021, commemorations will be held to mark the 33 years since the 1988 Piper Alpha tragedy in the UK sector of the North Sea where 167 oil field workers lost their lives. Without question, the incident was a watershed event for the international oil and gas industry not simply because of the immediate toll in human lives lost, but also in terms of the devasting aftermath endured by countless friends, families and loved ones whose lives were forever changed. The tragedy also served to illustrate just how poorly the oil and gas industry really understood and managed those operating risks that possessed the potential for catastrophic loss, both in terms of business cost and overall reputational impact. In the wake of the public enquiry that followed and chaired by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, one of the principal recommendations required that the international oil and gas industry do a much better job in determining both its major hazards (i.e. major operating risks) and also in creating the necessary operating conditions to demonstrate that such things were being well managed. The objective being to provide tangible assurance that the likelihood of the industry ever incurring such a calamitous event again in the future had been reduced to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). In taking its responsibilities very seriously, the international oil and gas industry responded by raising the profile of the management of Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE) across the wide spectrum of its global operations. By the mid-nineties, the industry had implemented comprehensive and structured systems of work within the framework of purposely built HSE Management Systems using templates designed and developed for the industry via the International Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP)*.

Assessment of Radial Drilling Feasibility at the Fields of the Orenburg Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 785 ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Vadim Aleksandrov ◽  
Marsel Kadyrov ◽  
Andrey Ponomarev ◽  
Vadim Golozubenko ◽  
Vladimir Kopyrin
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Field Analysis ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Orenburg Region ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
Drilling Technology ◽  
Radial Drilling ◽  
Almost All

The development and use of the radial drilling technology has been a controversial issue in the oil and gas industry for a long time. Nowadays, almost all big oil and gas producers deal with the question of its practical use at particular fields. The results of works carried out at carbonate reservoir units of the Orenburg Region were analyzed in the article. The ways to improve the existing technology of radial drilling were also offered. The research objective is to evaluate the technological efficiency of radial drilling application at the fields of the Volga-Ural oil and gas region with carbonate reservoir units. The results of radial drilling were characterized with the help of the detailed geological and field analysis and their quantitative evaluation was given.

scholarly journals Ten Years of Advances in Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: A Summary of Key International Industry Programs

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Santner ◽  
M. Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Task Force ◽  
International Association ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
International Industry

ABSTRACT In light of the Deepwater Horizon accident, the oil and gas industry has undertaken various national and global initiatives to advance our knowledge, understanding and approach to oil spill preparedness and response. Notable amongst these, are the IPIECAIOGP (International Association of Oil and Gas Producers) Oil Spill Response Joint Industry Project (OSR-JIP) and the American Petroleum Institute's Joint Industry Task Force (APIJITF). These alone represent million dollars of investment and the collective contribution of hundreds of subject matter experts from around the world. The above two initiatives have produced numerous technical reports, good practice guides and recommended practices that have offered significant advances in industry's oil spill preparedness and response capabilities. Additionally, the various research projects conducted primarily by API have greatly enhanced the understanding of the efficacy and fate and effects of selected response options with a focus on subsea dispersant injection. This paper provides an overview and assessment of the key outcomes of these programs as well as highlighting some of the key breakthrough projects including spill impact mitigation assessment (SIMA), incident management, tiered provision of response capability, wildlife response and dispersants. The authors also describe briefly how the industry has continued this legacy through ongoing API and IPIECA/IOGP programs, together with a brief exploration of the full extent of value which may be derived from these kinds of initiatives.

Efficient and cost effective power and temperature control is critical to oil and gas operations

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 680
Author(s):  
Christopher John Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Control ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Effective Power ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations

The availability of reliable, cost effective power and temperature control is critical to all facets of oil and gas operations around the globe. Dropping of global oil prices has had significant effects on long-term liquefied natural gas contracts. Oil and gas producers have experienced a decline in profits, and unprecedented pressure has been put on these companies to remain viable. Many marginal operators have experienced freezing of exploration budgets, delays on future planned expansions and the wind down of non-essential operations. Herein are four case studies from the oil and gas industry, which highlight several business solutions that assisted companies to stabilise their profits by starting production early, reducing operational down time and assisting process efficiencies.

Human factors in process safety: the top 10 issues

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Ronny Lardner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Process Safety ◽  
Process Industries ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Resource Sector

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of managing human factors to achieve improved safety and business performance in the chemical process industries and resource sector. Major process safety accidents, including those at Texas City, Varanus Island and Montara have again highlighted the importance of addressing this aspect of performance. Recently the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) announced an additional focus on human factors as part of their regulatory activities, noting that these factors are relevant to performance across safety, integrity, and environmental management. This extended abstract explains how the subject of human factors in process safety has been defined in the UK, categorised by the top 10 key topics. How this targeted approach helps manage this aspect of process safety performance is also discussed. Finally, this extended abstract shows how safety culture and behavioural safety are not the same as human factors. Case studies of the oil and gas industry show how attending to the top 10 delivers benefits by strengthening the effectiveness of management systems, and improving human reliability. This extended abstract directs the reader to a range of high-quality, open-source research, guidance, tools, and techniques to improve across the top 10 human-factors subjects in process safety.

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