Since the oil spill in 2010, BP has really upped the ante on their safety precautions.

Theyve strengthened buildings, added better safety systems, and even appointed a safety monitor to serve a four-year term. Key parts of their new system are understanding hazards, evaluating and managing operational risks, and learning from their past experiences, using the knowledge and foresight to help them to prevent these disasters. Individual Responsibility and Accountability play huge roles in BPs safety system. What could you have done to prevent this? The basic ideas of the new safety program are to prevent the loss of hydrocarbon with well-designed equipment, reduce the likelihood of ignition by controlling ignition sources, provide safe locations in the event of an accident, install additional safety instruments to reduce risks, work to reduce explosions and toxic risks through inventory reduction, and to get more experienced and trained operational staff. BP believes that what is in the past is in the past, but that doesnt mean they cant learn from it. Every mistake is a lesson learned. Mark Bly was hired to write a report explaining what exactly happened in the BP Oil Spill. His report contained 26 ways BP could improve their safety. To date, BP has implemented 14 of the recommendations and has future plans to implement the rest. So far, BP has updated and clarified cementing guidelines, updated technical practices, reviewed and updated the Engineering Technical Practice (ETP), proposed a revision to the recommended practice of testing foam cement, strengthened the technical authoritys role in cementing and planning for zonal isolation, developed an advanced deepwater well control training program, established BP in-house expertise for subsea BOPs, requested that the International Association of Drilling Contractors consider the need of a program for formal subsea engineering certification, strengthened rig audit processes, established a key performance indicator, conducted an immediate review of the quality of services, required hazard and operability reviews, included the study of all drilling rig surface system vents, and developed a plan for remotely operated vehicle intervention for each subsea BOP. In June 2012, BP appointed Mr. Carl Sandin to provide the SEEAC (Safety Ethics and Environmental Assurance Committee) with an objective and assessment of BPs execution of Blys recommendations. To track their progress, they use what is known as a leading indicator. This focuses on the strength of preventative controls, including inspections, reducing overdue maintenance, and corrective actions and tests of equipment. They also use lagging indicators, which record previous events. BP now uses a tiered approach to safety and incident reporting, which is outlined in the image on the next page.

Safety Metrics are reported quarterly to group operations and risk committees. The updated Metrics used are: Portfolio (measures the number of well and drilling rigs in each region), Practice of Deviations (measures the number of necessary deviations allowed from the mandates), Well Control (measures the number and severity of incidents), Well Construction (measures the number of times requirements are violated), Well Integrity (measures the number of times requirements are violated), Rig Safety-Critical Equipment (measures the status of safety equipment), and BOP Reliability (measures the number of times defects are discovered). Analysis of this data allows them to strengthen the processes and prevent accidents. Certain Key Operating Practices and Standards are in effect now that werent before, such as: Cementing or Zonal Isolation: New mandatory requirements and 9 associated guides covering key cementing activities Integrating Process Safety Concepts Into Management of Wells: Practice specifying requirements for wells to manage the flow of fluids and gases passing through the well. Well Casing Design: New requirements for pressure tests and revised technical practices Blowout Preventer Stacks: Exceeds regulatory requirements by mandating that each Blowout Preventer must have two sets of blind shear rans and a casting shear ram for all underwater BOPs Rig Intake & Start-Up Operating Procedures: Check list determining that certain requirements are upheld. Rigs are subject to random audits.

BP encourages all leaders in all departments to verify that all the possible risks are understood and that all possible barriers are in place. Leadership rig inspections take place all the time. In order to prevent oil spills, BP utilizes hazard identification and risk management. Even if a risk isnt very likely, but is highly consequential, it is reviewed annually. Now, oil rigs must have access to capping equipment, must pre-plan relief wells, and must be ready to demonstrate safety and optional risk functions. We are committed to advancing the industrys technical understanding and capability in oil spill response and continue to engage with our peer companies in the oil and gas industry to share what we have learned. One organization created by BP is the Global Wells Organization (GWO), which employs over 2000 people. In 2012, GWO created state-of-the-art simulators to support learning and testing oil rigs on land. These are available to any team member to use at any time. Another organization BP is involved in is the Marine Well Containment Committee, a non-profit initiative started by oil and gas operators in the gulf. This organization makes all available capping and containment systems available to anyone that needs them. They are also involved in the Subsea Well Response Project to improve capping response in the event of an incident. BP now has a well-capping and tooling package stored in Houston, TX. This cap can operate in up to 10,000 feet of water and can be flown into wherever it is needed in a matter of days. This all-encompassing package includes a remotely-operated vehicles intervention system, subsea dispersant injection system, subsea debris removal equipment, and a deepwater well cap. A Relief Well is a means of stopping the flow of fluids from an out-of-control-well. BP requires that relief wells be planned in advance with at least two options available. BP now also possesses Real Time Ranging Technology, which reduces the amount of time needed to measure the size of a relief well from 3 days to a mere 6 hours. BP has come a long way since the oil spill, and every year new ways of being safer are being created. They are doing everything in their power to make sure a global catastrophe like the 2010 oil spill never happens again. Resources: "Capping and Containment." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventing-andresponding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills/safer-drilling/capping-and-containment.html>. "Implementing the Internal Investigation." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventing-andresponding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills/safer-drilling/implementing-the-bp-internalinvestigation.html>.

"Oil Spill Preparedness and Response." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventing-andresponding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills/oil-spill-preparedness-and-response.html>. "Preventing and Responding to Accidents and Oil Spills." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventingand-responding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills.html>. "Safer Drilling." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventing-andresponding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills/safer-drilling.html>. "Safety in the Downstream Business." BP. British Petroleum, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/safety/preventing-andresponding-to-accidents-and-oil-spills/safety-in-the-downstream-business.html>.