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HSE: a global concern - Offshore Technology

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HSE: a global concern

23 March 2012
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Health and safety remains top of the industry agenda as the shock waves from the
Macondo and Montara disasters continue. World Expro editor Mark Brierley asked
four of the worlds top HSE experts what measures need to be taken to protect
personnel and mitigate against future incidents.

Question 1: What are the main HSE challenges facing offshore oil
and gas operations in your region? Do you think these differ from
other areas of E&P globally?
Jane Cutler: Australians have the expectation that a vibrant and growing national
offshore petroleum industry should also be a safe industry. Tragedies such as
Macondo in the Gulf of Mexico and incidents like the blow-out of the Montara
wellhead platform in the Timor Sea highlight the realities of a high-hazard industry
and the potential for loss of life.
Australia has an extensive coastline and a relatively small population. Many of the
oil and gas activities are located offshore in remote areas, away from
infrastructure and other support facilities. Logistics in the event of an incident can
provide significant challenges compared with E&P areas in the North Sea or the
Gulf of Mexico, where there are extensive facilities available.
Like other E&P areas globally, the petroleum industry is under greater scrutiny as
a result of recent incidents. Community expectations are high with regards to
environmental performance, especially in remote areas near the pristine
Australian coastline.
Raphael Moura: The main HSE technical challenge associated with the Brazilian
oil and gas industry is the development of pre-salt reserves in ultra-deepwater
environments, which requires adequate drilling technology to surpass the layer of
salt under high pressure and at high temperatures.
A sophisticated infrastructure will also be needed to
transport the produced hydrocarbon to shore; however, I
believe that many HSE aspects are common to other
regions, such as the improvement of the overall risk
perception, the development of proactive safety
performance indicators and the implementation of better
contingency capabilities. Consequently, it is important to
maintain a consistent regulatory framework that is
capable of absorbing quick changes in technology while
challenging the industry to improve operations.

"There were no
fatalities in the
offshore activities
regulated by the
HSE in 2010/11
the fourth year
running". Steve
Walker

Magne Ognedal: Great attention has also been paid in

Norway to the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon. Although the level of safety in this
country is generally good, it is obvious that improvements are also needed in its
petroleum industry.

The 2010 study of risk-level trends in the Norwegian petroleum activity (RNNP)
shows a sharp rise in well-control incidents and gas leaks back at a high level. The
Norwegian petroleum industry has paid great attention over the past decade to
reducing the number of hydrocarbon leaks, and has established clear reduction
targets on several occasions. It's very important that the industry comes up with
good measures for reversing this development. Our goal is continuous
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improvement - it's a matter of concern that the major accident indicator isn't
moving in a positive direction.
Steve Walker: The many aging assets on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) are
likely to remain in operation for the foreseeable future, with a significant proportion
of offshore installations having already exceeded their original design life. These
present particular and increasing challenges to the continued delivery of
appropriate standards of major hazard risk control. With the long-promised
decommissioning of the UKCS offshore infrastructure proving slow to take off, the
industry still needs to be encouraged to maintain its focus on the control of major
accident hazards, particularly in uncertain times.
There were no fatalities in the offshore activities regulated by the HSE in 2010/11
- the fourth year running - and a fall in the number of major injuries. The combined
fatal and major injury rate fell to 151.8 per 100,000 workers, compared with 192 in
2009/10, continuing an overall downward trend. Similarly, the continued fall in the
number of minor injuries led to a historical low over-three-day injury rate. Major and
significant hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) were significantly reduced compared
with 2009/10; however, this only maintains the annual average rate over the
previous five years, and the industry is finding it difficult to break through this
particular plateau.

Question 2: Given high-profile health and safety lapses in the

industry over the past few years, are you seeing a shift in priorities
for operators in your region when it comes to HSE, or is change
driven by the regulator?
JC: There is a need for a shared commitment by governments, regulators and
industry to take meaningful steps to avoid incidents like Montara and Macondo in
the future, and that this objective can only be achieved if they work together to
promote ongoing improvement in skills development, competence and a culture
of compliance.
The recent International Offshore Petroleum Regulators and Operators Summit
also reaffirmed the critical role of an independent, well-resourced regulator to
challenge industry to be rigorous in its operations practices, and prevention and
mitigation techniques. At a practical level, this means holding regular liaison
meetings with facility operators to communicate the regulatory requirements, while
meetings with senior management further reinforce the importance of safety
performance and highlight any areas of concern.
With the passing of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage
Amendment (National Regulator) Bill 2011, NOPSA's portfolio has broadened
further to make it the authority on offshore environmental management practices,
becoming the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental
Management Authority (NOPSEMA) as of 1 January 2012 in order to reflect these
new areas of regulation. In reality, this means a more consistent approach to
ensuring compliance with the regulations.

" There is a need

for a shared
commitment by
governments,
regulators and
industry to take
meaningful steps
to avoid incidents
like Montara and
Macondo. Jane
Cutler "

RM: There are many leading drivers of change that

affect actual HSE priorities. First of all, we experienced a
strong reaction from society to recent accidents,
regardless of the affected country or region. In my view,
it is the first indication that the bar was raised and that oil
companies must be aware that safety improvements are
vital for the worldwide stability of the oil and gas industry.
It is clear that regulators play a major role in this matter
and must challenge the operators to improve operations,
but it is not a simple task and cannot be a sole
endeavour. Only a well-resourced regulator that is
empowered by the state, as well as recognised and
respected by the industry, would be able to address the
expected advancements.

MO: The PSA takes the view that the level of attention
devoted to safety by the companies in Norway is relatively stable. During the past
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18 months, there has clearly been a great deal of debate about the major accident
in the Gulf of Mexico. I would otherwise point out that safety work in the Norwegian
petroleum industry is based on collaboration between companies, unions and
government. These three parties sit together in established forums that address
the overall challenges facing the industry.
SW: The implications of the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico in
2010 continue to reverberate through the global industry. Offshore oil and gas
exploration and production activity has a much higher media and political profile
than before, both for the industry and for OSD as the offshore safety regulator.
OSD has responded to the regulatory and wider stakeholder challenges arising
from Deepwater Horizon across a variety of work streams.
OSD engages with movers and shakers in the industry in a variety of ways, with
the intention of avoiding catastrophic events and promoting the importance of
asset integrity. The three-year Key Programme 4 (KP4) concentrates on ensuring
that risks to asset integrity due to aging and life extension are adequately
managed and ensures that the future condition of offshore assets are adequately
anticipated in asset management regimes/approaches.

Question 3: Are there any regions where you believe not enough is
being done to tackle these safety lapses?
JC: Over the years many incidents have reminded us
that major incidents causing loss of life and
environmental damage can happen again, can happen
anywhere and can happen to anyone.
No country has a flawless system and it is up to
individual operators and regulators alike to be vigilant in
their compliance with offshore health and safety, well
integrity and environmental management regulations in
order to minimise the risk of incidents.

"Producing
countries should
get closer and
work hard to
improve the
industry globally.
Ralph Moura"

RM: Regions across the globe have their own

challenges related to the maturity of industry, availability of resources, the state
organisation as well as geographical and geological characteristics. The efforts
applied to tackle safety matters are highly dependent on those particular issues,
and it would be difficult to point out lapses without a detailed evaluation of
procedures, methods and arrangements.
The important thing is that producing countries should get closer and work hard to
improve the industry globally, exchanging information and learning from each
other.

Question 4: What international cooperation takes place among the

HSE community to ensure best practice is followed across the
globe?
JC: We often look to the northern hemisphere for guidance in this area, it being
the location where the majority of offshore petroleum operations are located. The
International Regulators' Forum (IRF), of which NOPSEMA is a member, is a
group of independent national health and safety regulators in the offshore
upstream oil and gas industry. It drives improvements in health and safety,
through collaboration in joint programmes and information sharing.

"The PSA
assumes that the
industry applies
best practice in
its operations.
Magne Ognedal"

The 2012 IRF annual meeting will be hosted by the

National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANP) in Brazil
and the 2013 meeting and conference will be hosted by
NOPSEMA in Perth, Australia. In the future, NOPSEMA
will continue to engage with international authorities and
global companies to remain at the forefront of best
practice.

RM: Nowadays, many mutual collaboration processes

are being conducted across the globe, most of them motivated by the Gulf of
Mexico disaster in 2010. Industry recognised the need to review procedures and
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guidelines, and even to build equipment to handle particular accident scenarios,

and I believe that good local and worldwide solutions are being developed
properly. Representative groups such as the European Commission, the G-20,
and the bilateral collaboration between Brazil and the US are also discussing
improvements to be addressed.
However, even though all initiatives are welcome and valid, the development of a
consistent safety culture requires a long-term cooperation process, and the
dialogue must be permanent. That is the reason why I believe the International
Regulator's Forum is a valuable and effective network for information exchange,
where ten countries are represented and fully engaged on discussing safety
tendencies and on the dissemination of best practices. The IRF countries are
also supporting standardisation bodies to achieve globally agreed offshore
standards, an important step forward to harmonise worldwide operations.
MO: Operators and other companies involved in the Norwegian petroleum industry
naturally belong to relevant organisations, forums and associations. The PSA
assumes that the industry applies best practice in its operations - and maintains a
focus on continuous improvement.

Industry disasters like

the Macondo and
Montara incidents have
implications for HSE
throughout the world.

Jane Cutler is the CEO

of the National Offshore
Petroleum Safety
Authority (NOPSA).
She has also worked as
a senior executive with
Woodside, with
responsibility for the
proposed OceanWay
LNG import facility in
Los Angeles and the
Sunrise LNG
Development. Cutler
has also held chief
executive positions in
the financial services
industry.

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Raphael Moura was

appointed head of the
safety division at ANP
in May 2007, and is
responsible for the
enhancement of the
safety regulatory
framework in Brazil.
From 2005-07 he
served as a regulation
specialist at ANP,
dealing with
inspections, safety
audits and incident
investigations at
onshore and offshore
facilities.

Magne Ognedal has

worked for the
Norwegian Petroleum
Directorate since 1974,
first as a section
manager and then as
director of the safety
and working
environment division.
He was appointed
director general of the
new Petroleum Safety
Authority Norway (PSA)
when it began
operations in 2004.

Steve Walker joined

the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) 35
years ago. Since then
he has performed a
wide number of
operational and policy
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roles covering majorhazard chemical plants,

and the railway and
offshore industries.
Walker became the
head of the HSEs
Offshore Division
(OSD) in 2009.

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