A safety barrier-based accident model for offshore drilling blowouts

Blowout is one of the most serious accidents in the offshore oil and gas industry. Accident records show that most of the offshore blowouts have occurred in the drilling phase. Efficient measures to prevent, mitigate, and control offshore drilling blowouts are important for the entire offshore oil and gas industry. This article proposes a new barrier-based accident model for drilling blowouts. The model is based on the three-level well control theory, and primary and secondary well control barriers and an extra well monitoring barrier are established between the reservoir and the blowout event. The three barriers are illustrated in a graphical model that is similar to the well-known Swiss cheese model. Five additional barriers are established to mitigate and control the blowout accident, and event tree analysis is used to analyze the possible consequence chains. Based on statistical data and literature reviews, failures of each barrier are presented. These failures can be used as guidance for offshore drilling operators to become aware of the vulnerabilities of the safety barrier system, and to assess the risk related to these barriers. The Macondo accident is used as a case study to show how the new model can be used to understand the development of the events leading to the accident. The model can also be used as an aid to prevent future blowouts or to stop the escalation of events.     

Site managers and safety leadership in the offshore oil and gas industry

Management commitment to safety is recognised as a fundamental component of an organisation's safety culture (Reason, 1997. Managing the Risks of Organisational Accidents. Ashgate, Aldershot, UK). However, the role and experiences of site managers in relation to safety have rarely been examined. A survey questionnaire was conducted of 200 Offshore Installation Managers (OIMs) from 157 offshore oil and gas installations belonging to 36 organisations operating on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. The questionnaire gathered data relating to OIMs' level of experience and style of leadership as well as their knowledge and experience of safety and leadership within the industry. The aims of the study are twofold. The first aim is to investigate the relationship between managers' level of experience and style of leadership with their safety attitudes and behaviour. The second aim is to investigate managers' perceptions of best practice in safety leadership and their beliefs about the key outstanding safety issues. Findings suggest that experience is not the dominant factor in determining leadership style or attitudes to safety, however, the less experienced OIMs and those with more directive styles of leadership were found to overestimate their ability to influence and motivate the workforce. It seems that although managers are aware of best practice in safety leadership, they do not always act in ways consistent with this. They report having considerable difficulty in motivating and controlling some safety crucial aspects of workforce behaviour such as getting workers to accept ownership of safety and getting workers to report near misses. In terms of outstanding safety issues, it appears that improvements still need to be made in a number of areas such as the standardisation of safety culture; the harmonisation of safety practices and procedures across the industry; improved workforce competency and increased workforce involvement in safety activities and decision making.     

基于CFD的深水钻井溢油事故定量风险评估

针对深水钻井作业过程中的井喷溢油问题,基于计算流体力学(CFD)方法,通过UDF函数给定海流流剖面、波浪入口边界条件和海水静压分布情况,结合标准k-ε方程,采用VOF模型实现对油、气、水三相自由面的追踪,建立了溢油扩散事故数值仿真模型,评估深水条件下溢油扩散危害区域,研究海流流速、溢油量对原油扩散的影响。结果表明,海流流速和溢油量是原油扩散行为和危害区域分布范围的重要影响因素。     

Actual safety performance of the Malaysian offshore oil platforms: Correlations between the leading and lagging indicators

IntroductionThis study establishes the correlations between performance of a set of key safety factors and the actual lagging performance of oil platforms in Malaysia, hence the relevance of the key safety factors in evaluating and predicting the safety performance of oil and gas platforms. The key factors are crucial components of a safety performance evaluation framework and each key safety factor corresponds to a list of underlying safety indicators.MethodIn this study, participating industrial practitioners rated the compliance status of each indicator using a numbering system adapted from the traffic light system, based on the actual performance of 10 oil platforms in Malaysia. Safety scores of the platforms were calculated based on the ratings and compared with the actual lagging performance of the platforms. Safety scores of two platforms were compared with the facility status reports' findings of the respective platforms.ResultsThe platforms studied generally had good performance. Total recordable incident rates of the platforms were found to show significant negative correlations with management and work engagement on safety, compliance score for number of incident and near misses, personal safety, and management of change. Lost time injury rates, however, correlated negatively with hazard identification and risk assessment. The safety scores generally agreed with findings of the facility status reports with substandard process containment found as a contributor of hydrocarbon leaks.ConclusionsThis study proves the criterion validity of the safety performance evaluation framework and demonstrates its usability for benchmarking and continuous improvement of safety practices on the Malaysian offshore oil and gas platforms.Practical applicationsThis study reveals the applicability of the framework and the potential of extending safety reporting beyond the few conventional lagging safety performance indicators used. The study also highlights the synergy between correlating safety factors to streamline safety management on offshore platforms.     

海上钻井平台安全风险预警模型应用研究

2010年美国墨西哥湾“深水地平线”钻井平台爆炸和2011年我国蓬莱钻井平台井涌事故,引发社会各界对海上钻井平台安全问题的关注.介绍了海洋钻井平台的组成结构,对海洋钻井平台的危险源进行了系统辨识,试图通过对海上钻井平台作业现场危险因素加以观察,诊断、分析警源、警情,警兆,警级,结合专家意见,从人员、设施设备、安全管理、工程地质、海上环境等几个方面建立海上钻井平台安全风险预警体系,采用改进的层次分析法,得出指标权重,构建海洋钻井平台安全风险预警模型,得到量化的预警结果.并通过对某钻井平台的实例分析,提出安全风险的预控对策,以期本模型对海上钻井平台的事故的发生起到一定的防范作用.     

Barrier management in the offshore oil and gas industry

Accident investigations indicate that inadequate barrier management has been a main cause of many accidents in the process industry. In 2013, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority issued a barrier management framework for the offshore oil and gas industry. The framework describes principles related to barrier management and may be a valuable guide for the entire process industry. However, the offshore industry faces several challenges when implementing the framework. This paper discusses these challenges and clarifies the central concepts and steps of barrier management. A key message is the need for clarity and integration in a systematic approach to risk and barrier management.     

Inherently safer design in offshore oil and gas projects

Like all hazardous installations, inherently safer design (ISD) is one of the key tools in offshore oil and gas projects to minimize risks in offshore facilities. As the life cycle of offshore facilities is relatively short compared with onshore counterparts and there are many projects running every year, the potential is high for raising inherent safety standards and lowering safety risks throughout the offshore industry as old facilities are phased out. This paper gives an overview of offshore facilities and examples of implementation of ISD. Good examples of ISD are numerous. Industry guidance on ISD implementation abound. Yet, the systematic implementation of it in the industry is patchy. There are many reasons for factors which impede the effective, efficient and consistent implementation of ISD in projects. This paper describes some of them and proposes solution to address them. They include (a) the effective integration of ISD into hazard management systems with appropriate language to engage all disciplines in projects, (b) the phasing of resources to enable the project to capture ISD measures which are only available during early phases, (c) application of appropriate ISD goals and ISD performance metrics at various stages and (d) the appropriate use of quantified risk assessment to support ISD.     

A conceptual offshore oil and gas process accident model

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an accident prevention model for offshore oil and gas processing environments. The accidents that are considered in this work relate specifically to hydrocarbon release scenarios and any escalating events that follow. Using reported industry data, the elements to prevent an accident scenario are identified and placed within a conceptual model to depict the accident progression. The proposed accident model elements are represented as safety barriers designed to prevent the accident scenario from developing. The accident model is intended to be a tool for highlighting vulnerabilities of oil and gas processing operations and to provide guidance on how to minimize their hazards. These vulnerabilities are discussed by applying the 1988 Piper Alpha and the 2005 BP Texas City disaster scenarios to the model.     

Fuzzy risk assessment of oil and gas offshore wells

Risk evaluation of offshore wells is a challenging task, given that much of the available data is highly uncertain and vague, and many of the mechanisms are complex and difficult to understand. Consequently, a systematic approach is required to handle both quantitative and qualitative data as well as means to update existing information when new knowledge and data become available. Each Basic Risk Item (BRI) in a hierarchical framework is expressed as a fuzzy number, which is a combination of the likelihood of a failure event and the associated failure consequence. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to estimate weights required for grouping non-commensurate risk sources. Evidential Reasoning (ER) is employed to incorporate new data for updating existing risk estimates. It is envisaged that the proposed approach could serve as a basis for benchmarking acceptable risks in offshore wells.     

Development of HGAPSO-SVR corrosion prediction approach for offshore oil and gas pipelines

Managing the oil and gas pipelines against corrosion is one of the major challenges of the oil and gas sector because of the complexities associated with the initiation, stabilization, and growth of the corrosion defects. The present research attempts to develop a model for predicting the maximum depth of pitting corrosion in oil and gas pipelines using SVM algorithm. In order to improve the SVM performance, Hybrid PSO and GA was utilized. Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine the time lapse for the pit depth growth. In order to implement the above modeling approaches and to prove their efficiency and accuracy against a large database, a total of 340 data samples for corrosion depth and rate are retrieved from the Iranian Oilfields. The performance of the new algorithm shows that it has higher stability and accuracy. In addition, the forecasting results of the new algorithm are compared with the 11 intelligent optimization algorithms, it shows that the novel hybrid algorithm has higher accuracy, better generalization ability, and stronger robustness. The coefficient of determination (R²) value in the testing phase for SVM-HGAPSO was estimated by 0.99. Proposed hybrid model and Monte-Carlo simulations pitting corrosion based on Poisson square wave process have been used to predict the time evolution of the mean value of the pit depth distribution for different categories of maximum pitting rates (low, moderate, high and sever). The models was validated with 4 field data for each of the pitting corrosion categories and the results agreed well. The pipelines under severe pitting corrosion rate were, more conservatively predicted by HGAPSO-SVR than those under low, moderate and high pitting corrosion rates. The results obtained demonstrate the potentials of this technique for the integrity management of corroded aged pipelines.     

Inherent safety in offshore oil and gas activities: a review of the present status and future directions

Inherent safety is a proactive approach for hazard/risk management during process plant design and operation. It has been proven that, considering the lifetime costs of a process and its operation, an inherently safer approach is a cost-optimal option. Inherent safety can be incorporated at any stage of design and operation; however, its application at the earliest possible stages of process design (such as process selection and conceptual design) yields the best results.Although it is an attractive and cost-effective approach to hazard/risk management, inherent safety has not been used as widely as other techniques such as HAZOP and quantitative risk assessment. There are many reasons responsible for this; key among them are a lack of awareness and the non-availability of a systematic methodology and tools.The inherent safety approach is the best option for hazard/risk management in offshore oil and gas activities. In the past, it has been applied to several aspects of offshore process design and operation. However, its use is still limited. This article attempts to present a complete picture of inherent safety application in offshore oil and gas activities. It discuses the use of available technology for implementation of inherent safety principles in various offshore activities, both current and planned for the future.     

搬运气瓶应采取的防火安全措施

压缩气体和液化气体气瓶在搬动过程中具有很大的危险性,应采取相应的防火安全措施。 1.在装运气瓶时必须对气瓶进行检查,开关关紧,戴好安全帽,瓶体要有防震圈,无缺陷、无漏气、符合技术检验标准,否则不得装运。     

石油天然气钻井工程风险量化技术

基于风险的概念,在对石油天然气钻井工程设计、工艺设备、施工管理、复杂情况和事故等总体分析的基础上,提出钻井工程风险量化方法———风险评估指数系统。此方法结合科学计算和专家经验,确定了固有风险指标、事故易发性指标和后果严重度指标等三个指标及量化标准,并将钻井工程风险划分为4个等级,最终建立了由指数体系、评分体系、风险分级标准组成的风险评估系统。本方法可用于专业机构的风险评估,也可用于安全管理部门的检查,以指导采取相应措施降低工程的危险性。     

Risk perception by offshore workers on UK oil and gas platforms

This paper reports the first investigation of risk perception by workers on offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf, following changes in offshore safety legislation in the wake of the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. The Offshore Safety Case regulations (Health and Safety Executive, 1992, A Guide to the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations) put the onus on the operator to identify the major hazards and to reduce the risks to As Low As is Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). The regulations specifically state that Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) must be used when preparing the Safety Case. However, people do not use QRA when making everyday judgements about risk; they make subjective judgements known as risk perceptions, which are influenced by a number of different factors. This study was designed to complement the extensive QRA calculations that have already been carried out in the development of Safety Cases. The aim was to measure subjective risk perception in offshore personnel and examine how this relates to the more objective risk data available, namely accident records and QRA calculations. This paper describes the Offshore Risk Perception Questionnaire developed to collect the data and reports on UK offshore workers' perceptions of the risks associated with major and minor hazards, work tasks and other activities aboard production platforms.     

RAM分析技术在海上油气田建设项目中的应用研究

水下生产系统最近几年被广泛用于海洋深水油气田的开发.与传统陆上油气田相比,水下生产系统维护困难,系统故障可能导致更严重后果,能源公司越来越重视水下生产系统的可靠性.总结了可靠性、可用性和可维护性分析技术的基本原理和工作流程,以目前正在建设中的深水油气田开发项目为例,给出了可靠性、可用性和可维护性技术的应用过程,并根据结果优化了基本设计方案,确保了导管架平台与水下生产系统的总体可靠性和可用性,同时从可靠性观点出发,针对设计中的薄弱环节,提出了相应的改进措施,对今后海上油气开发项目的设计的选择和运行维护方案的制定具有一定的指导与借鉴意义.     

石油钻井作业的安全葡萄图管理技术

石油钻井作业是一个高风险行业,其风险具有严重性、突发性、隐蔽性、随机性的特点,是石油石化行业中最主要的事故频发区之一.震惊世界的“12.23”事故以后,在国家和企业安全生产的指导与监督下,事故较以前明显减少,但钻井作业的特点决定了其风险因素不会被消除,只能通过人的因素去预防事故发生.安全葡萄图从人的因素考虑,结合了人体生物节律与葡萄图两者的优点,除了具有葡萄图的特点外,还具有预测性、记录性和选拔性,是安全管理方面的一种新方法.安全葡萄图是一种以人为本的安全管理方法,通过加强人员安全管理来减少和消除事故隐患的目的.该方法简单实用,适合于钻井等高风险行业使用.     

浅谈海洋石油多功能支持平台的安全管理

简单介绍了海洋石油多功能支持平台的基本情况,总结了多功能支持平台现有的三种安全管理工具,分别是工作许可证、工作安全风险分析(JSA)和"五想五不干"行为安全观察卡;同时结合海洋石油多功能支持平台自身特点,分析了如何做好平台的安全教育培训、安全检查和班组安全建设以及应急演练等安全管理工作;通过增强全员的安全意识、及时消除事故隐患及增强基层的安全管理和加强平台的应急反应能力,提高海洋石油多功能支持平台的安全管理水平,以期达到海洋石油平台安全、健康、和谐发展的目的,可供同行借鉴和参考。     

Risk indicators for major hazards on offshore installations

Major hazards risk indicators are proposed for offshore installations, based on what has been used by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway for the Risk Level approach in the Norwegian offshore petroleum industry. Since 2002 also leading indicators are used, in the sense that indicators for barrier performance are included together with the lagging indicators. There are individual indicators for a number of barrier functions, including fire and gas detection, a number of safety valves, active fire protection and mustering of personnel. The performance of the leading indicators during several years of data collection as well as lessons learned from the project are discussed. This is followed by a review of how indicators may be used by individual companies, and how the lessons may be utilised by individual companies to develop risk indicators for individual installations as well as company wide indicators.     

海洋钻井平台事故致因分析与评价指标研究

该文在广泛调研国内外已发生的海洋平台事故基础上,从人因失误、工艺设备、物料危险、管理缺陷和危险环境五个方面系统分析事故致因因素,提出海洋钻井平台事故致因评价框架,提出5个一级评价指标和24个二级评价指标,根据层次分析法,计算确定各指标的标准权重值.最后针对某在役海洋钻井平台,开展实例研究.为实际评价海洋钻井平台事故风险提供一种新方法,具有一定的实际应用价值.     

基于全生命周期的海洋油气项目集风险管理

为了强化海洋油气项目集的风险管理,以海洋油气田固定区块开发为范围,基于甲方油气田单位和乙方服务单位立场,对项目集进行全生命周期的风险管理;将海洋油气项目集生命周期划分为6个阶段;提出了滚动风险管理模式,给出各阶段风险分解结构和风险应对策略;以时间、成本、质量为控制要素,建立项目整体风险动态评估方法。研究结果表明:通过生命周期6个阶段和整体2级动态迭代风险控制,能更早发现项目集各级过程风险,有助于避免或降低风险事故带来的损失,更有效地保障项目集收益和组织战略实现,可为我国海上油气田开发风险管理提供新参考。