Application of Practical Problem-Solving Techniques to Reduce Wells Process Safety Incidents in Workover Operations

Abstract

Abstract Wells Process Safety (WPS) is a major aspect of delivering a well/ workover safely. An increasing trend in WPS Level 3 incidents was observed in the first four months of 2021. WPS Level 3 incidents are well control events where the first well control barrier was lost leaving one single tested barrier in place. Data shows that in March and April, the number of incidents increased by 60% compared to the first two months. Based on data, it was noticed that 85% of the incidents happened in hoist workover operations. The Practical Problem-Solving (PPS) technique was selected out of the Lean tools to solve this problem. PDO has imported and re-structured the PPS technique to be fit for the Oil and Gas industry and its processes. The problems which are normally tackled by a PPS can be: - ▪ Sudden change/deviation ▪ Unsafe event ▪ Defective product Data was analyzed to break down the problem and figure out its dimensions. Bar charts were used with the aim of getting a logical trend that would enable a better understanding of the problem. Four main trends were observed from the graphical analysis. It was noticed that the WPS incidents were happening on a certain well type, workover unit, activity and geographical locations. Root cause analysis started by using the fishbone tool to brainstorm possible causes of the problem. With the advice of the experts and key stakeholders, a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) was conducted using the "5 Whys" method. After the RCA, a mitigation plan was developed to work out the best countermeasures to tackle the root causes. As a result of the PPS root cause analysis, some of the operating procedures were updated for the relevant operations. Similarly, controls were put in place to tackle all root causes. After 3 months of piloting the countermeasures, no WPS L3 incidents occurred in our workover operation. With the improvement in the data quality, five incidents were reclassified or removed from the data base. Overall, we achieved a 40% reduction in WPS L3 incidents in our Workover Department, mainly driven by the implementation of this PPS approach. This paper will give a brief about the application of Lean methodology in PDO's operations and how the PPS tool can help identify and solve day to day problems. With this project, the Practical Problem Solving (PPS) technique was used for the first time to address WPS related issues. Tools including, stakeholder engagements, root cause analysis and process mapping will be explained in this paper in detail.