Chevron Global Upstream Environmental Management System

Abstract

Abstract Chevron Global Upstream consists of fourteen business units producing over 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day. Standardization of key Health, Envirornment & Safety (HES) processes across all business units commenced in 2002 as part of the implementation of Chevron's Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS) and is now complete for the environmental element. The key feature of Global Upstream's implementation of the OEMS environmental element is the alignment of environmental processes with the key stages in the life cycle of an upstream asset, from acquisition, through development, into operations then decommissioning, and finally divestment. There is one key process per life cycle stage. The HES Property Transfer process applies to both acquisition and divestment. The Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) process addresses asset development, including both seismic and exploration drilling. Oil and gas production operations are covered by the Environmental Stewardship process, which also houses a Third Party Waste Stewardship process and specific Environmental Performance Standards. The Site Assessment, Remediation, Restoration, Decommissioning, and Abandonment (SARRDA) process completes the Global Upstream environmental process portfolio. The four environmental processes add value by mapping to specific exploration and production activities and by being targeted to the management and technical specialists within those functions. The system as a whole facilitates transition from process to process as an asset moves through its life cycle, and is fully aligned with ISO14001. This paper presents Global Upstream's environmental processes and performance standards. The iterative nature of how these processes and performance standards were developed from the interaction between the high level strategic intents and the business unit needs for clarity and simplicity are discussed, together with specific examples of implementation best practice and key learnings.