HSE Management in a Drilling Environment

Abstract

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 117813, "HSE Management in a Drilling Environment," by Andrew May, Alain Moonen, and Stewart Logan, Qatar Shell GTL, and Jackie Allinson, CW International, originally pre pared for the 2008 Abu Dhabi In ternational Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 3–6 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Since the beginning of the Pearl gas-to-liquid (GTL) drilling activities in Qatar's North field in 2004, five drilling rigs have been used and, to date, it has been a 4-year, 3-million-man-hours lost-time-incident (LTI)-free operation. Recognizing the industry challenges of introducing large numbers of inexperienced staff on the drilling rigs, introduction of a pro-gram of proactive health, safety, and environment (HSE) management by engaging all levels of the organizations of the operator and contractors has resulted in a top-quartile HSE and operational performance. Introduction After drilling and testing an appraisal well in 2004 and a data-acquisition well in 2006, the Pearl GTL development campaign began in earnest with two rigs (one a new build) drilling over two offshore jackets. During 2008, a land rig was taken on contract to drill two water-injection wells to dispose of condensed water from offshore. Also in 2008, an ambitious project matured to perform simultaneous operations in a hydrogen sulfide environment, consisting of drilling and completing wells while simultaneously perforating, acid stimulating, and cleaning up precompleted wells from temporary decks on the platform jacket. Creating an HSE-Enabling Environment Creating an HSE-enabling environment that is conducive to open, honest, and no-blame relationships generating hazard-reducing ideas is a result of a mix of many elements that require continuous focus and buy-in. The creation begins at the contract-tender stage where the minimum HSE requirements are set out as an initial qualifying hurdle and where the HSE performance of each contractor is reviewed during the evaluation process. Then, in the period between the award of the contracts and the start of operations, project-kickoff meetings with participation of the operator, drilling contractors, third-party contractors, subcontractors, and office and on-site staff are used as a vehicle to develop the "One Team" approach to HSE. Openness, honesty, mutual trust, and full commitment are the key requirements for all parties involved to accept HSE as a core value and have fully aligned HSE aspirations. At the commencement of the operational phase, all the enabling elements of the preparation phases, including detailed hazard analysis and the generation of HSE cases, are approached with great enthusiasm. This enthusiastic approach is key and produces clear and effective outcomes.