Technology Focus: Health, Safety, and Environment (August 2009)

Abstract

Technology Focus Health, safety, and environment (HSE) considerations continue to be integral parts of all sectors of the oil and gas industry. The health and safety of the industry work-force as well as of residents in producing regions are of paramount importance to the continued viability of the industry. In a recent example of an international health issue, the April 2009 emergence of a rapidly disseminated strain of swine flu created great concern around the world. Oil and gas industry personnel travel frequently between countries and can contribute to spreading of diseases. Last year I commented on the safety challenges of keeping up with the strong drilling demands resulting from high oil prices. This year offers a new set of challenges. With lower oil prices, companies may have cut back on some activities and programs. Hopefully, safety and environmental programs will remain as important and central elements of everyday work. Industry performance in traditional air- and water-quality and waste-management programs remains very important. Overlain on these are highly visible global issues such as climate change and carbon capture and sequestration. Projects for injecting carbon dioxide into underground formations will need to draw on the decades of expertise in the oil and gas industry. Previously, I have written about the challenges of selecting a small number of top papers to represent three separate disciplines (health, safety, and environment). My own work focuses only on environmental issues. This year, I enlisted the assistance of Tom Knode of Halliburton to help identify the top papers in health, safety, and social responsibility, which are areas within his scope of responsibility. Health, Safety, and Environment additional reading available at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org SPE 121065 • "The Use of Risk Analysis in Design: Safety Aspects Related to the Design and Operation of an FPSO" by Lars Tronstad, SPE, StatoilHydro. SPE 118176 • "Health-Reporting System in the Oil and Gas Business" by Claudio Zappador, Eni, et al. SPE 120973 • "Integrating Social Responsibility Into the Health, Environment, and Safety Management System" by Carolina Ortega Barrales, SPE, Occidental Oil and Gas, et al. SPE 121104 • "Breakthrough Mobile-Water Treatment Converts 75% of Fracturing Flowback Fluid to Fresh Water and Lowers CO2 Emissions" by Aaron D. Horn, SPE, Newfield Exploration. SPE 121050 • "Time To Protect: Layout Methodology for Safe SimOps in High-Pressure, High-Percent-H2S Facilities" by A. Blyth, Shell International.