It is just over a year since the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) has not been resting on its laurels.
The group, which comprises the industry, regulators and trade unions, and was set up to tackle related issues in the UK, recently published its second interim report.
The major progress demonstrated within it reflects the determination of all parties to ensure that the regulatory regime under which the UK offshore oil & gas industry operates remains robust and fit for purpose.
OSPRAG’s first job was to review the industry’s practices in preventing blowouts.
This centred on well examination and verification, primary well control, blowout preventers, competency, behaviours and human factors.
This work concluded that there is a high degree of confidence in the UK regulatory regime and that it drives the right safety and environmental behaviours.
Indeed, the regime and resulting behaviour means there has not been a single blowout in this country in more than 20 years of operations, but we must ensure that it remains this way.
It was therefore decided that the good practices identified should be shared throughout the industry and, consequently, a formal and active body through which well life cycle cross-industry issues can be identified and reviewed and best practice shared was formed.
The body, known as the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum (WLCPF), is chaired by a Mobil North Sea LLC drilling engineering manager and currently involves more than 60 people in six workgroups.
They focus on blowout preventer issues, relief well planning requirements, well life cycle integrity guidelines, well examination, verification and competency, behaviours and human factors.
As a permanent group administered by Oil & Gas UK, the WLCPF will ensure the industry continues on the path of improvement long after OSPRAG – which was set up as a temporary focus group – has been disbanded.
To complement the work being carried out to prevent oil spills, major steps forward have been taken to improve response procedures.
A capping device designed to seal off oil leaking from an uncontrolled well has been commissioned by Oil Spill Response Ltd, and is being project managed by a team in BP’s North Sea business.
It is scheduled to be available this summer.
The OSPRAG cap is modular in design, with specifications which allow it to be deployed in the widest range of possible oil spill scenarios that could typically be encountered on the UK Continental Shelf, including the West of Shetland sector.
The device, deployable from a multi-service vessel, can be attached to various parts of the subsea equipment in order to seal off or “cap” the flow of oil.
Access to the capping device will form a key element in the UK offshore oil & gas industry’s oil spill emergency contingency plans.
A further priority for OSPRAG has been to secure appropriate and proportionate provisions that address the industry’s financial responsibilities in meeting the potential clean up and compensation costs of an oil spill.
While there is no legal limit on the liability of oil & gas companies for a well blowout event in the UKCS, there is a formal industry agreement, known as OPOL, which requires each operator to accept strict liability for reimbursement of public authorities for remedial measures and compensation to third parties for pollution damage, up to a pre-determined limit.
Upon OSPRAG’s recommendation, this limit was raised to $250million per occurrence, which is deemed sufficient to cover the third-party costs associated with the majority of spill scenarios.
OSPRAG has taken significant strides in enhancing the UK’s oil spill prevention and response.
Where the group has identified improvements that would strengthen the UK’s capability, the industry has rallied, dedicating significant resources voluntarily.
But OSPRAG’s work is not yet complete.
The industry has committed to demonstrating the effectiveness of the new measures in a range of tabletop and physical deployment exercises which will take place over the next few months.
Jim House is chairman of OSPRAG and regional VP and MD of Apache North Sea.
OSPRAG’s second interim report is available at
http://www.oilandgasuk
.
co.uk/publications/viewpub
. cfm?frmPubID=400
Recommended for you
