Improvements in Intervention and Response since Macondo

Presentation to

Petroleum Association of Japan
February 6 – 7, 2014
Tokyo

Robert M. Limb
Chief Executive and Director
Oil Spill Response Limited

OPENING SLIDEGood Morning. My name is Robert Limb. I am the CEO of Oil Spill Response
Limited (OSRL) and have been working in both the Upstream and Downstream
Oil and Gas Industry for the past 34 years. I joined OSRL just over a year ago
and became CEO on the 1st April last year.
I would like to thank the leadership of the Petroleum Association of Japan for
their gracious hospitality and the invitation from Mr Jun-ichi Hatano, Managing
Director of the PAJ to speak at this Symposium which is focussed on the
Organisational and Technical developments in Oil Spill Preparedness andResponse following recent oil spill incidents.
It is opportunities like this which enable relations to be built so that together
we can improve the overall capability of the oil spill industry. It is now almost
4 years since the Macondo incident. During that time a great deal of work andinvestment has been made by many people and Companies across the world inorder to improve our capabilities. This Symposium is a wonderful chance toshare these accomplishments and gain a better understanding of future
developments.

Finally, before I start with my presentation, I would like to recognise and thankthe PAJ’s great team of translators who worked to translate my English into
Nihon-Go. My promise to you and them is to try and talk slowly. This may
prove difficult when I presenting a subject that I am excited and passionate
about. But let’s give it a go!!
SLIDE 2
By way of background; who is Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL)? We are
owned by the Oil & Gas (O&G) industry with 43 participant shareholder
Members’ and more than 120 Associate Members’. Together they represent
over 70% of global O&G production. OSRL works with its members to prepare
for and respond to Oil Spills anywhere in the globe and in the past 30 years wehave attended more than 400 spills. Fortunately, 2013 was a quite year;
despite this we still attended 14 Spills from Thailand, Yemen to the Amazon
River basin in South America. We have also worked closely with other industry
partners such as IMO, OGP and IPIECA to share expertise and knowledge.
Traditionally OSRL only provided surface oil spill response but in 2013, at therequest of industry, we took on the responsibility to provide a global subsea
well intervention service which we call SWIS, more of this later.
SLIDE 3
As you can see from our Mission statement our remit is to provide a global
response capability. To enhance this in 2013, we added three new geographic
locations in Brazil, Norway and South Africa. We also relocated and expanded
our facility in Singapore to accommodate the new intervention services andour increased dispersant stockpile. We also integrated the former Clean
Caribbean and Americas OSRO into the OSRL family and in so doing inherited a
new base in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA.
SLIDE 4
Before I talk about what OSRL has being working on I thought it might beuseful to provide you with an Industry Perspective. This summary has been put
together based on the feedback we received from our Members.

SLIDE 5
As always Safety is paramount. We are also beginning to see, as a result ofpressure from both the Public, NGO’s, Governments and the Regulators, thathaving an effective and importantly a tested and verified response isfundamental in obtaining and maintaining a license to operate.
SLIDE 6
Thanks to for improvements initiatives promoted by the IMO; such as double
hull tankers, relocation of bunker storage tanks etc. We have seen a year on
year reduction in both the size and number of spills from vessels. Conversely,with the tremendous build up in offshore activity in the Oil and Gas industry
over the past 30 years we have seen more frequent incidents. These areoccurring for various reasons but most notably because of; aging infrastructure,
more well control incidents and increasing numbers of subsea wells.
Furthermore, activity is moving into more challenging environments whichmake it harder to respond should an incident take place.
SLIDE 7
With the increase in Upstream related incidents and following the high profile
Montara and Mocondo well blow outs, industry got together to try address the
problem. Notably amongst these initiatives was the setting up of the Global
Industry Response Group (GIRG) by the International Association of Oil and Gas
Producers (OGP). GIRG focused its efforts on three core issues:
Firstly - Prevention:
What improvements did we need to identify and implement in wellengineering design and operations management?
Secondly -Intervention:If, despite every effort to prevent a deep water well failure, such an event did
occur, how should the industry ensure readiness to cap a blow out? And wasthere a need for global containment solutions?
Finally, the third was devoted to Oil spill response:

How can we ensure delivery of an effective oil spill response through enhanced
preparedness and capability for every offshore spill, no matter the actual sizeand scale of the incident.
In May 2011, OGP published the GIRG recommendations. On the basis ofthese recommendations multiple focussed groups were created to deliver therequired solutions together with the necessary equipment and procedures.
For intervention the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP) was set up to
design and procure the Capping and Containment equipment which OSRL now
owns. For Oil Spill Response three closely linked groups were set up being theAmerican Petroleum Institutes – Joint Industry Task Force (JITF), OGP-IPEICA
Joint Industry Project (JIP) and for the Arctic the OGP Arctic-JIP.
SLIDE 8Industry and many of the regulators are now requiring that intervention bepart of the oil spill contingency plans (OSCP’s) for all subsea drilling andproduction activities. In addition, these plans frequently require the worse
case scenario to be considered which may in turn dictate a faster responsewith many more resources and the use of multiple tools simultaneously.
SLIDE 9Industry now expects the Oil Spill Response Organisations (OSRO’s) to work
together to ensure that best practices are shared and to enhance cooperationand support in the event of a major incident. This has lead to closer
relationships being fostered through organisations like the Global Response
Network (GRN), mergers and the creation of formal alliance agreements
between OSRO’s. These agreements help facilitate the involvement ofmultiple GRN members in exercises, promote the sharing of training facilities
and resources. With the new mantra being: Collaboration, Convergence andConsistency.
SLIDE 10For OSRL this has resulted in our members requiring more and better trained
responders. We have seen a significant increase in the demand for training,
consultancy, personnel secondments and the provision of rental equipment
packages. There is also an expectation that OSRL should have a broader anddeeper technical capability to include such activities as modelling, SCAT, ICS
and surveillance from both aircraft and satellites. Industry has chosen OSRL to
be the vehicle to own, support and provide intervention resources. In addition,
we are working to improve our capabilities to provide support for oiled wildlife
and an arctic response.
SLIDE 11Given these changing needs and expectations what has OSRL been doing toaddress them?
SLIDE 12As in any response organisation people are the key element to ensure a
positive outcome to any incident. To meet the demands of industry in the past
two years OSRL has more than doubled the number of personnel. Amongst
these new employees we have hired specialists to enhance our capabilities inareas such as; ICS, Logistics, Modelling, Subsea, SCAT and Surveillance. We
have expanded the scope and time spent on training for all our employees toinclude programmes for Cold Weather, Wildlife and enhanced safety training
through NEBOSH certification. We have refined the initial training we give byredesigning the old “offline course” into a new 12 week “Spill Responders
Course.
SLIDE 13This slide shows the key elements of the course; this includes both theoreticaland practical elements that are achieved through the deployment of
5equipment offshore, along shorelines, in rivers and on land.
SLIDE 14To track all the training we provide and to make sure we continue to develop
our technical bench strength we have an online competency management
programme accredited by City and Guilds in the UK. This system is designed toensure that our people are exposed to many different elements of a response
while at the same time making sure they receive timely refresher training andare kept current with the most recent technical developments.

SLIDE 15
While we continue to invest in new technologies it is important that the
responders are trained to deploy these systems. One area that grewsignificantly during last year was the Subsea Well Intervention Services. With
the establishment of the new bases and delivery of equipment we now havealmost 50 people dedicated to this effort. The majority of these people are
fully trained responders. Today we have in excess of 160 trained responders
that can be mobilised to an incident. OSRL continues to be a source of trained
personnel for our Members; this is a win-win for both parties, facilitating amore seamless integration between the parties during a spill. Our diverse
group of employees gives us a significant multi-lingual capability which isessential for a global response organisation.
SLIDE 16
Being able to provide a wide range of preparedness solutions is a prerequisite
to delivering a timely and appropriate response during an incident.
In many countries the preparation of detailed Oil Contingency Plan is
mandated in legislation. To do this many of the consultancy activities listed on
this slide need to be undertaken. Ultimately the ability to respond effectively
needs to be assured. This can only be achieved by dedicated training backed
up by regular exercises. OSRL have experienced more than a 300% rise in thenumber of exercises we participated in between 2012 and 2013. This number
continues to rise to include no notice drills, desk top exercises and full
mobilisations. In 2013 we mobilised significant quantities of people andequipment by aircraft to Angola, French Guyana and Kazakhstan as part ofmajor industry exercises.
SLIDE 17
This slide illustrates the changes in the Modelling techniques being used sinceMacondo:For Preparedness: we have moved from 2D to 3D models, we use experts withpowerful computers to give better answers based on detailed Metocean dataand can now simulate complex scenarios delivering more expansive anddynamic results.
SLIDE 18
In a Response: again we use 3D modelling during a spill, the modelling
expertise are typically mobilised, we acquire Metocean data specifically for theincident and the output is used by both the incident owner and regulator.
SLIDE 19
Oil Spill Contingency Plans (OSCP’s): These are built around Regional standards
with protocols established for specific areas. Typically an OSCP is integrated
with the National Plan and is frequently updated when the regulations change.
Globally OSCP’s are starting to use the “Good Practice Guide”
recommendations from the industry working groups i.e. JIP, JITF etc.
For OSRL: We have created improved and expanded OSCP templates which
undergo a more stringent technical review processes and the plans typicallyincorporate worst case scenarios.
SLIDE 20
Oiled Wildlife Response (OWR) is increasingly required as part of the
preparedness planning and response. Dedicated OWR kits have been prepared
to provide the basic equipment to initiate a response. A network is being built
encompassing ten of the leading wildlife response groups such as: Massey
University in New Zealand, SANCCOB in South Africa, RSPCA in UK, Aiuka in
Brazil, Oiled Wildlife Care Network in the USA and others together with Sea
Alarm and OSRL.
SLIDE 21
One tool that was used extensively during the Macondo incident was SCAT.
This provides a systematic methodology to survey and document oiled
shorelines to enable accurate prioritisation of activities by the incident team.
OSRL personnel and many of its members have been trained in this techniqueand standard processes and guides are now available.

SLIDE 22
Moving from Preparedness through to Response - we have seen a paradigm
shift in the requirements. There has been a step change in the expected
speed of response and the amount of equipment that is mobilised. Given thisgood logistical support is now essential. OSRL has its equipment pre-packaged
and custom cleared so it can be dispatched immediately to the nearest airport.
Where logistic challengers make a quick response difficult we provide incountry Tier 2 equipment. We are seeing more frequent “just in case”
mobilisations than in the past. This typically involves the deployment of an
OSRL Technical Advisor. These deployments increased by more than 800%
between 2012 and 2013. The scope of the response scenarios has also
expanded to incorporate both surface and subsea spills this puts even moredemand on resources.
SLIDE 23
Some of the techniques that were successfully used during Macondo havebeen integrated in to our standard response toolkit. These include betterboom systems and skimmers. The use of in situ burning requires us to store
large quantities of fire boom and ignition systems. We are making substantial
investments to improve our aviation response capability. During the past 18
months we also added the subsea well intervention services (SWIS) to ourportfolio.
SLIDE 24
I will now provide a brief update on SWIS.
SLIDE 25
For Capping we now have five active locations: the original OSPRAG cap in
Aberdeen and the four SWRP designed capping toolboxes in Brazil, South
Africa, Norway and Singapore. In addition we have two Subsea Dispersant
Toolboxes in Brazil and Norway.
SLIDE 26
As this equipment is new to industry substantial resources have been devoted
to training and exercises. We have mobilised the Subsea dispersant toolbox byair from Norway to Angola and deployed it successfully to more than 1000
metres water depth.
SLIDE 27
We have a ROV simulator which enables the practice and refinement ofprocedures by Operators in a virtual environment.
SLIDE 28
In addition to Capping we are in the process of manufacturing the Subsea
Containment Toolkit. Containment may be required in the unlikely scenariothat capping alone cannot stop the flow of Hydrocarbons. This may arise when
there are concerns about the integrity of a well. The system is designed tosafely capture and transfer up to 100,000 Barrels per day (BPD) of produced
fluids to a storage tanker. Key to deploying this system is the Subsea Well
Containment Guidelines these have recently been tested by several operators
during a desk top exercise.
SLIDE 29
We plan to have a single leg system, capable of capturing 30,000 BPD later thisyear with the remaining components of the system to be in place early in 2015.
SLIDE 30
To allow a subsea intervention to take place safely the use of subsea
dispersant injection will likely be needed to enable vessels and personnel tooperate on the sea surface above the incident well. To ensure sufficientquantities of dispersant are available a Global Dispersant Stockpile has been
established containing around 5000m3 of the most common dispersants.
Currently there are 20 subscribers to this supplementary agreement.
SLIDE 31
In some well blow out conditions, such as high volumes of produced gas or awell in shallow water, it may not be possible to operate on the surface of thewater directly above the well location. For these scenarios we have been
cooperating with the SWRP team to develop an Offset Installation system that
could successfully cap a well from a displacement of up to 1 km. This system is

in the final evaluation stage and if the project goes ahead equipment could beavailable by the middle of 2015.
SLIDE 32
One of the outputs from the Joint Industry Project (JIP) was JIP 14 - Airborne
Dispersant Platforms. This paper recommended that industry start a project toprovide a suitable replacement aircraft to the aging Hercules that is in current
use. It was also recommended that a jet aircraft be sourced to improved
response times and provide an extended operating range. OSRL has beenworking on this project for the past 15 months and we are very close to having
a tested and certified Boeing 727 Aerial Dispersant platform available.
SLIDE 33
I will now show a short video showing the final test flight of the Boeing 727.
Spray On.
You can observe a nice even swath.
The aircraft is a very stable and solid platform.
And despite very gusty conditions the final test flight was a success.
SLIDE 34
In the video the aircraft was flying at 150 feet above the sea, airspeed wasapproximately 150 knots and 17.5 tonnes of water was sprayed during 5 sprayruns over the target. The first modified Boeing 727 should be fully certified
and available in the next few weeks with a second aircraft to follow later in theyear.
SLIDE 35
In addition to the Boeing 727 we have also launched an advanced surveillance
aircraft which has live video, infrared and ultraviolet feeds transmitted via
satellite both from a turret and fixed cameras. This aircraft provides georeferenced images and has software to enable the perimeter of a spill to bemapped to aid the calculation of the observed volume of oil. Additional

aircraft are available in the UK, West Africa and Singapore to provide various
levels of Dispersant, Surveillance and Logistics capability.

SLIDE 36
As industry continues its quest for additional sources of hydrocarbons we are
increasingly faced with more challenging new frontiers. Each new area
presents its own unique response challenges whether we are in deepwater orin the Arctic with its remoteness, cold, ice, darkness and severe weather
conditions. Each of these require the preparation of bespoke contingency
plans that can often extend lead times. Because of the logistical challenges it
may also mean additional Tier 1 and 2 resources need to be made available
and seamlessly integrated with the global Tier 3 capability.
SLIDE 37
Let me try and provide a little more details about Arctic response from an OSRL
perspective.
SLIDE 38
This polar map shows the key areas where exploration activities have or will
shortly take place. For now we have focussed our response effort on the open
water season as this when the operations that are planned during the next twoto three years will take place.
SLIDE 39
At OSRL we have developed an Arctic specific competence assessment process
for both people and equipment. For our personnel we have created threelevels and have a focussed training programme to further develop our people.
SLIDE 40
For the equipment - we have divided it into five categories, as shown on theslide. Encouragingly more the 70% of our stockpile can be used “as is” or withminor modifications in the Arctic.

SLIDE 41
This shows our current action plan to build further capacity, test our capability
and build credibility in our ability to respond within the Arctic industry.
SLIDE 42
Together with the rise in industries expectations for an increased breadth andtechnical depth in our response capability we have seen a real step change inthe management challenge that these large incidents present.
SLIDE 43
Consider, if you will, the scenario of a Macondo type incident in remotelocation. The first major challenge will be a logistical one; to schedule andorganise the mobilisation of people and equipment to the incident location. At
OSRL we have some experience of this when we mobilised just prior to
Christmas 2011 for an Oil Spill in Nigeria this required the simultaneousdelivery of equipment by air from the both the UK and Singapore. We
mobilised an A380 cargo aircraft from Singapore and two Boeing 747’s fromthe UK. Personnel were mobilised to the incident by various aircraft from
Executive Jets to commercial airliners. Imagine if, in addition, we had tomobilise Capping and Dispersant toolboxes and tonnes of dispersant fromaround the globe. I hope you begin to get a sense of the magnitude of the
response effort and that’s just the logistics!!
When you add dealing with multiple agencies across international borders into
the mix you can begin to see the enormous response effort an incident owner
would be facing. As the Oil Spill Response Organisation we only have a smallpart of this BUT we need a proven system to integrate OUR activities into theincident owners command system.
SLIDE 44In OSRL we have trained many people, run internal and external exercises
utilising the Incident Command System (ICS). We have done this to enable the
OSRL people to seamlessly integrate with the different incident management
systems that our members use.

SLIDE 45
This slide shows how our base and field personnel interface with each otherand the Incident owner or responsible party. This organisation is essential toensure we maintain clear lines of communication.
SLIDE 46
Clearly a complex incident of a similar magnitude to the scenario I just touchedon would quickly drain the resources of even the biggest OSRO’s. To enable
experienced resources from the industry funded OSRO’s to be cascaded in themost efficient way we have been working together as the Global Response
Network (GRN) to share knowledge and best practices. Seven Operational
Teams (OT’s) have been formed with experts provided by each OSRO. The
OT’s have created inventories of the major resources owned by each OSRO. In
addition, team members and other participants come together for exercises
and training sessions to share best practices and resources.
SLIDE 47
To further enhance industries ability to respond to large scale offshore
incidents OGP has created a framework document on Mutual Aid.
Collaborative efforts are underway in several regions to create the necessary
agreements and protocols to make this a working reality. It is thisunprecedented level of industry cooperation since Macondo that is delivering
the impressive array of new response and intervention capabilities that I havetalked about in my presentation.
SLIDE 48
Finally, I would like to conclude with a few comments:
Since the Montara and Mocondo we have seen a tremendous effort to further
enhance our ability to respond to Oil Spill incidents on a global basis. Industry
is investing very significant resources to deliver both the equipment andtrained expertise. Furthermore, despite the funding for these projects being
provide by a few major players they have given open access to all participantsin the industry. This unheard of openness is driven by the recognition that apoorly executed response by any one player has repercussions across thewhole of industry.
Given this, I would encourage each of you to learn about and embrace thesesignificant developments to ensure that they are properly understood andimplemented within your own organisation.
This Symposium is a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know each otherand share ideas as we seek to improve our ability to respond to Oil Spills where
ever they may occur.

Thank you for your attention.