bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimizing Surfactant Additives for Enhanced Well Stimulation in Bakken Formation
Authors: Morsy Samiha , Zhou Jia , Lant Kimberly , Cutler Jennifer , Sun Hong , Qu Qi , Shuler Patrick
Published: June 2014

The Bakken reservoirs represent a large untapped resource of oil. One of the challenges is extracting the crude oils from their low-permeability formations at economic rates. These reservoirs contain multiple pay zones, including some with carbonate (dolomite) lithology. Recent common practice is to drill horizontal wells and perform a series of large, multi-stage hydraulic fracture treatments. The fractures penetrate deeply into the reservoir and promote more efficient drainage of the oil. This situation suggests that a surfactant technology designed to enhance oil recovery from fractured carbonate formations is a fit for these typical Bakken cases with Middle Layer complex fractured lithology. The concept of this technology is to incorporate appropriate surfactant formulations at a low dosage in the well stimulation fluids. If properly designed, such additives in the fracture fluids will penetrate into the highly oil-saturated matrix or natural fracture region and accelerate the extraction of the oil in place by rapid imbibition. This extracted oil can readily move from the matrix into the propped fracture system to be produced. Another benefit of the additive is its engineered property to leave the matrix or natural fracture face water-wet to facilitate oil movement during production.

This paper presents a study of a series of such stimulation fluid additives developed for enhanced oil recovery. Over 10 special customized product blends were evaluated in the laboratory for effectiveness in increasing recovery of Bakken crude oil samples. Tests included compatibility with formation brine, emulsion tendency, recovery factors from spontaneous imbibition with crude oil and formation brine, and compatibility with proposed fracturing fluids. These results show that more than one of these products improve recovery of Bakken crude oil by spontaneous imbibition from both outcrop limestone cores and from Bakken core material. The best of these products is recommended for field application.
Successful Treatment of a Green River Sandstone Formation Using a Novel Low-Polymer Crosslinked Fluid
Authors: Legemah Magnus , Debenedictis Frances , Workneh Nigatu , Smith David , Le Hoang , Sun Hong , Qi Qu , Moulton Mickey
Published: June 2014

Guar-based fracturing fluids are the most commonly used fluids in reservoir stimulation. To provide high viscosity, borate crosslinked gels are preferred for their ability to heal after mechanical shearing and their favorable environmental properties. More efficient crosslinkers capable of cross-linking fluids with reduced polymer loading have always been of great interest to reduce formation and proppant pack damage from polymer residues, and to reduce overall fluid cost.

Low permeability and the interwell connectivity of Green River sandstone formations of the Uintah Basin require hydraulic fracturing treatment to economically produce oil. The most typical fracturing treatments use guar crosslinked borate fluids to transport sand into wells with vertical depths of 3500-6,800 feet and bottom-hole temperatures of 115-160°F. Most operators in this area place emphasis on reduced polymer loadings for stimulation treatments; and even with breakers present, broken polymer residues can remain in the formation even at these reduced polymer loadings, resulting in damage and decreased production. The stimulations for these wells are flow backed at the end of the last stage. This poses a challenge of a proper balance between polymer and breaker loading, so that the fluid effectively transports up to 6 pound per gallon added (ppa) of sand into the formation without screen out, and breaks within the treatment time (30-40 minutes per stage) to minimize flow back of proppant.

Recently developed novel poly-aminoboronate crosslinker (also reported in SPE 140817 and SPE 164118) was tested in the aforementioned formation. Multiple boron sites are available in the crosslinker and it is capable of interacting with multiple polysaccharide strands to form more complex crosslinking networks at lower polymer loadings than conventional guar fluids. The crosslinker with up to additional 15% reduced guar loading is capable of matching or out performing conventional crosslinked fluids in fresh water and more impressively in 7% KCl. This paper will discuss the novel crosslinker developed, the laboratory testing and successful field application. Analysis and discussion of the chemistry, crosslinking performance and economics will be presented.
Perforating Monobore Completions Offshore: An Efficient, Safe and Optimal Approach
Authors: Long T. , Price P. , Kritzler T. , Gilliam B. , Jaime O. F. , Lobo J. M. , Bayer J. E. , Ritchie - Chevron J. , Khong C. K. , Malone S. G. , Baumann C. E. , Martin A. J.
Published: June 2014

Monobore completions have been installed in wells as far back as the 1980's. Early examples were reported in several SPE papers by companies such as Santos, Total and Unocal (now Chevron). The main drive being reduced drilling and completion costs. Perforating monobore completions is also not new and there are several methods to deploy guns into these types of well completions under various conditions (underbalance, overbalance or dynamic underbalance).

Reservoir performance can be optimized through perforation modeling where analysis has shown that a tailored Dynamic Underbalance (DUB) approach can deliver productivity gains from 5% (shallow mud filtrate damage) to 40% (deeper mud filtrate damage) higher than traditional perforation techniques. This is a data driven optimization based on field data such as zonal permeability, pressure, temperature, fluid shrinkage factor, fluid viscosity, GOR, wellbore trajectory and completion design.

To achieve maximum gain, multiple perforating runs on wireline are required; however this approach is often discounted (with well life production sacrificed) in order to achieve rig efficiency targets within the constrained economics of monobore completions, and to limit HSE exposure. This paper discusses a pragmatic approach to perforation optimization focusing on the specific alignment of economic, technical and safety related aspects within oilfield operations.

The context of this approach applies to the techniques used to avoid rig critical path altogether, thus removing rig cost from the equation and refining the approach through a data driven workflow utilizing acquired DUB pressure data. This approach describes the combination of the key components in detail, including latest shaped charge design and perforating technology, workflow optimization, operational risk and execution approach.

Results within this case have led to a standardized workflow within monobore completion delivering more than 24 days in operational savings over a 12 month period, and post perforation nodal analysis showing gains of up to 40% within a mature asset.
Restriction of Water Production in Gas Wells by Induced Phase Inversion: Field Case Studies
Authors: ILakatos I. , Lakatos-Szabo J. , Szentes G. , Vagó Arpad
Published: June 2014

Water shutoff treatments need different approach and chemicals in gas and oil fields due to the inverse mobility ratio. Therefore, the primary aim of the research project was to develop special treating solution, which may form barrier phase against the flow of water by in-situ mixing of the treating fluid with formation water. As a novelty, water sensitive petroleum-based solutions were developed, which are stable until they are contacted with water. The induced phase inversion of such metastable systems restricts the water flow by 80-90% in sandstone cores through evolving extremely high viscosity in the mixing zones. Optimizing the composition of the treating fluid containing environmentally friendly chemicals the method was qualified as matured for field pilot tests.

Evaluating the production history of possible alternatives, two gas producing wells were selected for the pilot. The wells are operating in different layers of the largest, stacked Hungarian oil and gas field. Prior to treatment, in both cases, the gas rate dropped significantly; meanwhile the water production rapidly increased to 120 and 150 BPD, respectively. The injection protocol started with partial reduction of water saturation in the nearby zone of wells by injection of water-miscible organic solvent driven deeply into the reservoir with N2. Afterwards, the petroleum bulk solution containing tenside and fatty acid ester in appropriate concentration was injected. Injecting 40-50 m3 treating solution, nitrogen drive served again to reach deep penetration of treating solution. Monitoring the wellhead pressure it was clearly indicated when the induced phase inversion started to build-up resistance against the water flow. Applying short shut-in time, transient production period was observed, which was followed by gradually increasing gas production with water-free and reduced water influx. The preliminary data firmly proved that the unique water shutoff technology might open new vistas reservoir conformance control in gas fields.
Avoiding Damage Associated to Produced Water Use in Hydraulic Fracturing
Authors: Fedorov Andrey , Carrasquilla Juan , Cox Angelica
Published: June 2014

The pressing water concerns of tomorrow demand that we target our time and technology in order to improve the fluid mixtures applied in fracturing operations. This challenge is intensified by the concomitant need to make use of produced water. Compelled toward this alternative as we continue to extract our remaining resources from the ground, we must account for the fact that the water we use will invariably decrease the strength of the composite fluids. Therefore, new chemicals are required to ensure stable results when testing these fluids.

Fresh Water scarcity across much of the Permian Basin is particularly critical and necessitates the pumping of produced water, thereby conserving dwindling reserves. The major problem with this approach is the need to balance the fluid recipe with chemical additives. Produced water is highly ionized and as such becomes less stable at heated temperatures, giving a smaller window to adjust chemicals for a precise formula. Hence, an innovative chemical solution is indispensable. A scale inhibitor was found to prevent scale deposition by sequestering the cationic scale-forming ions, and distorting the crystalline lattice structure. What is more, this product exhibits good thermal stability and is also very effective ion stabilizations. Accordingly the novel scale inhibitor was implemented and successfully pumped for more than 200 stages in West Texas.
A Comprehensive Geochemical-Based Approach to Quantify the Scale Problems
Authors: Kazemi Nia Korrani Aboulghasem , Sepehrnoori Kamy , Delshad Mojdeh
Published: June 2014

Oil-field scales result from changes in the physicochemical properties (pH, temperature, pressure etc.) of the produced fluids and/or due to the chemical incompatibility between waters having different compositions (e.g., formation brine and injection brine). Nevertheless, the comprehensive modeling and prediction of such phenomena remains a challenge, due to the complexity of the precipitation kinetics and chemical reaction processes that occur in the reservoir. Hence, it is the case that often reactions in the reservoir are not considered on evaluation of the scaling tendency, probably because they are difficult to measure and also, to model the calculations considerable effort and expertise is required.

Since no comprehensive geochemical-based modeling has been applied in this research area, in this work, a previously developed robust, accurate, and flexible integrated tool, UTCHEM-IPhreeqc, is used to model the comprehensive geochemistry to predict scales problem for field scale applications.

IPhreeqc, the United States Geological Survey geochemical tool, is able to simulate both homogeneous and heterogeneous (mineral dissolution/precipitation), irreversible, and ion-exchange reactions under non-isothermal, nonisobaric and both local-equilibrium and kinetic conditions. Through coupling of IPhreeqc with UTCHEM, The University of Texas at Austin research chemical flooding reservoir simulator, the entire geochemical capabilities of IPhreeqc can be used in a multi-dimensional and multiphase reservoir simulator for comprehensive reactive-transport modelings.

In this paper, the importance of ion activities, temperature, and pressure in the reactive-transport modeling is emphasized by performing several sensitivity analyses. Oilfield scale is quantified by including the effect of dissolution or precipitation of all possible minerals (either initially present or subsequently precipitated by injecting an incompatible water) on the reservoir petrophysical properties (e.g., porosity). Three common permeability-porosity approaches (Modified Fair-Hatch, Kozeny-Carman, and Verma-Pruess models) are then implemented in the UTCHEM-IPhreeqc simulation tool to model the effect of scalings on the reservoir permeability. To show how well this integrated tool can be applied for field scale applications, a synthetic five-spot pattern is presented using several water compositions.
Reconciliation of Fracture Performance and Fracture Geometry with Design
Authors: Guk Vyacheslav , Bychina Maria , Wolcott Don , Economides Michael J.
Published: June 2014

For more than 50 years a vision of a hydraulic fracture that is vertical with two symmetrical wings has been accepted by two highly diverse sciences in petroleum production: fracture mechanics and production/reservoir engineering models. The fracture in both sciences has a height, a length tip-to-tip, and an average width.

A fracture propagation model is usually employed to determine fracture dimensions. Linear elastic fracture mechanics points towards a relationship between fracture length (and, implicitly, height) and fracturing pressure. Therefore, pressure analysis during execution is supposed to 1) determine the generalized fracture geometry and 2) to quantify fracture dimensions such as length and width.

Once the well is put on production, the fracture geometry can be determined either through a well test or through long-term production data analysis or both. The models employed for this exercise have been in wide use and have been credited with considerable success in hydraulic fracture treatment evaluation. Pressure patterns would lead to the determination of the apparent fracture half-length and fracture permeability-width product. Unfortunately, often there is a discrepancy to a severe discrepancy in the fracture dimensions obtained from the two methodologies.

We present here several theories describing the discrepancy and we quantify the impact of reservoir and fracture parameters. These include reservoir areal permeability anisotropy, damage to the proppant pack, discontinuity in fracture conductivity and, of course, turbulence effects. We are applying this approach to 23 hydraulically fractured wells in a less-than 1 md oil and gas reservoirs in Western Siberia and achieve reasonable reconciliation between the results of the diverse methods of fracture geometry determination and the impact of reservoir and fracture variables. Fracture treatments, designed for other wells in the field take these conclusions into account.
Environmentally Responsible, Catalytic Breakers for Alkaline, High-Temperature Fracturing Fluids
Authors: Gunawan Stanley , Armstrong C. David , Qu Qi
Published: June 2014

The development of new environmentally responsible breakers for use in high-temperature fracturing fluids (≥ 250 °F) was sparked by efforts to minimize environmental risks from oilfield chemical systems. A novel type of breaker system, derived from biological sources and displaying catalytic activity, was discovered and tested for its ability to reduce the viscosity of polymers commonly used in hydraulic fracturing applications. The breakers are miscible, catalytic, biodegradable, and come from sustainable resources. Additionally, these breakers do not display the thermal denaturation limitations of enzyme breakers.

Two novel, environmentally-responsible breakers, UB-1 and UB-3, were tested for their ability to break the viscosity of crosslinked guar and derivatized guar polymers at temperatures of 250, 275, and 300 °F. UB-1 was more effective in breaking crosslinked guar polymers. UB-3 was more effective in breaking crosslinked derivatized guar polymers (i.e. carboxymethyl guar).

As hydraulic fracturing technology is used in more challenging reservoirs, the need increases for effective breakers that function at elevated temperatures. At high temperatures, oxidative and enzyme breakers have drawbacks: Oxidative breakers become too reactive and enzymes denature. Our previous paper (SPE-159396) detailed the efficacy of the new breaker technology at mid-range temperatures (175 to 225 °F). This paper will explore the use of these breakers at higher temperatures.

This paper will include the testing program for the viscosity-reducing ability of these novel breakers in guar and carboxymethyl guar in alkaline and high-temperature conditions (> 250 °F). They will also be compared with oxidative breakers. Finally, the paper will include recommendations for field applications, including economic impacts on fracturing fluid systems.
Formation Damage From Pipe Dope: How Bad Can It Get?
Authors: Castiñeiras Tomás , Goretta Emiliano Actis , Funes Alejandro , Figini Fernando , Wang Xiuli , Economides Michael J.
Published: June 2014

Laboratory work has shown that pipe dope, routinely used during well construction can penetrate and damage relatively high-permeability formations. Previous laboratory and field studies showed that dope-induced formation damage is severe (more than 99 percent). However that earlier work using cores up to 240 md demonstrated that dope particles would stay at the front face of the cores, forming a filter cake and not penetrate the rock matrix.

If the well is put on injection service and in the case of workovers such as matrix stimulation treatments, the formation damage caused by pipe dope will almost guarantee operational failure. However, for production, the dope can be readily swept to the surface and its impact would be minimal.

What would be the situation in higher permeability rocks if dope particles were to penetrate the formation in which case they may not be removed through flowback?

The objective of this work is to evaluate the magnitude of formation damage by pipe dope in higher permeability sandstone samples of 1,000 md in two injection tests of commonly found concentrations in field operations.

Results show clear penetration of the core matrix, manifested by large pressure gradients measured along the core. The dope, although in relatively small concentrations causes a considerable permeability reduction and, implicitly, a marked reduction in connected porosity. The latter is particularly important because small quantities can cause very large damage, unlike drilling mud which would require large losses into the rock to cause comparable damage.

The good news is that dope-free connections for casing & tubing can be used to avoid thread compounds and eliminate well damage as they produce zero effluents. Dope-free connection can also improve the efficiency and reliability of the operation itself, removing a cumbersome, albeit routine job, a major advantage in drilling operations. Because of obvious economic considerations these benefits will be more profound in a deepwater environment.
Hybrid Matrix Acidizing Techniques Successfully Stimulate Geothermal Wells in Latin America
Authors: Exler Victor A. , Cisneros Fernanda T. , Quevedo Manuel A. , Milne Arthur , Cornejo Sergio
Published: June 2014

Mexico, the world's fourth largest producer of geothermal energy, generates 965 MW of electricity. One field alone produces 195 MW. However, to maximize the steam production of geothermal wells it is often necessary to perform matrix stimulation treatments. The temperature and mineralogy of the naturally fractured volcanic formations and scales tendency present some unique challenges.

The potential of many geothermal wells is limited by formation damage. Drilling fluid invasion, fines migration, silica plugging, and scaling being the most common. Mineral scale deposition occurs in the wellbore or in the natural fractures through which water is either injected or produced. In producing wells, the composition of scale is dependent on the mineralogy of the metamorphic formation. In injection wells, the scale is dependent on the composition of the injected water. With limited information regarding the mineralogy of the scale and the formation, many conventional matrix treatments are unsuccessful.

A hybrid design methodology, combining sandstone and carbonate acidizing techniques has proved to be the first step to successfully treating Mexico's and Central America's geothermal wells The treatments are then further customized for each field to optimize productivity and injectivity. The final fluid composition is often very different from that used in conventional treatments due to different selection criteria and placement techniques.

Identifying and understanding this concept has helped producers in Mexico and Central America increase their energy production per well by an average of 65%. While in some cases energy production has increased 300%.

The hybrid design methodology has been successfully used to stimulate more than 50 geothermal wells in Mexico and Central America - Humeros (Puebla), Tres Virgenes (Baja California), Azufre's (Michoacan), Berlin (El Salvador) and San Jacinto (Nicaragua). The results of these campaigns demonstrate that it is possible to consistently improve the productivity of geothermal wells through the correct treatment.
Design Considerations and Qualification Testing of High Density Oil-Based Screen Running Fluids for an HPHT Gas Development
Authors: Han L. , Hicking S. , Twycross J. , El-Jamali S. , Patey I. , Green J.
Published: June 2014

This paper describes the design and qualification testing of high density oil based screen running fluids for an HPHT subsea gas field development in the Norwegian Sea.

The field of interest contains gas bearing sandstones with permeabilities up to 5-10 Darcy buried at greater than 5000 m at high temperature and pressure (185 °C, 830 bar).

The wells are designed to be completed with standalone screens. However, running screens in high density OBM has been a challenge for the industry due to the high solids load of such fluids.

To qualify an HPHT screen running fluid, crucial to the economical development of this field, a rigorous fluid testing program was designed and carried out. The main drivers for the fluid qualification are to ensure that:

The fluid is stable at downhole temperature to allow the running of the screens to bottom without plugging The fluid should remain mobile to allow easy backflow after a 28-day static period to allow subsequent well completion operations and back flow of the wells The fluid should not plug the screens after the 28-day static period

The fluids were first designed and tested in vendor laboratories to ensure good long term stability and mobility. This was followed by internal confirmation testing by the operator. Final qualification at a third party facility for stability and mobility was carried out at simulated downhole conditions using a purpose built HPHT cell incorporating a sand control screen. The results of the qualification program showed that a 1.90 sg oil-based fluid containing fine barite can deliver a feasible solution to the completion challenges for the HPHT field development. The designed fluids are stable, easy to backflow and will not plug the sand control screens. The learnings from this study will also be presented.
Real Time Slickline: Unlocking Additional Production With Reduced Uncertainties in Limited Space Platforms
Authors: Razak M. Abdul , Dasan L. M. , Effendi S. Mohd , Rakela T. I.
Published: June 2014

Platforms with limited crane capacities and restricted space in which to set up the necessary well intervention equipment are challenges that the industry is facing increasingly in offshore environments. Operators are having to either compromise on operational efficiency and certainty through the use of memory based slickline conveyance applications (e.g. slickline perforating without real time correlation) or are having to rely on more costly solutions utilizing a multitude of equipment and leveraging workover rigs in order to accomplish their intervention campaigns.

Real time slickline’s light, minimal foot print and modular make up coupled with its digital telemetry enablement allows operators to access wells and perform conventional slickline operations, plus perforating, plug setting and production logging, all with downhole in-situ information available on surface in real time, bringing huge operational efficiencies as well as reducing considerably the risks and uncertainties of the intervention programs being undertaken.

Interventions executed using real time slickline have proven to be a safer, more efficient and more cost effective way to conduct operations by having full realtime control of its downhole tools and periphery sensors. It reduces the associated risks of having to mobilize and switch between electric line and slickline units, equipment and personnel in the cases where the scope of the intervention programs can be fully covered by real time slickline’s capabilities. Furthermore, its minimal weight and footprint enables intervention operations where space and crane capacities make slickline the only choice of conveyance.
Comprehensive Analysis of Metal-to-Metal Lubricants in Oil Shale Plays
Authors: Barraez Rair , Noland Justin , Matheus Daniel , Spence Zach
Published: June 2014

Metal-to-metal lubricants used within the Coiled Tubing (CT) industry have become an essential resource for the successful completion of a variety of operations, most notably extended reach practices. A vast selection of metal-to-metal lubricants exist within the industry, which provides an abundance of options for CT applications. However, the effectiveness of these lubricants based on different well parameters is not well understood.

The objective of this study is to provide a quantitative analysis comparing the friction reducing characteristics of various CT metal-to-metal lubricants used in optimized extended reach practices.

Fourteen different lubricants commonly used in the Eagle Ford and the Bakken resource plays were tested using an OFITE EP (extreme pressure) and lubricity tester to determine their respective lubricity coefficient and film strength. The lubricity coefficient test used a torque arm which applied 150 in-pounds of force (the equivalent of 5,000 to 10,000 psi on the intermediate fluid) between two hardened steel surfaces (a block and a ring) rotating at 60 RPM. The EP test produced an indication of the film lubricant strength by applying a measured force to a torque-sensitive bearing cup with the torque arm. The EP test was performed at a high shear rate of 1,000 RPM with fluid pressures ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 psi between the steel surfaces.

Tests with multiple solutions and various conditions were conducted to provide a better understanding of how the lubricant reacts in field applications. Each lubricant was mixed with fresh water, brine fluid, friction reducer, and 15% HCl fluid at different temperatures.

The effectiveness of the top-performing metal-to-metal lubricants was validated by comparing the laboratory results with field data and computer modeling. The outcome of this analysis was used in conjunction with previously completed extended reach studies to further understand and improve the effects of metal-to-metal lubricants in CT operations.

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the performance of the different metal-to-metal lubricants based on the applications and well conditions. A more in-depth understanding of the lubricants will help to improve accuracy when modeling and designing extended reach CT operations, which will result in improved overall efficiency.
Understanding and Influencing Risk Tolerance
Authors: Fennell D.
Published: June 2014

Risk Tolerance or ‘acceptance’ has been a contributing factor in 1/3 to 1/2 of all incidents. The ExxonMobil Human Factors Centre of Excellence researched this topic and has identified the factors that influence individual and group decisions on how much risk is acceptable. The results of the research help identify the factors in the work place and in off the job situations and provides guidance on how to address the factors to reduce the acceptance of risk.
Tools for Increasing Well Operations Safety: Training and Certification
Authors: Moretti F. , Bogaerts M. , Mendiola A. , DeBruijn G. G. , Gonzalez A. , Belleggia E.
Published: June 2014

The oil and gas industry continues to move into harsher and more frontier environments, particularly in deepwater, where operational and engineering requirements are becoming more demanding. In consequence, the technologies and techniques deployed in this operating environment are also becoming more sophisticated and complex. Staffing is a key link between technology and the operating environment, and personnel must be trained and certified to work in such conditions. For these reasons, operators and service companies must further the continuous development of their personnel to ensure safe and efficient operations, particularly where there is pressure to avoid lost time and cost. A service company with a long-standing and rigorous training culture developed two additional bespoke certification programs, for technical engineers and for field personnel, dedicated to cement operations in deepwater conditions. These programs are composed of classroom training and on the job activities, ensuring that knowledge acquired during training is linked to the knowledge and skills developed in the field. After completing all certification requirements, the employee receives a Deepwater Certification valid for a limited time and requiring subsequent re-certification.

The implementation of the deepwater certification elevates the quality of the services personnel deliver in the client’s office and in the field. It has the objective of enlighting the employees’ knowledge and experience of deepwater operations and therefore minimizes the risks of operational failures in the challenging deepwater environments. Moreover, it has a positive impact on staff motivation based on the associated recognition and potential new career opportunities.

The cementing Deepwater Certification Program is proven to be an internal success and has been extended to other types of services provided.
A Chemical Risk Prioritization Scoring Process for the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Industry
Authors: Koblis K. M. , Kierski M. W. , Staveley J. P. , Freeman E. L.
Published: June 2014

The oil and gas industry has been under increased scrutiny for its use of chemicals during exploration and production. The popular media have raised concerns about the chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing with respect to human health and the environment, and state and federal agencies have begun issuing decisions on chemical disclosure. A chemical risk prioritization scoring process has been developed to address these issues and to also demonstrate product stewardship.

Although chemical risk ranking is a recognized concept, there is no established process for its use in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. Hundreds of products containing one or more chemical constituents are used in this industry. The Chemical Risk Prioritization System (CRPS) developed herein has been designed to identify the products with chemical constituents that pose the highest potential risks to people and the environment. The CRPS considers both chemical hazards and exposure potential in the determination of the relative risk of these products. A tiered approach is used that identifies a short list of products that may need further risk characterization and risk management. This approach ascertains the patterns of product/chemical use and exposure potential to both occupational and environmental receptors related to activities throughout the exploration and production life cycle. In addition, the potential for the chemicals in the products to persist in the environment or bioaccumulate in human or ecological receptors is factored into the CRPS.

A benefit of the CRPS is that it is a consistent and transparent approach tailored to company-specific activities. It streamlines the identification of products with chemical constituents where no additional evaluation is warranted because relative risk is minimal. This allows a more detailed evaluation to occur for a smaller set of products identified as containing chemicals with higher potential risk. It also informs the company of products with chemical constituents for which little hazard information is available, aiding industry in working with the chemical manufacturers to better characterize the potential hazard.
Nurturing the Culture of Reporting Incidents
Authors: Pachiyannakis Alexandros Karim
Published: June 2014

A high percentage of incidents go unreported or are covered up to avoid negative consequences from the client or management. Due to this a significant amount of learning and opportunity for continual improvement is lost. Reporting incidents without fear of consequences is vital to understand the true causes and therefore prevent incidents and failures. Obstacles, barriers, and external influencing factors prevent reporting of incidents at all levels within the organization. Incidents are reoccurring and we fail to learn!

A key barrier identified was that 25% of Managers’ bonuses are linked to Lost Time Injuries (LTI); and consequently there were negative reactions from line management to incidents being reported. Clients did not want to affect their performance and bonus. Supervisors and employees had poor understanding of incidents, and the organization had a poor reporting and investigation system.

Addressing the barriers involved the following: delinking the bonus from incidents, modifying the organization’s HSE performance indicators to only take into account the ones with proactive energy, establishing an Incident Review Meeting where all incidents with a high potential are presented by the Division General Manager to the CEO and other General Managers there by creating a sense of ownership. A 24 hours incident notification system was implemented with a distribution list to be sent from the grassroots level. By doing so, the company found that it was now aware of more than 60 incidents per year not previously reported, including about 10 LTIs per year.

Just because no negative information is being reported, does not mean it does not exist. This is not limited to incidents but all areas (Non - Conformances, Customer complaints, Equipment failure, etc.) for improvement within an organization. Reporting an incident is a fundamental element of HSE, but if not checked and ensured to be working, a lot of critical information can be lost and injuries will be prevalent.
Operational Level Grievance Mechanisms for Human Rights
Authors: Cleland Roper , Wild Elizabeth , Boladeras Shane
Published: June 2014

Operational level grievance mechanisms enable communities to raise issues with companies at the site level. They are an important part of a company’s approach to strategic stakeholder engagement, helping to reinforce constructive long term relationships and generating feedback that can help to drive continuous improvement.

Community grievance mechanisms are part of the ‘Access to Remedy’ expectations defined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Remedy provides options for people who believe that a company has infringed their rights to seek redress. These options can be state-based judicial mechanisms, state based non-judicial mechanisms, and non-state based mechanisms. Operational level grievance mechanisms fall into the third category.

IPIECA, the oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, is leading a two-year collaborative learning project to test the implementation of operational level grievance mechanisms on the ground and then produce tools, templates and practical guidance. The project is based on a series of pilot projects implemented by member companies either establishing a new grievance mechanism or improving an existing one. The pilots are diverse; they span three continents, onshore and offshore, and conventional and unconventional projects.

Early learning from the pilots suggests that the vast majority of community grievances against companies can be solved amicably and promptly, particularly if they are addressed before they become acute. This finding underscores IPIECA members’ belief that grievance mechanisms should generally be part of a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process.

Industry experience also indicates that grievance mechanisms should be risk-based and responsive to local needs and circumstances rather than following detailed prescriptive or one-size-fits-all solutions. However, there are some basic principles and approaches that apply to all community grievance mechanisms.

This paper tells the story of IPIECA’s learning project on community grievance mechanisms. It presents IPIECA’s findings from the pilots to date and its work to create tools, templates and practical guidance to help businesses implement community grievance mechanisms that work for both the company and the community.
Assessing Freshwater Biodiversity Risk through Enhancement of Existing Tools
Authors: Weikel Marielle Canter , Harrison Ian , Sneary Martin , Connick Sarah , Monahan Margaret
Published: June 2014

With growing recognition of the importance of understanding potential impacts of development activities on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems, approaches for systematically assessing site-level risks at a global level are needed. Chevron and Conservation International (CI) partnered beginning in 2012 to test the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) – with enhancements to functionality – in evaluating site-level freshwater biodiversity risks. The enhanced functionality is a new and innovative way to extract data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ™ to look systematically at species’ threats at the watershed scale. Outputs from the enhanced functionality were evaluated for general utility as well as applicability as input information for the GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT).

Pilot applications of the enhanced IBAT were conducted at three Chevron locations around the world. The output was applied in the pilots, and refined with each subsequent pilot based on lessons learned. Key findings included: The information derived from the systematic presentation of threat data, in addition to a list of threatened species included in the IUCN Red List, provided important insight on specific watershed-level freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem risks.Supplemental local data and expert opinion is still important in tool application to validate and augment findings regarding potential freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem risks.

As a result of this effort, it was concluded that an enhanced IBAT would be useful in identifying specific existing threats to freshwater ecosystems and the information could be used to inform industry decisions. CI and Chevron are currently building enhanced freshwater functionality formally into the tool. Beyond Chevron, the enhanced IBAT will be available to any registered user, including other oil and gas companies, project financiers, and users of the LWT.
Management of Change (MOC) in Upstream Oil & Gas brownfield Facilities
Authors: Saleem Omer , Kovach Steve
Published: June 2014

Upstream oil & gas heavy oil steam-flood operation, typically involves a high volume of year-round process equipment changes outside of scheduled shutdowns. This coupled with high workforce transition rate, presents a challenge in establishing and sustaining an effective MOC program. This work is focused on improving the MOC for surface facilities in a high activity brownfield operation.

The objectives of this effort included taking the MOC program beyond regulatory requirements and to a proactive level. At high level, elements of the MOC improvement efforts included: Using Risk Based Process Safety (RBPS) approach to provide extra rigor to eligible "high focus" changes.Optimizing the MOC workflow for low risk high volume and "typical" changes.Influencing workforce behaviors to support proactive process safety (PS) culture.
New Technology for Groundwater Compliance Monitoring: Improving Efficiency, Reducing Incident Risk and Saving Money
Authors: Grassi M. E. , Benson U. , Thomas D. G
Published: June 2014

Compliance related groundwater monitoring presents significant costs and requires substantial resources of Chevron’s Australian Business Unit (Chevron Australia). Currently, Chevron Australia has in excess of 500 remotely located groundwater monitoring wells that require water quality sampling on a biannual, quarterly, or monthly basis. To help ensure safety, the sampling process is conducted in teams of two. The standard process includes travel to the remote monitoring sites and the manual handling of large quantities of equipment across native bush to reach each monitoring well head. The process then involves purging each well of approximately 80 L of waste water before sampling and further manual handling and transport of waste water to the disposal facility. Field crews conduct all of this work outdoors in northwest Australia where temperatures regularly exceed 40° C. Using this standard sampling method, each two person team can sample only about 8 to 10 monitoring wells per day. Compliance related groundwater monitoring represents about 180 person-days per year for Chevron Australia and these days have a relatively high risk of incident compared to more typical, predictable, and controllable work activities conducted by the workforce.

Through implementation of this alternative technology for groundwater sampling (i.e., Snap Sampler® devices), the Chevron Australia has achieved a quantum improvement in their compliance related groundwater monitoring program. This sampling method requires less equipment, generates no waste water, and significantly reduces the amount of manual handling activities. In addition, use of the method enables sampling of 20 or more wells per day. Further, the sampling method significantly improves data quality and reliability resulting in more streamlined and cost effective post-sampling analyses. Once fully implemented, it is estimated that this alternative technology will reduce the high risk field work from 180 person-days per year to about 100 person-days per year. The investment in the Snap Sampler® program is expected to be cost neutral in year 1 but save about 40% of current expenditures from year 2 forward.
Identification of potential human rights impacts: a comparison of two approaches
Authors: Vallat Julie , Lennock Jean , Gouley Clotilde
Published: June 2014

International discussions on corporate responsibility for the respect of human rights has increased significantly over the past few years culminating in the publication of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Total has been an active contributor to these discussions and, in parallel, has developed internal guidance on human rights to complement existing policies on risk evaluation and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). A range of industry guidance has, and is, being developed on the integration of human rights into impact assessments, yet there remains discussion about whether an integrated, stand-alone or mixed approach can best address these issues.

Total has identified the potential human rights risks and impacts of its exploration activities in a sub-saharan African country where the human rights context is particularly complex. A dual approach was taken: human rights issues were added to the scope of the ESIA, whilst in parallel a dedicated human rights impact assessment was commissioned.

A number of issues have emerged: the relation between the potential impacts of a relatively small scale exploration activity in a context of high human rights risk; the need to address risks and impacts related to a specific operation versus those that go beyond a limited geographic zone; the ‘conflict’ between confidentiality for both the company and those stakeholders consulted, and transparency.

This paper presents a comparative assessment of the methodologies used to identify potential human rights risks and impacts, evaluate their severity, and to identify mitigation measures. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach in this particular context are evaluated. It is anticipated that the assessment will provide lessons and practical recommendations for the industry given: the history and current human rights context in the operational area; the two studies being carried out in parallel for the same exploration activity in the same area, the different skills and experience being provided by the two organizations.
Protecting Worker Health Through Biological Monitoring: Urinary S-Phenylmercapturic Acid (SPMA) as a Tool for Assessing Barriers and Control Efficacy
Authors: Koller Kim L
Published: June 2014

Benzene is a common component of some petroleum streams. It is causally related to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and aplastic anemia and is associated with myelodysplastic syndrome. Depending on the country and regulator, the current occupational exposure limit (OEL) for an 8 hr TWA (Time Weighted Average) is between 0.5 – 1.0 ppm.

Biological monitoring for benzene may be performed as part of regular medical surveillance as well as post-incident. Given the continuous lowering of the OEL, it is imperative that a sensitive and specific biomarker be used. Urinary S-Phenylmercapturic Acid (S-PMA) was used as a biomarker to assess absorption of benzene and to provide assurance that engineering, personal protective including respirator controls are effectively utilized for all tasks. Smoking status of participants was assessed to review impact on S-PMA results.

Results showed that S-PMA levels are low and often below the laboratory cutoff value of 5μg/L in non smokers performing routine work, reflecting effective engineering and personal protective equipment (PPE) controls. About 25% of smokers performing routine tasks had S-PMAs results above 5μg/g of creatinine. This is likely due to benzene in cigarette smoke. Therefore, one must consider smoking status when interpretating workplace benzene absorption. During an incident, where there is a potential for benzene exposure, a careful review of smoking status along with other relevant factors, such as air monitoring, material of exposure, and use of PPE including respirators should be considered to determine effectiveness of controls.

Past studies and this data shows that biomarkers can accurately assess worker exposures and controls in protecting workers both for long and short-term exposures. During incidents where hydrocarbons containing benzene are released, early and proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and respirators can prevent absorption. This also suggests that US OSHA regulations for post incident biomonitoring currently requiring the non specific and less sensitive biomarker urinary phenol reflects older technology and science and should be updated to a specific and more sensitive biomarker for benzene such as urinary S-PMA.