bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Applying offshore safety case principles to onshore construction
Authors: Hayward Peter , Robinson Rick
Published: August 2017

The Australian resources industry’s safety statistics lag behind other parts of the world, although a step change is underway as contractors look to deliver the outstanding performance clients and the broader public expect. Clough is embedding a TQM, or top-to-bottom risk management strategy, through all levels of the organisation. This starts with identifying the legislative requirements, assessing the inherent hazards of specific scopes of work, and establishing the minimum controls to support safe and reliable behaviour in the field. These hazard assessments are then cascaded down through each project team, which applies them to the various stages of the project lifecycle. This results in a holistic approach to safety and ultimately ensures the critical risks and controls are understood and followed at the worksite. This extended abstract shares Clough’s experience in developing its TQM system and it looks at how the Australian resources industry can adopt a common approach to safety risk management so it becomes a tangible part of daily business. Successful implementation requires strong cultural discipline, clear values, and alignment between clients and contractors. In Clough’s experience, success relies on training and development coupled with accountability and empowerment of staff and contractors. This promotes ongoing engagement in the process and a commitment to safety learning in everything they do.
Case study: maximising return on health, safety, environment, and quality (HSE&Q) investments
Authors: Homsey Christopher , Austin Jane , Butler Christopher
Published: August 2017

Farstad Shipping operates a fleet of large anchor handling and platform supply vessels globally. Priding itself on its motto Better By Far, Farstad Shipping’s vision of zero harm faced key safety challenges, including:

leadership/communications;
manual task related injuries;
fly In/fly out fatigue; mental health issues relating to stress, depression etc.;
an ageing workforce; and,
changing/challenging client requirements.

These challenges created a high level of indecision and frustration when trying to determine where best to focus time and money with HSE&Q programs to effectively impact operational productivity and safety performance. Beginning in 2007, Farstad Shipping partnered with Intertek Consulting & Training and implemented a framework designed to pinpoint areas of greatest concern. This approach uses research from OECD indicating best practice. Using this approach enabled Farstad to gather objective data on specific behaviours and to formulate targeted action plans that addressed the people, culture, processes, delivery, and sustainability challenges identified above. The framework was applied at sea on more than 25 Farstad vessels via onboard coaching, at onshore workshops, and at the Offshore Simulation Centre based in Western Australia. Subsequently, some key achievements included: three-fold reduction in injury frequency; reduction of total recordable case frequency from 14.0 to > 5.0; 50% reduction in workcover claims; and zero lost time injuries since September 2012. The methodology used by Farstad, which can be applied to organisations’ approaches to hiring, training, coaching, process design, and leadership development, is examined in detail and its application to Farstad’s challenges explored.
Commercial shipping and offshore exploration—safety by design: a case for holistic marine spatial planning
Authors: Millett Alec
Published: August 2017

In its navigation safety and environment protection role, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is compulsorily consulted by offshore exploration proponents during the preparation of their environmental plans (EPs). AMSA is an interested party regarding the safe navigation of commercial shipping conducting coastal and international trade in all areas, including those where proposed geotechnical, geophysical, or production activities may take place. Acreage releases often overlap busy shipping lanes and, in some cases, International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted measures that support the safety of shipping and protection of the marine environment. Ships transiting these areas carry cargos of considerable volume and net worth and often substances that are hazardous or dangerous. AMSA, during the proponents’ EP consultation phase, provides advice and assesses navigational and infrastructure risk based on locations of proposed offshore activities and commercial shipping activity. It is apparent that during approval processes, risks related to commercial shipping may not always be fully considered. This can lead to the need for careful expectation management to limit risk exposure. Below are examples where permit areas are shown along with commercial shipping traffic patterns. Commercial shipping and exploration activity can coexist through careful and early communication and adept planning. Maturing marine spatial planning (MSP) processes may provide opportunities to ensure timely and relevant information is shared while adhering to regulatory requirements. This extended abstract and its poster presentation highlight the ability to share spatial information, including commercial vessel traffic information, over a common water space to realise safety and efficiency gains for all concerned.
Design and optimisation of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing in a horizontal well in a shale gas reservoir in the Cooper Basin, South Australia
Authors: Pokalai Kunakorn , Fei Yang , Ahmad Maqsood , Haghighi Manouchehr , Gonzalez Mary
Published: August 2017

Multi-stage hydraulic fracturing in horizontal wells is a well-known technology and is a key mechanism for gas recovery from extremely low permeable shale gas reservoirs. Since Australia’s Cooper Basin has a more complex stress regime and higher temperatures when compared to US shale gas formations, the design and optimisation of this technology in the Cooper Basin has not been explored to the authors’ knowledge.
The Murteree and Roseneath shale formations in the Cooper Basin are 8,500 ft in depth and have been targets for shale gas production by different oil and gas operators. Deeper zones are difficult to fracture, as fracture gradients are often above 1 psi/ft.
In this study, 1D vertical mechanical earth modelling using petrophysical log data was developed. Then, the stress profile was tuned and validated using the minimum horizontal stress from a mini-frac test taken along a vertical well. A 3D hydraulic fracture simulation in a vertical well as developed as a pilot to select the best locations for horizontal drilling. The selection criteria for the best location included the stress regime, gas flow rate and fracture geometry. Then a multi-stage fracture treatment in a horizontal well was designed.
A large number of cases were simulated based on different well lengths, stage spacing and the number of stages. The productivity index was selected as the objective function for the optimisation process. The best case finally was selected as the optimum multi-stage hydraulic fracturing in a horizontal well in the Cooper Basin.
Prospectivity insights from automated pre-interpretation processing of open-file 3D seismic data: characterising the Late Triassic Mungaroo Formation of the Carnarvon Basin, North West Shelf of Australia
Authors: Ford Cliff C. , Dirstein James K. , Stanley Alistair John
Published: August 2017

Waveform data from pre-interpretation processing is used in nine Late Triassic interpretation case studies from an area extending more than 30,000 km2 across the Exmouth Plateau, Kangaroo Trough and Rankin Trend on the North West Shelf of Australia. Events selected from a database of automatically generated surfaces extracted from six large open-file 3D marine surveys (~16,000 km2) are used to analyse reservoirs, seals, and pore fluid within the Brigadier and Mungaroo formations in this peer-reviewed paper.
Today, geoscience teams are challenged with vast data sets such as the archived versions of more than 125 Carnarvon Basin 3D seismic surveys. Pre-interpretation processing delivers a database of numerous seismic events that cannot be effectively managed using traditional interpretation workstations. With, however, a 3D viewer to query, edit and merge the results, geoscience teams are able to review many large surveys and the surfaces in their interpretation workflows.
At the 2013 WABS Conference in Perth, WA, two papers offered models for the Late Triassic gas reservoirs. These models represent many years of synthesis and integration of data by teams of geoscientists from two of the major operators on the North West Shelf. Validation and corroboration of the proposed models was gained by using selected pre-interpretation surfaces. Stacking patterns, waveform fitness, amplitude and two-way time surfaces from these spatial databases revealed geological insights about the formations, such as their complexity of structure, extent of reservoirs, and continuity of seals, along with a better understanding about the trapping and charge systems of the fields.
Monitoring of hydraulic fracturing in Moomba, South Australia, using magnetotellurics
Authors: Carter Simon , Heinson Graham , Krieger Lars , Rees Nigel , Conway Dennis , Putland Oliver , Rugari Joseph , Boren Goran , Matthews Chris
Published: August 2017

The microseismic method is the dominant geophysical tool for monitoring hydraulic fracturing. High-pressure injection of fluids creates fractures in the sub-surface, recorded as small seismic events. Inverting such events yields the temporal and spatial extent of deformation; however, there is no straightforward relationship between the location of micro-deformations and the migration of injected fluid.
In this peer-reviewed paper, an alternative approach to deep-fluid monitoring using the magnetotelluric (MT) method is presented. As MT is primarily sensitive to the presence of fluids (through changes in the bulk electrical resistivity) and the orientation of fluid connection, this technique may yield important constraints on how fluids propagate from the well with time. This technique has been successfully used to monitor hydraulically induced fractures in two geothermal settings at depths of more than 3 km.
A 10-stage horizontal-well hydraulic-fracture in the Cooper Basin for a shale-gas reservoir was monitored using MT. From the central injecting well, four lines of instruments were placed radially in a cross-pattern. These new electric and magnetic loggers were deployed for a continuous monitoring period of 65 days. As changes in the magnetic field are spatially uniform across the extent of the survey area, only two magnetic-field data recorders were placed in the array. A third logger was placed 10 km from the well, for redundancy and as a remote reference.
Measurements were taken from mid-May to mid-July 2014, while the injection and drawback occurred for approximately one month. Processing regimes were created to convert field data into MT responses and resistivity models of the Earth. Theory, survey practice and outputs from this experiment are presented in this peer-reviewed paper.
PESA 2014 business review
Authors: Peacock Jonathon
Published: August 2017

This review looks back at 2014 from a business context and considers where the Australian petroleum industry will be placed in 2015.
Globally, there were a number of major developments in 2014. These included new supply sources (e.g. PNG LNG), exploration successes (e.g. Brazil), and evolving energy export policies that have been set to change the market (e.g. US, OPEC). Russia agreed to a major gas supply agreement with China, and access to talent remained an issue.
In Australia, there were a number of developments that shaped the business agenda, including:

Capital projects—Prelude, QCLNG, and many others—achieved major milestones such as first LNG production.

There were ongoing cost increases in capital projects.

From a tax perspective, the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) was not renounced, and a decision was made on Browse royalties.

Operators were busy with commissioning teams and preparing to operate new assets.

Boards debated capital management, notably the AU$200 billion of projects in pre-FID and asset divestments.

Exploration, notably for onshore east coast regulations in NSW and Victoria.

The opening of the Wallumbilla gas supply hub in Queensland, in March 2014.

2015 will be an important period for the industry in Australia. For instance, the price of oil will be under pressure due to the changing global market forces for energy. Operators will have to work hard in 2015 as they commission large new facilities, reduce costs, and improve plant reliability. Also, the regulatory agenda will be focused on exploration, and balancing domestic and export market forces.
Trends in eastern Australia gas sale agreements
Authors: Plumb James
Published: August 2017

The development of an LNG export market in Queensland in recent years has seen the eastern Australia gas market transform from an isolated, relatively stable and low-priced market to an international market with higher, more variable prices. These structural shifts are changing the landscape for negotiators of domestic gas sale or supply agreements (GSAs) in eastern Australia.
With much production now underpinned by export projects, sellers are increasingly unwilling to commit to long-term domestic supply arrangements, and are more willing to adopt a take-it-or-leave-it approach when considering other terms of trade. Pricing mechanisms are also moving into line with the new exposure to global forces.
This paper examines how some of the key standard terms in GSAs are being addressed in the market particularly in respect of pricing mechanisms.
Technologies that have transformed the Exmouth into Australia
Authors: Loro Richard , Hill Robin , Jackson Mark , Slate Tony
Published: August 2017

The oil and gas fields of the Exmouth Sub-basin, offshore WA, have presented a number of significant challenges to their exploitation since the first discoveries of heavy oil and lean gas were made in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Presently, some 20 oil and gas fields have been discovered in a variety of Late Jurassic to Cretaceous clastic reservoirs from slope turbidites to deltaic sands. Discovered oils are typically heavily biodegraded with densities ranging from 14–23° API and moderate viscosity. Seismic imaging is challenging across some areas due to pervasive multiples and gas escape features, while in other areas resolution is excellent. Most reservoirs are poorly cemented to unconsolidated and thus require sand control. Modest oil columns, most with gas caps, and variable permeability, present challenges for both maximising oil recovery and minimising the influx of water and gas. Oil-water emulsions also present difficulties for both maximising oil rate and metering production.
To date, more than 300 MMbbls have been produced from five developments (Enfield, Stybarrow, Vincent, Van Gogh and Pyrenees), and in 2013 the Macedon gasfield began production. This peer-reviewed paper focuses on the variety of technologies—geoscience, reservoir, drilling and production—that have underpinned the development of these challenging fields and in doing so, transformed the Exmouth into Australia’s premier oil producing basin.
A laboratory set up for the measurement of wellbore instability due to erosion of unconsolidated formations
Authors: Avijegon Ghazal , Sarout Joel
Published: August 2017

Borehole instability is a recurring issue encountered during drilling operations in the oil and gas, and mining industries. In exploration drilling using coiled tubing technology, boreholes are slim and the annular space is usually tight. Similar situations are also encountered around the drill-collar section in standard drilling where the annular space can be tight; therefore, the drilling fluid has a high flow velocity and a turbulent flow regime is dominant.
The flow conditions are the governing conditions for borehole erosion, which can lead to borehole instability. Erosion of the borehole introduces more cuttings into the annulus space, which is detrimental to the efficiency of cuttings transport and brings contamination to samples being retrieved at the surface for geochemistry and mineral analyses.
In this peer-reviewed paper a new laboratory set-up aimed at estimating borehole erosion in pre-drilled rock samples is reported. A flow loop unit is used, which allows the injection of high flow-rates of any type of fluid composed of chemical additives and simulated cuttings.
Early results of an exploratory study are reported in terms of changes in the internal borehole diameter (ID) of the sample before and after the erosion experiment. These were recorded using X-ray CT scanning. This change in ID acts as a measure of the formation’s erodibility, from which shear stress is estimated.
Explosion risk on offshore and onshore facilities—is there an explosion risk problem or an explosion modelling problem?
Authors: Fossan Ingar , Nodland Sverre
Published: August 2017

Management of the risk related to the loss of containment of flammable fluid is paramount to ensure safe operations at facilities processing or storing flammable fluids. According to best industry practice, an extensive set of safety functions—including measures that reduce the frequency of initiating events (e.g. leaks) and measures that mitigate consequences in case of ignition—are implemented in design to control the risk.
Adopting the risk-based design principles that are commonly enforced in the oil and gas industry, the performance of implemented safety barriers are assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively using different methodologies such as hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and quantitative risk analysis (QRA).
The ultimate outcome from the QRA methodology is used to assess the overall risk level as well as to assess dimensioning accidental loads (DALs) for equipment and structures that will ensure a design that is within the tolerable risk level set for the facility. An accurate assessment of DALs resulting from fires and explosion is crucial to manage both the risk and corresponding cost driving factors. The most critical safety barrier in this regard is to minimise leaks and thereafter to prevent ignition of the dispersed flammable fluid. A fundamental safety design principle is to find ways to avoid the occurrence of incidents rather than implement measures that mitigate consequences.
This peer-reviewed paper demonstrates the significance of modelling the safety functions that are in place to ensure that the initial leak does not ignite by presenting a case example for different layouts of a conventional jacket installation with gas turbines.
It is concluded that the difference between various available ignition models can be more prominent than the uncertainty related to any other model element in the QRA. To uncover potential hazards not reflected by the model and identify optimal control measures, the effect of the ignition model applied should be investigated in detail for installations where the QRA displays a prominent fire and explosion frequency.