HSE (CASHES) Management in Niger Delta Seismic Operations
Authors: Adepoju O.J. 
Published: December 2007

3-D seismic acquisition surveys in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, are carried out under extremely arduous field conditions due to difficult terrain, dense vegetation, semi-manual mode of operation, wildlife and volatile communities. The vegetation is a combination of evergreen tropical rain forest in the land areas and mangrove in the swamp areas. Some parts of the delta are prone to high seasonal flooding.

Seismic lines are laid out by manual cuffing of brush using machetes and shot holes drilled semi-manually with pumps. Depending on the geometry, a number of seismic lines are recorded simultaneously and usually. more than 1000 personnel are deployed in the various phases of operation. In addition, the patches traversed on land fall within heavily populated areas with a population density of 2,500 per sq. km. decreasing to 450 per sq. km, in the swamp areas. The population is made up of various ethnic groups with diverse cultural, religious and tradition beliefs which imposes a lot of restrictions and taboos which must be observed by the seismic operators.

In order to effectively carry out the operations with due regard to the people and environment, a Community Affairs, Safety, Health, Environment and Security (CASHES) policy and management system which ensures that all hazards are identified, assessed, controlled, with an effective loop feedback mechanism was introduced and implemented, CASHES critical activities are community relations, field security, explosives handling, water transport/journey management, river crossings, weather, shallow gas blowout, waste management, seasonal flooding and floating seaweed (water hyacinth)/timber logs. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies are essential at the initial planning stages.

About 41 Hazard Registers and 177 Activity Specification Sheets are developed in a typical survey. About 85% of the labour workforce are recruited from the host communities to promote cordial relations, Extensive training is carried out to raise the standards of the new recruits. The implementation of the management system is cascaded down using simplified documentation (procedures, work tasks, checklists etc.) adapted to local conditions, Integrated CASHES audits (Premob, Minor, Major, Follow up) are conducted to check the efficiency of the system with documents getting reviewed regularly to keep the system alive and capable of handling changes. With these in place. high potential incidents are reduced/eliminated.

In conclusion, a good CASHES management system is essential and must be in place with the various units of the workforce knowing their respective roles in implementing the system.

Introduction:

3D seismic surveys are carried out in the Niger Delta to further define stratigraphic/structural traps so as to firm up Exploratory Plays, Appraisal and Field Development Plans. The vegetation is a combination of tropical rain forest, mangrove and raffia palms.

3-D seismic acquisition is carried out by swath shooting in which receiver cables are laid out in parallel lines (on-line direction) and shot lines positioned in a perpendicular direction (cross-line -direction) with dynamite as the energy source. The seismic lines are laid out by manual cutting of brush using machetes and shot holes drilled semi manually with pumps. Four to eight active seismic lines are recorded simultaneously. P. 99