Technology Focus: Health, Safety, and Environment (August 2010)
Authors: Garland Emmanuel 
Published: February 2015

Technology Focus

Facing New Challenges With Best Practices and Innovative Thinking

That was the theme for the 2010 SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil & Gas Exploration and Production, Rio de Janeiro, 12–14 April—a landmark for the industry. It also fits with the synopses of selected papers that you will find on the following pages.

The conference and these papers share the same aim: to ensure a safe operation—safe for the people, safe for the integrity of the assets, and safe for the environment (both natural and social). Health, Safety, Environment, and Social Responsibility (HSE&SR) (the latter growing increasingly important over the last 5 years) are multifaceted: from tools and technology to management systems, from field experiments to guidance documents that gather experience gained at different places in the world, and from experience of major corporations to that of many small consultants or service companies.

This year, more papers address general issues, developing ideas or concepts, and fewer deal with true technology. While there are good reasons for this trend, the industry must not underestimate the importance of technology development to reach our goal.

Climate change—with its three offspring (energy efficiency, reduction of flaring and venting, and carbon capture and sequestration)—is the single biggest issue on environment, while asset integrity (AI) is the one regarding safety.  Just after AI, we find management issues (leadership, culture, and behavioral-based safety) and technical themes (transportation, hoisting, lifting, and others). Infectious illnesses and working conditions (noise, musculo-skeletal diseases, and carcinogenic substances) are prominent health issues.

Social responsibility attracts more attention, partly in relation with operations in new-frontier areas (e.g., the Arctic, unconventional oils, and shale gas) and partly in current operation areas.

Our license to operate will depend on our ability to address these issues, which are not exclusively the HSE&SR community’s concern, but everybody’s concern.

Health, Safety, and Environment additional reading available at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org

SPE 127145 • “The Use of Videowalls in Control Rooms: High-Tech Appearance or Operational Help?” by F. Duarte, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, et al.

SPE 126758 • “The Effectiveness of Immunizing BP Indonesia (West Java) Workers Using Influenza Vaccinations To Prevent Influenza-Like Illnesses” by Anton Ojong, BP Indonesia, et al.

SPE 123861 • “Is the Focus Too Low on Issues That Have a Potential To Lead to a Major Incident?” by Gunnar H. Leistad, SPE, Maersk Oil Norway, et al.

SPE 126607 • “Implementation of the OGP Lifting and Hoisting Recommended Practice” by Graeme Lawrie, SPE, Schlumberger.

SPE 126644 • “Reducing Flaring and Improving Energy Efficiency: An Operator’s View” by Hadrien Labeyrie, Total, et al.

SPE 127092 • “Joint-Industry Programme on Exploration and Production Sound and Marine Life: Update on Research Progress” by J.L. Michael, SPE,  Chevron, et al.