Central Graben Development CATS Safety Management System
Authors: Fraser W.S. , Jenkins D.W. 
Published: October 2008

The development and application of safety management systems in the United Kingdom oil and gas exploration and production industry followed the publication of the report into the loss in 1988 of the Piper Alpha platform.

The major recommendation of the accident inquiry report was the development of company safety management systems.A critical part of the safety management system was a Safety Case for each installation. This document reflects the safety regime in place at all phases of the life of an installation, from conceptual design to abandonment. The process of developing a Safety Case is the key to changing and improving the approach to safe design, installation and operation of production facilities.

The exploration and production industry was faced with a dilemma. It continued to design and develop new facilities, during a period when a new philosophy of safety management had to be developed and implemented, against tight project schedules and a changing regulatory regime.

This paper describes the development and implementation of the Amoco (UK) Exploration Company safety management system (SMS) incorporating Safety Cases into the CATS project.

The Safety Case implementation programme was designed to meet the needs of the company safety management system and a developing regulatory programme.

INTRODUCTION

PIPER ALPHA, ALEXANDER KEILLAND, SEA GEM are all examples from the exploration and production industry of total loss of facilities with large loss of life. in all cases, accident investigation reports demonstrated failures of design and operation.

The exploration and production industry is not unique in its inability to operate all its facilities safely. BHOPAL, CHERNOBYL, THREE MILE ISLAND, SEVESO and FLIXBOROUGH are examples from the chemical and nuclear industries of incidents that have demonstrated failures in management practices which have led to catastrophic loss. The nuclear and chemical industries have a reputation for high standards of operational safety. The processes and raw materials used require safe operation to protect the employees, the surrounding population, and the plant investment.

It is a tribute to the high risk industries concerned that they have developed and operated their production facilities with such a short list of failures.

Continuous improvement is required to identify the hazards and reduce the incidence of failure. The continued development of resources and investment will be assured only if industry can convince employees and the community that it can operate safely.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The requirement for the development of safety management systems in the United Kingdom can be traced back to 1974. The chemical plant at Flixborough in England was destroyed. The cause of the incident was a badly designed modification to the plant. Several tonnes of cyclohexane were released and a vapour cloud ignited. Twenty eight employees died. Thirty six people offsite were injured and extensive damage was caused to property. The facility was totally devasted. The incident occurred at a weekend. As a result the death toll was reduced. The potential for loss of life was over 100.