bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From Research to Practice: A Story of an Actionable Safety Leading Indicator Index
Authors: Stough Joe
Published: September 2012

For the past several years, a group of global Energy companies, including nearly all of the super majors, has been working on a research initiative with a common mission to find an actionable leading indicator index to drive Safety and eventually overall Operational Excellence performance.

This group has been collaborating to provide a large multi-year data set, which contains millions of data records from events such as incidents, investigations, near misses, audits, observations, assessments, and many other routine field-level activities. Since 2008, a rigorous statistical analysis process has been iteratively applied to this data to identify the mix of leading metrics which most effectively predict Safety performance outcomes.

This paper will review the leading indicator research findings drawn from analyzing this large Energy industry data set. It will reveal the key components of an actionable leading index which has been found to be uniquely strong in organizations who continue to sustain top-level Safety lagging performance.

From the analytical research and careful review with this consortium of industry QHSE executives and Subject Matter Experts, the index that was found to best predict the Safety outcome performance of an organization included measurements of (a) proactive event reporting (Reporting Culture), (b) the discipline and consistency in execution of QHSE business processes, (c) the timeliness in closure of important corrective / preventive actions, and finally (d) the responsiveness of supervisors and line managers.

The paper will provide an overview of the analytical process that produced these results and will outline alternatives for applying these insights on leadership performance dashboards. Although the leading indicator research and analytics activities continue annually to strengthen the effectiveness of the leading indices, companies are applying the index to provide actionable leading metrics on executive scorecards. We will outline a sample process for implementing practical, "actionable" leading metrics in each key area to drive line manager / leadership behaviour and ultimately improve QHSE performance outcomes.
Environmental Risk Assessment Utilizing Bow-Tie Methodology
Authors: Jones Fredrick V. , Israni Kumar (Chris)
Published: September 2012

Environmental risk assessment has become a recognized tool to assess the impact of projects and production operations around the world. However, the methodology utilized to assess environmental risks range from simple workshops listing the various project or operational stages and potential environmental impacts to complex HAZIDS/HAZOP workshops. In most cases the workshop and risk assessment success can be based on the number and experience of the professionals present and the level of detail and time allowed for the assessment. The Bow-Tie methodology in risk assessment has been utilized in safety assessments for some time; however, it has not been utilized to any degree with environmental assessment.

The Bow-Tie method can significantly reduce the variability of results, which helps to increase the confidence in the findings from the assessment. The Bow-Tie method is a systematic approach to reviewing, selecting and ranking potential risks that provides a foundation for future efforts in control and mitigation. A procedure has been developed to assess environmental risk utilizing the Bow-Tie method similar to the approach applied in safety risk assessments. The Bow-Tie methodology has not been widely utilized in the environmental assessment of upstream operations to date. This paper reviews the process and results of such an effort.

The authors have utilized this method to assess the environmental aspects of an engineering design stage for an offshore platform and drilling program and discuss the lessons learned from this experience. Based on the results from this application, the Bow-tie method can be adapted for the evaluation of environmental impacts associated with early-phase development activities, including design phases, project start up and review of changes and new events, and startup operations.
New Country Entry: Effective Engagement of HES and Medical Professionals
Authors: Strong Jim , Khalsa Atma S.
Published: September 2012

Exploration and production (E&P) in increasingly remote areas present challenges to addressing both worker health and other HES issues. This trend drives a need to integrate health, environment, safety (HES) and medical professionals earlier in the business planning stages to conduct in-depth risk assessments.

As new country entry organizational capability models typically include management personnel and representatives from finance, supply chain and legal, but tend to inadequately address unique HES and medical challenges such as extreme medical exposures (i.e. cholera, typhoid, malaria, hepatitis, and HIV), sub-standard medical infrastructure and HES workforce environments (i.e. clean water, medivacs capabilities, logistics and lodging) which are key risks for new investment opportunities.

This paper proposes a simple, phased process that brings in HES and medical professionals during initial conception of new venture profiling and builds on early assessments to position companies to successfully manage new international developments.
Sensor System for Directly Detecting and Identifying Hydrocarbons in Water
Authors: Cooper James S. , Wieczorek Lech , Raguse Burkhard , Müller Karl-Heinz , Chow Edith , Hubble Lee J. , Ross Andrew , Mohler Rachel , Synowiec Karen , Bild Elaine , Kelmser Urmas , Thomas Dave
Published: September 2012

We report on the development of a sensor system for the detection of hydrocarbons in water. The sensor system is based on functionalized gold nanoparticle chemiresistors that change their electrical resistance when exposed to chemical compounds. We fabricated arrays with sixteen chemiresistors, where each chemiresistor can contain gold nanoparticles functionalized with a different linker. The array of semi-selective sensors was exposed to solutions containing benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) dissolved in water. Using linear discriminant analysis we demonstrated that each one of the BTEX compounds could be distinguished.
Tools for Standardizing Environmental Designs for Capital Projects
Authors: Monahan Margaret , Blackwell Veronica , Hoffmann Robert , Julliand Marine , lannuzzi Morgan , Conrad Dwayne , Craig Amy
Published: September 2012

Chevron has recently developed and improved tools to promote consistency in environmental designs across the company. The objectives of the tools are to leverage institutional knowledge and best practices in environmental engineering design; to select the most appropriate treatment/control equipment; and to provide design recommendations that can be incorporated into engineering specifications. The tools are: 1) the Environmental Basis of Design (BoD) Template; and 2) the Environmental Design Manual.

The purpose of an Environmental BoD is to identify key design requirements related to environmental performance that must be addressed in pre-Front End Engineering and Design (pre-FEED), FEED and included in the final detailed design. The Environmental BoD Template includes company internal standards, and references to international conventions, codes, standards, project-specific compliance requirements and best practice design considerations.

The Environmental Design Manual promotes consistent design of environmental technologies and complements the BoD Template as a bridge between the Health, Environment and Safety (HES) and Facility Engineering (FE) functions by helping HES staff set appropriate design targets and helping facilty engineers design equipment to meet those targets. The Environmental Design Manual is incorporated into the Company's Engineering Standards and is comprised of individual guidelines on specific environmental effluents, emissions or management technologies. The guidelines summarize environmental requirements and provide suggestions on the best engineering designs to meet those requirements. The Environmental Design Manual builds engineering excellence by sharing company experience, lessons learned, and key design recommendations. The Environmental Design Manual now includes guidelines for sanitary wastewater, incinerators, drilled cuttings, and stationary point source control technologies. Guidelines for produced water, onsite waste storage, and flaring are in development. Existing guidelines will also be refreshed periodically to remain current on best-available technologies and company expectations.
Assessing Psychosocial Risks at Work in Oilfield Personnel: A Case Study
Authors: Celly John J. , Suasnavas Pablo
Published: September 2012

When it comes to assessing risks in the oilfield industry, the usual focus is on mechanical, chemical, physical, and even biological and ergonomic risks. Psychosocial risks at work are usually disregarded or neglected. However, some psychosocial risks can be real problems for organizations and could have clear negative impacts on employee performance.

Assessing these risks and defining whether they are acceptable is the first step. If they endanger workforce health or morale, action must be taken to obtain positive outcomes and to solve the problems. An additional consideration is that problems derived from inadequate handling of these risks can constitute acute or chronic medical conditions, affecting employees in field operations, or increasing accidents or diminishing productivity for organizations.

An oilfield services company has been conducting workplace psychosocial risks assessments, using the simple but effective FPSICO questionnaire. The FPSICO questionnaire, from the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at Work; INSHT), is a tool for identifying and assessing psychosocial risks at work. Its aim is to provide information to identify these risks in a particular situation, taking into consideration the task, the time devoted to the task, and the structure of the organization, and then to diagnose psychosocial risks either for the whole or only a particular area of an organization from the individual questionnaires.

This paper discusses the results of a psychosocial risks assessment using the FPSICO questionnaire at the oilfield services company in a South American country, from the initial sampling through extrapolation to the whole organization in this country, for first-stage results and then a follow-up control four years later. Particular focus is placed on mental load (intellectual activity level required to perform the job) and temporal autonomy (inability to abandon the task and to self-manage time) based on the results of the initial assessment.
Measuring the contribution of extractive industries to local development: the case of oil companies in Nigeria
Authors: Dionague Abdou Ka , Renouard Cecile
Published: September 2012

Extractive industries face two main challenges in terms of CSR and poverty reduction: 1) recognize that societal activity is part of their core business; 2) take part in socio-economic projects that contribute to their stakeholders’ empowerment and not only to their living conditions. Based on surveys achieved in Nigeria in 2008, the paper presents two societal performance indices meant to be complementary: the Poverty Exit Index (PEI) and the Relational Capability Index (RCI). We show that, while they have fostered the PEI of the local communities, the development projects of the oil companies had a rather negative impact on their RCI. We then identify key variables that can influence positively the RCI and on which a sensible development policy should focus.
Advances in Treating Agents for Oil Spill Response
Authors: Nedwed Tim , Tidwell Amy , Buist Ian , Belore Randy , Canevari Gerald
Published: September 2012

Oil spill response strategies are designed to minimize environmental impacts to the extent possible. Each response option must be evaluated for operational limitations (e.g., sea state), potential effectiveness, environmental impacts, and applicability given the size, type, and location of the spill, in addition to considering the health and safety of responders.

Although mechanical recovery is favored for its ability to directly remove oil from the environment, it is known that for large offshore spills this technology has significant limitations. Historically, only a small fraction of oil spilled offshore has been mechanically recovered due to operational limits (e.g., limited encounter rates, currents, and waves) and the dynamic nature of offshore oil slicks (i.e., rapid spreading and movement). Therefore, industry has worked to develop a range of response tools that can be used together with mechanical recovery to more effectively treat large offshore spills.

This paper describes two new treating agent advances developed by ExxonMobil. The first is a new dispersant that testing has shown to be more effective than currently available products on viscous, weathered, and cold oils. Testing has shown that the new dispersant treats conventional oils with 2/3 less product. This coud significantly reduce the amount of chemical introduced into the environment and triple the oil treating capacity of existing delivery platforms.

The second advance will support in situ burning. Chemical herders have recently been studied as a tool to enhance the effectiveness of in situ burning in ice. During the course of this research, it has been shown that this technique can be effective in open water as well, given the appropriate conditions.

These two technologies are potentially step-change advances for oil spill response. The new dispersant requires less chemical to treat a given volume of oil. Chemical herders for open water could enable in situ burning without fire-resistant booms, which may allow it to become an effective first line response option in certain conditions.
Impact of Water Based Drilling Fluid and Cuttings Discharge Offshore Nigeria Using Sediment Profile Imaging Technology
Authors: Tilstone A. M. , Hardin J. L. , Diaz R. J. , Antaih C. A. , Essien E. , Passmore J. L , Bassey D.
Published: September 2012

Sediment profile imaging (SPI) technology is an effective tool for offshore oil and gas environmental assessment and monitoring. This paper demonstrates how SPI was used to evaluate the impact on the sea floor of water-based drilling fluid and cuttings discharged during drilling operations at five wellhead platforms offshore Nigeria in 2010. Pre-drill and post-drill SPI surveys were performed according to an orthogonal array of 20 nearfield stations, configured at 100 m, 200 m, 500 m, 800 m and 1,200 m distance along the cardinal directions from each platform. Three far-field reference stations were located at distances of up to 10 km from each platform. In the post-drill survey, the station array was supplemented by the addition of stations at 200 m and 500 m distance from each platform in the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest directions.

The results of the surveys indicated that physical processes dominated the sea bottom environment in the study area which consisted of either muddy sediments with relatively well-developed and mature infaunal communities or fine sand where no traces of infauna were observed. Examination of over 2,000 pre-drill and post-drill SPI images indicated an absence of widespread nearfield accumulation of drilling solids on the sea floor. Out of the 100 stations where co-located before and after images were available for direct side-by-side comparison, only two stations located 100 m and 200 m distant from one platform yielded evidence of an episodic deposition event potentially linked with discharges from the 2010 drilling operations. No other indications of contemporaneous mud and cuttings discharges were found during the SPI surveys. Comparisons are made of the use of SPI technology with the results of physical, chemical and biological sampling and testing, and predictions using dispersion modeling.
The Added Value of Whole Effluent Assessment for Produced Water Discharges in the Offshore Industry
Authors: Roex E. W. , Henriquez L. R. , Horn M.
Published: September 2012

Produced water from offshore installations is the largest discharge in the marine environment. The composition of produced water can be very complex and may vary in time, depending on for instance the maturity of the gas- or oilfield. Within the OSPAR region, i.e. the North-east Atlantic, now only the concentration of oil that is discharged is regulated. Therefore, it was decided within the OSPAR commission to develop a holistic risk-based approach for the assessment of produced water discharges and to incorporate Whole Effluent Assessment (WEA) within this approach as an instrument to fulfill the criteria of ‘holistic’. Therefore, in 2010 a practical program was performed on 10% of the offshore installations in the North-East Atlantic. Both an effect-based and a substance-based risk assessment were executed, respectively using a battery of different bioassays or the chemical analyses performed on the same samples. Both approaches were compared with each other. In this way, the added value of the WEA approach can be evaluated. Sampling and performance of the bioassays did not reveal any important practical constraints. Furthermore, large differences in toxicity exist between samples, indicating that WEA is sensitive enough to discriminate between samples. Besides, none of the bioassays could be designated as most sensitive. This emphasises the importance on establishing a risk assessment on more than one bioassay. It was shown that the susbstance-based risk assessment is in general less stringent than an effect-based risk assessment, and several reasons can be attributed to this differences. This Practical Progam has shown that WEA can be a valuable tool for assessing the environmental impact of produced water discharges. In the mean time, this effect-based assessment has been implemented within the Risk Based Approach in 2012.
The Lacq CCS Pilot, a First
Authors: Monne Jacques
Published: September 2012

Total is committed to reducing the impact of its activities on the environment, especially its greenhouse gas emissions. The group's priorities are to improve the energy efficiency of its industrial facilities, to reduce the flaring of associated gas, to invest in the development of complementary energy sources (biomass, solar, clean coal) and to participate in many operational and R&D programs on CO2 capture, transport and geological storage. It has been involved in CO2 injection and geological storage for over 15 years, in Canada (Weyburn oil field) for EOR and Norway (Sleipner, Snohvit) for aquifer storage. In 20 06, the company decided to invest 60 million euros to experiment CO2 capture, transportation and injection in a deplet ed gas reservoir. The pilot in the Lacq basin, SW France, 800 km from Paris, has been on stream since January 2010.

The experimental plant is unique in several respects; by its size (unprecedented worldwide), capturing carbon through a 30-MWth oxy-combustion gas boiler, by the choice of a depleted deep gas reservoir (unprecedented in Europe) located onshore 5 kilometers south of the agglomeration of Pau (around 140,000 inhabitants) and by its scope, operating a fully integrated industrial chain (comprising extraction, treatment, combustion of natural gas, High-pressure steam production, CO2 capture, transport and injection) on the SEVESO-classified Lacq industrial complex.

The pilot installations were designed by the Total E&P Research and Development team and are operated by Total Exploration Production France. The project reflects Total's commitment to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

A dedicated plan was devised with the French authorities to monitor the integrity of the injection site and confirm that the CO2 remains trapped in its host reservoir. Its main objectives are to check that no CO2 is leaking upward out of the reservoir though either the injection well or the cap rock, so as to avoid any impact on the groundwater and surface water resources, the biosphere (Fauna and Flora) or human health.

This paper details the main technical features of the pilot and the monitoring program spanning subsurface and surface aspects, together with the operational feedback after more than two and half years of operation.

Based on the pilot's performance to date, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) appears to hold promise for use on an industrial scale. This industrial operation will capture and trap around 90,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide over a 3 and half year period. This quantity is equivalent to the exhaust emissions of 30,000 cars over a 2-year period.
Automated Greenhouse Gas Data Collection, Visualisation and Reporting
Authors: Fairweather Neil
Published: September 2012

In 2008/2009 Apache Energy Limited (AEL) triggered the Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act threshold, requiring AEL to compile and report energy and emissions datasets for the financial year. This was in addition to the Apache Corporate calendar year emissions reporting requirements. Initially this was managed with EXCEL spread sheets, and the process was cumbersome and time consuming. Today I’m going to present the way in which the use of simple technology has enabled Apache to streamline its GHG reporting.

In 2010 AEL developed real time, online flare/emissions pages, using the visualisation software BabelFish. The real time data is collected from the offshore Distributed Control System (DCS) using an automatic data collector, and it is stored in a PI (Process Information) Historian database. These visualisation pages "talk" to the PI Historian database and give real time data for the volume of CO2 equivalent emitted from all sources, for all the facilities operated or controlled by AEL. All data, trends, and year-end forecasts are available for anyone with access to see ‘real time’.

The data stored in the PI Historian reduces the burden in producing emissions reports by capturing month end emissions data within the Production Reporting System (PRS), which can then be used to generate the NGERS report and the Apache corporate emissions report in a matter of minutes as opposed to months.

With the arrival of the Clean Energy Legislation, and the tax on carbon emissions, it is imperative that companies have a good understanding of their emissions. Streamlining the reporting process and providing real time emissions data to management will help underpin this understanding.
An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Ultra-High Pressure and Temperature on the Rheological Properties of Water-Based Drilling Fluids
Authors: Amani Mahmood , Al-Jubouri Mohammed
Published: September 2012

Tremendous amounts of hydrocarbons are located in deeper formations. In deep formations we experience higher pressures and temperatures. Designing a proper drilling fluid that can tolerate such high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) conditions is very challenging. This work is focused on investigating the rheological behavior of water-based drilling fluids with different properties at extremely high pressure and temperature conditions using a state-of-the-art viscometer capable of measuring drilling fluids properties up to 600°F and 40,000 psig. The results of this study show that the viscosity, yield point and gel strength decrease exponentially with increasing temperature until the mud samples fail. This behavior is the result of the thermal degradation of the solid, polymers, and other components of the mud samples. Increase in the distance between molecules due to high temperature will lower the resistance of the fluid to flow and, hence, its viscosity, yield point, and gel strength will reduce. Moreover, conducting this study led to the conclusion that viscosity, yield point, and gel strength increase linearly as the pressure increase. Pressure's effect on these parameters, however, is more apparent at lower temperatures. Ultimately, the study concluded that the mud samples that were used, which are standard industrial types, failed at a temperature of 250°F and that the combined effect of temperature and pressure on mud's rheology is complex.
Permit Management System and Regulation Compliance (PMS RC)
Authors: Januardianto J. , Muntu Nancy Yudhi , Aryaguna Adhika , Irmansyah Prima
Published: September 2012

In line with TOTAL’S commitment for Respecting Laws and Regulations, TOTAL E&P INDONESIE (TEPI or the so-called COMPANY) management decided to implement a system to manage Permit and improvement to existing condition of Regulatory Compliance. The system is called Permit Management System and Regulation Compliance (PMS RC). The system is designed to ensure regulatory compliance and on time awarding of Permit required for the affiliate operations, in accordance with local and national Regulations. PMS RC provides Regulation and Permit data base complete with its compliance status, accessible to authorized users in a friendly manner. This paper is made to describe the background and benefit as well as the mechanism on how the COMPANY runs PMS RC.

PMS RC is a complete management system which more than just a database in the computer, is a series of compliance processes such as Applicability Review, Compliance Assessment, Risk Assessment and Task Management. PMS RC's final goal is to ensure the sustainability of the compliance with respect to the applicable law, Regulations and Permit requirement within COMPANY. It minimizes the risk of operation disturbance by assuring Permit granted on time, compliance with the Regulation's requirement and preventing violation of the law and Regulations that leads to an incident.

The implementation of PMS RC safeguards the proper application of the relevant Regulation in COMPANY's operations. As a consequence it reduces the risks of incompliance and possible operational, financial, and legal consequences.

This system is a guideline for Line Management and related entities to review and evaluate the applicable and updated Regulation and Permit compliance status regularly. The implementation of this procedure also helps in reducing incompliance status by implementing corrective actions with risk-based priority to the entity which is not yet in compliance.

This Project was triggered by: First, the difficulties faced when running a very complex set of facilities, for which it is critical to ensure compliance with numerous applicable Regulations and also, these Regulations require hundreds of Permits that have to be delivered on time. The second trigger is from the HSE Management System which rightly insists on having a robust system by respecting Laws and Regulations. The third trigger is intensive law enforcement by authorizing body in particularly from Environmental Ministry, Forestry, Oil & Gas Authorities and more over by Local Government where the operational fields are located.

During the establishment of the system, joint project was formed with representatives from various entities, such as Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Information System and Telecom (IST), Marine and Logistic Operation (MLO) and Legal (LEG).

The final goal of the PMS RC system is having zero disturbances to operations and legal safeguard by ensuring that the Regulations are complied and all Permits are available in due time.
Establishing Carbon Footprint for Composite Crude Produced in Malaysia -A First Step towards Low Carbon Operation
Authors: Wan Lee Tzee , Afandi Zunita Mahar
Published: September 2012

In an effort to kick start the challenging journey towards low carbon operation, the National Petroleum Company of Malaysia PETRONAS started to quantify the carbon footprint of crude oil and natural gas produced in the country. Petroleum and related hydrocarbon products are not only used as fuel for transportation and combustion, they also function in many industrial products such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), urea, ethane, ethylene and methanol.

In Malaysia, there are more than 10 companies that are involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. For this study, data from all producing petroleum companies were obtained to compute the composite crude oil and natural gas’ carbon footprint of Malaysia. This required a good understanding of each operator’s/company's operations in order to make appropriate assumptions and right decision with regards to data apportionment.

This paper documents the process in which the carbon foot-printing was conducted. This process was a result of collaboration between the Standard Department of Malaysia and PETRONAS. The paper also highlights the challenges encountered in obtaining and determining essential data and information for the establishment of a representative composite carbon footprint.

As a conclusion, this paper will share preliminary results from the exercise by making comparison with several carbon footprint data of crude oil from publicly available resources. The report also attempts to propose ways to improve data quality for future carbon footprint studies and discuss identified hotspots which can become a driving force for the exploration and production industry in Malaysia to work together towards achieving low carbon operations.
The Promise and Challenge of Ecosystem Services from an Industry Perspective
Authors: Springer Nina , N’Guessan Lucie , Tait Russell D. , Parkerton Tom
Published: September 2012

Ecosystem services are societal benefits afforded by the environment. This paper demonstrates that an ecosystem services approach to environmental risk assessment and management offers a variety of business advantages over traditional approaches, including improved alignment with well-established business processes. It summarizes an oil and gas industry perspective on ecosystem services concepts, and describes how such concepts are being integrated into existing environmental risk assessment and management processes.

Ecosystem services concepts can be integrated into each component of the environmental risk assessment – planning – mitigation – monitoring - adapting cycle, strengthening the basis for environmental decision-making. For example, it is customary for new projects to identify potential environmental risks and impacts, and implement avoidance or mitigation measures as the phases progress. However, if specific services at threat are identified early on with a view to the entire life span of the asset, this can inform the environmental management cycle in the context of all users and stressors of the system. It can help guide collection of baseline information in the assessment stages, assist in judging siting and routing alternatives in the planning stages, assist in the development of aligned and prioritized socio-economic and environmental actions regarding threatened services in the mitigation stage, and provide input to the early choice of key metrics and indicators from early planning through the monitoring and adaptation stages and beyond decommissioning.

Although the integration of ecosystem services into environmental risk-based assessment is feasible and beneficial, the application of ecosystem services concepts into mitigation and monitoring aspects of environmental decision-making are still evolving. The emerging nature of ecosystem services science, practice and policy requires flexible ecosystem services integration and application methodologies that are easy to use and adapt.

The promise of the ecosystem services approach is in strengthening decision-making; the challenge is making application of ecosystem services concepts as clear and straightforward as possible, especially as science, practice, and policy continue to evolve.
Prevention and control of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: The role of IGRA (interferon-y release assay) tests in Occupational Surveillance Programs for Pulmonary Tuberculosis in an oilfield operation in a highly endemic area.
Authors: Awotula Patrick Oluwole , Pelat Francois
Published: September 2012

Pulmonary TB disease remains a major public health concern despite global efforts deployed by various stake holders. A number of strategies have emerged in the effort to control the scourge of TB, ranging from BCG vaccination, screening and treatment of active forms and, more recently "diagnosing" and treating the latent form of the disease.

The traditional Tuberculin skin test (TST) has limitations in its use as a screening tool for TB (Latent and active).The emergence of IGRA (interferon-γ release assay) tests as an alternative to the TST opened a new chapter in latent TB diagnosis and, by extension, introduced potential strategies for TB control in certain population groups.

One of such IGRA tests introduced across several populations (expatriated and national workforce of an oil service company in West Africa) is the Quantiferon TB Gold test. The implementation has rapidly raised a number of questions such as the rationale of its use in low versus high disease burden populations, but also concerning its benefits in helping to identify active TB and trace contacts.

This paper intends to provide an overview of findings from field utilization in both TB control and screening processes and also examines the rationale for treating latent TB, particularly in the unique multinational offshore/remote locations which promotes close and often prolonged contact and interaction among personnel. While it is not the intent of this presentation to provide answers, it will help in formulating the right questions, the considerations of which it is hoped will contribute to the practical and rational use of these new screening tools in the field.
Combining Passive and Active Monitoring of Sediment Spill from Subsea Ploughing of a Major Subsea Pipeline
Authors: Rahbek Malene Louise , Valeur Jens Rosendal
Published: September 2012

The Nord Stream Pipeline (a two-pipeline system) from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea was constructed during 2010–2012. In Swedish waters, subsea post-lay trenching by ploughing was carried out at minimum 4 km distance to two Natura 2000 areas1, which was considered by the environmental authorities to be relatively close. The Swedish construction permit required that the excess Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC; often the indirect measure turbidity is used) caused by sediment spill as a result of the construction works (particularly post-lay trenching by ploughing) never exceeded 15 mg/l above natural background at the borders of the Natura 2000 areas. Because natural turbidity levels were not well-described in this area, a monitoring programme combining passive, real-time turbidity monitoring and active, vessel-based spill monitoring combined with a feedback mechanism was established. The method proved successful in documenting compliance with permit requirements with regard to threshold limits for excess SSC caused by construction activities during construction of Line 1. This ensured that trenching activities could be completed as planned, and it also enabled a significant reduction in the scope of the monitoring programme for Line 2. The monitoring was also successful in verifying that numerical modelling of sediment spreading carried out as part of the pre-construction impact assessment was correct. Finally, the new knowledge on spill rates acquired from the vessel-based monitoring will enable a more accurate assessment of the environmental impact of future subsea ploughing operations.
Developing the Local Supply Chain for the Contract of the Century and Achieving US$ 1 billion in Local Content
Authors: Ismayilov Ibrahim , Taghiyev Samir , Shikhlinsky Kenan
Published: September 2012

Today, offshore Caspian has become one of the world's leading hydrocarbon provinces. The development of the region's offshore oil and gas fields and onshore pipelines has made Azerbaijan a focal point of the global energy market and a gateway through which international investments reach the Caspian region and beyond.1 Azerbaijan has a long oil and gas history, which was reinvigorated in 1994 when a consortium of major oil companies signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the Government of Azerbaijan to explore and develop offshore Azerbaijan, which has been referred to as the "Contract of the Century". This has also triggered construction of the 1768 km long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline and other major projects now operated by BP.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Azerbaijan endured the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic disintegration, and a devastating war with neighboring Armenia. 1995 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 42 percent of pre-independence levels and unemployment was endemic. Of a total population of 8 million, about 1 million Azerbaijanis were refugees or internally displaced persons who had fled areas occupied by Armenian forces. Another 2 million Azerbaijanis had left the country, mainly to find work.2

The Contract of the Century also provided the opportunity for the Azerbaijani private sector to rebuild itself by working with BP and associated service companies. However, to be successful Azerbaijani companies would have to compete with international firms for contracts, which demanded international quality levels. For most local companies this seemed an insurmountable obstacle.
Adapting to Climate Change: A Regional Climate Model Study of the Caucasus
Authors: Nissan Hannah , Clarke Jim , Oliviera Shirley , Toumi Ralf
Published: September 2012

Adapting to climate change requires new tools and processes within the oil and gas sector. In this paper we present a potential adaptation process. We also discuss the results of an investigation using the Regional Environmental Modelling System (ReEMS). ReEMS is being used to revise design criteria of infrastructure. Using the Caucasus as a case study we examine the hypothesis that air temperature change can be a proxy for extreme rainfall change. Climate simulations have been performed over a two decade-long period to emulate a recent past and future climate scenario. Mean and extreme precipitation changes are shown to be decoupled. Clausius-Clapeyron scaling is considered to be a good estimator for changes in modelled extreme precipitation with temperature. The similarity between the theoretical and modelled climate results is closer for more extreme rainfall and is also found to depend on the region over which the comparison is made.
Identifying Trends in HSE Data Requests—Are the Right Questions Being Asked?
Authors: Dvorak Stephanie , Hollas David
Published: September 2012

This study analyzes the content of health, safety and environment (HSE) questionnaires and data requests from service contracts, master service agreements, and data management services agreements. Exploration and production (E&P) operators request such information in order to identify and avoid undue HSE risk.

Because of the widely diverging utility of specific HSE metrics, the information provided in the response often fails to meet this overall objective due to the misapplication of the data to the risk, i.e. obtaining an answer to the wrong question. In order to improve this process, a study was conducted to assess whether the right questions are being asked in operator questionnaires.

The study considered a set of data requests that were compiled and sorted by type. Requests for specific questions and data were broken down by subject area, and grouped into like categories. Trends were quantified and then ranked based upon occurrence. Grouped requests were analyzed against a standard risk rank model to compare frequency of request versus perceived risk.

This paper reports on the results of the study as well as presents a review of the process by which the study was conducted. The results are designed to help operators compare the relevance of their HSE data requests with those of their peers by identifying trends and assess whether the requested data meets the objective of properly identifying risk.

This paper is for informational purposes only and is not to be considered professional advice or opinions. This paper contains the personal observations of the authors and does not represent the opinions of their employers.
Baseline Health Survey in a Sparsely Populated Part of Papua New Guinea
Authors: Viliani Francesca , Curtis Peter , Stone Michael , Kotapu Sylvester , Hooper Dick , Martin Michael
Published: September 2012

The description of baseline information about the environmental, social, economic and health conditions existing in the project area is one of the key objectives of an impact assessment. It is also one of the key information pieces needed by project proponents and decision makers, in order to assess and monitor project interaction with the local context. The health baseline always relies on qualitative and quantitative data and is ideally compiled using primary and secondary data.

The InterOil Baseline Health Survey (BLHS) generated several primary health indicators and provided a point-in-time assessment of the health status of people living in villages within the InterOil project area in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). It attempted to describe and quantify the type and magnitude of health-related problems affecting the catchment population, as well as identify the relevant determinants of health and potential health risks faced by the current and future population.

The choice of the health indicators to include in a health baseline was project and context specific. This was an issue addressed at the beginning of the impact assessment process and it was developed taking in consideration the future use of those indicators for monitoring purposes. The health baseline information not only assisted the identification of the potential impacts, but most importantly defined recommendations and community health outreach programs as part of the project management plan. This plan can then be monitored using health indicators comparable with the ones included in the health baseline.

Finally, the paper shows thatspecial attention should be given to the use of secondary data to infer any meaningful conclusion about the health status of a specific community. In the case of InterOil if no BLHS would have been conducted, then the existing secondary data for malaria and filariasis would not have been indicative of the communities and much higher than what isfound in reality with risky consequences for the project.
Assessment and Strategic Approach for Ergonomic Issues in Critical Jobs in the Oil and Gas Workforce
Authors: Hernan Ulloa J. , Paola Rodriguez M.
Published: September 2012

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a global leading cause of occupational disability. In the oil and gas industry, the incidence of MSDs has grown by 67% over a five-year period and studies reveal that MSDs prevalence is relatively high for the neck, shoulder, wrist/hand, and knee body areas among employees. Numerous studies have found that the cost of MSDs is high compared with other health issues such as headache, heart disease, depression, or diabetes.

An oilfield services company with operations in Colombia (South America) is addressing MSDs by developing and implementing a strategy to identify ergonomic risks through a five-step model. The steps include a data collection and morbidity survey of symptoms related to musculoskeletal complaints in 682 workers and the analysis of critical jobs, separated by specific tasks and elements to identify frequency and job cycles. Risk factors identification was conducted from critical tasks for such elements as the number of motions per cycle and per shift, forces, weights, posture, and contact stress using two specific job assessment tools: the Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). Final steps involve identifying whole-job risk factors and finding controls including engineering, administrative, and behavioral. Upon completion of the five-step ergonomic evaluation, a workplace intervention is introduced including mechanical aid design, reorganization of tasks, and other workplace changes.

Long-term results can be achieved by continuing and systematic workplace evaluation. The control of ergonomic risks will prevent new MSDs as well as avoid the further aggravation of existing cases. With appropiate ergonomic risk identification and control companies can experience decreases in associated costs such as absenteeism, medical management, and employee turnaround related to MSDs with all of their effects, such as operational errors, production delays, and employee retraining.
Streamlining the Environmental Impact Assessment Process of Underwater Noise from Petroleum Exploration & Production Operations
Authors: Erbe Christine
Published: September 2012

Underwater noise is increasingly being considered a water quality indicator by governments around the world and plays an increasing role in environmental mipact assessments of marine industrial developments. To-date, however, there are no standards for the measurement of underwater noise from petroleum operations, nor for data analysis, nor for reporting. As a result, the quality of many environmental impact assessments is poor, the results are not reliable, data are not comparable, errors (which are hardly ever assessed or reported) are huge, outcomes (e.g. impact zones, imposed mitigation requirements) are arbitrary and costs are as unpredictable as the lottery.

The Centre for Marine Science & Technology at Curtin University is currently developing guidelines for underwater noise assessments with support from Chevron Australia. As a first step, we have reviewed international regulation of underwater noise from petroleum operations finding large disagreement in methodology and approaches, criteria and threshold levels, acoustic quantities assessed, and imposed mitigation paradigms. Commonalities include requirements for baseline sound measurements, anthropogenic noise source characterization and monitoring of marine life.
Fatigue Risk Management: A Case Study
Authors: McCulloch Kirsty , Kontou Thomas , Ferguson Sally
Published: September 2012

Shiftwork is a common activity across oil and gas operations. One of the biggest threats associated with shiftwork is fatigue-related impairment. While the relationship between fatigue and safety risk are widely acknowledged, the practical implications and management practices within the oil and gas industry are not well understood, practiced or monitored.

This paper will explore the prevalence and nature of fatigue-related impairment in a small population of oil and gas workers. Data will be presented on actual work hours, sleep quality and quantity, and the relationship with performance impairment. Data was collected using questionnaires, work, sleep and symptom diaries, wrist activity monitors and psychomotor vigilance tasks using a hand held palm pilot.

The results portray the difference in risk profile across a two week period of 12-hour night shifts, contrasted against a two-week period of 12-hour day shifts. The results draw attention to high-risk periods across a shift work roster, and propose targeted management strategies using the hierarchy of control. The paper concludes with areas for further research and industry collaboration.
Achieving Measured Improvements in Employee Health and Well-Being as a Result of Implementing a Proactive Programme of Health and Human Resource Initiatives in the Oil & Gas Industry
Authors: Collins Michael
Published: September 2012

The Santos Health & Well Being program has been running since 2006. Integrated with a range of proactive human resource initiatives implemented over a number of years and guided by Santos values, significant improvements in health related indicators as well as improvements in human resource outcomes have been achieved. These results are built on a foundation of leadership development, employee engagement, targeted interventions and a range of Santos policies that support and focus on people development and encouraging healthy environments across the business.