bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Risk Assessment Tool to Avoid Musculo-Skeletal Disorders Related to Manual Work
Authors: Torsteinsen R. , Ringstad A. J. , Håberg S. G. , Hjertaker G. O.
Published: July 2010

Musculo-skeletal disorders (MSD) are major contributors to sick leaves and disability pensioning among Norway's petroleum workers.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway requires the industry to carry out health risk assessments of the working environment.

The aim for our company is to have no work related illnesses and injuries.

This study was conducted to identify, evaluate and manage ergonomic risk factors in manual work tasks.

A risk assessment tool for ergonomic factors in manual work tasks has been developed. The tool, ErgoRisk, consists of a five-section questionnaire. Section one comprises the professional's assessment based on observations of the selected work taskThe worker gives his view on defined questionsMitigating measures are discussedThe professional calculates the risk levelsConclusion and suggestion of risk reducing measures

It is recommended to do a second risk assessment of the work task after actions have been implemented. This is to see if and how the risk level has been reduced.

ErgoRisk can be used in connection with general risk assessments, in the follow-up of work related musculo-skeletal disorders, and in the assessment of specific work tasks.

Experience shows that the tool is easy and practical in use. There is a good match between the professional's and the worker's assessments, and the results are useful in communicating and discussing risk. Ergonomists are the main users of the tool, but a training program is now carried out to teach offshore nurses how to use the tool.

Risk assessments of ergonomic factors are important contributions to a health bringing working environment. Risk factors are identified, analysed and evaluated, and improvement efforts are discussed, implemented and verified.
Experience in the Application of an Occupational Health Program for Company Employees
Authors: Jimenez Nydia , Martins Joyce
Published: July 2010

Because employees are the primary resource of any company, employee health should be a major organizational concern. To address this concern, our company has assembled a medical team whose members represent each country in Latin America. This action has enabled us to develop an occupational health program to help meet the needs of our operations and to take care of the health of our employees. This program strives to enable good health and health maintenance for our employees, which can improve our employees' quality of life.

All employees in Latin America are included in this program; their inclusion actually begins when they apply for any position within the company. As applicants, they receive an occupational medical evaluation, which enables us to determine their current health conditions and to help ensure that the job responsibilities do not represent a greater health risk. In addition to the pre- employment evaluation, our programs also include periodical (annual) evaluations and termination exams.

This paper describes the experience of our company in the implementation of an occupational health program that is aligned with the needs of each country. It primarily focuses on addressing the risks present in our operations that might represent a direct harm to employees' health. Over time, it has resulted in a healthier workforce population with a lower rate of absenteeism for health-related issues. Taking care of the health of all company employees has become a basic principle of prevention that underlies all of our health programs.
Adaptation in the Oil and Gas Industry to Projected Impacts of Climate Change
Authors: Dell J. J. , Pasteris P.
Published: July 2010

This paper describes an adaptation assessment of the global oil and gas value chain that will enable companies to plan for the projected impacts of climate change and build resiliency into their long-term business models. An adaptation assessment for a project development in the Alaskan Arctic, an area of high projected impacts, is presented to demonstrate a specific application of the adaptation assessment approach.

Climate change impacts are predicted to vary from region to region. Specific actions by business to adapt to climate change will vary depending on their value chain and the unique circumstances of the locations of their operations. Business adaptation planning is a process which can help to increase a company's ability to cope with an uncertain future and satisfy stakeholder interest.

The adaptation assessment methodology and case example presented will aid companies in the oil and gas sector as they begin to effectively plan for adaptation to climate change impacts in their global operations. By using the opportunities and risks presented for the global oil and gas value chain (Step 1) combined with climate model projections for specific locations (Step 2), companies can consistently and effectively identify risks and opportunities (Step 3), identify and assess solutions (Step 4) and implement solutions where there is sufficient business case to do so (Step 5).
Synergy Of HSE & Security: Antidote For Management Systems Conflict
Authors: Ijenyo Jude O. , Josiah Princewill N.
Published: July 2010

Health, Safety and Environmental awareness, practices and delivery in the Oil & Gas industry in Nigeria is gradually taking a downward trend. This in part is attributed to the fact that management of these companies no longer give adequate attention to Health, Safety and Environmental concerns, rather, many of them have adopted Security as their first basic priority and thus neglecting Health, Safety and Environment which hitherto has been a core business practice. The Oil & Gas industry in Nigeria is tasked with incessant security breaches as a result of its localization. This has necessitated some of the operating companies to focus more attention on the management of Security related matters. The issue has become a common trend and which must be checked in order to maintain good standards of Health, Safety and Environment in the industry. The clear violation of some HSE rules, procedures and standards to compensate for security considerations is a dangerous twirl of events which many of these companies contend with and because of the sentiments attached to Security, these Health, Safety and Environmental violations are not considered or evaluated. There is an urgent need for a synergy of HSE and Security in order to achieve a common goal. This paper is not intended to discuss the security plans or procedures put in place by the operating companies, but to highlight the challenges posed by the resulting violations with respect to HSE delivery and as well propose a way forward.
Ecosystem-based Management Plan for the Norwegian Sea, The Norwegian approach in balancing industrial developments and marine resources protection
Authors: Nesse Steinar , Veie-Rosvoll Brit , Østby Cecilie
Published: July 2010

The Norwegian Government in early 2007 initiated a process of Integrated and Ecosystem-based Management of the marine environment of the Norwegian Sea. A two year period of assessment work, including public consultation, was finalised with the release of a governmental white paper May 2009. Based on the scientific assessment the Government gave notice of relevant measures and requirements to prevent and/or reduce the magnitude of negative impacts of human activities in the area at the same time encouraging continued industrial developments. This paper addresses the scientific working process including the effort made to collect and present data, select representative ecosystem indicators, assess impacts on these from the various activities and the approach applied to assess cumulative effects. The paper further focuses on the petroleum sector part of this prosess, and results on relevant aspects to the offshore petroleum industry as well as potential conflict areas and the political solutions with regard to other human activities and the marine ecosystem components.
Offshore Drill Cuttings Treatment Technology Evaluation
Authors: Charles M. , Sayle S.
Published: July 2010

In Atlantic Canada, the target limit for discharge of synthetic based muds (SBM's) on cuttings is 6.9% synthetic on cuttings (%SOC). Controlling SOC is achieved by a combination of methods ranging from re-injection, on-platform treatment systems, or ship-to-shore systems. This study examined the effectiveness of drill mud cuttings treatment systems on off-shore platforms, and summarizes the results of various environmental effects monitoring studies between the period 2002 to 2008. The study concluded that technologies available for the treatment of drill cuttings has remained essentially unchanged since 2002, with the exception of advances in cuttings dryers and thermal desorption technologies. Performance of offshore treatment systems for SBM drill cuttings from 2002 to 2007 rarely achieved the 6.9% SOC concentration on a "per well" basis, based on the information reviewed. These results are consistent with the USEPA findings in 2000 that also reviewed data from Canada. In addition to review of technology effectiveness, the study also reviewed the outcomes of various environmental effects monitoring programs since 2002. The environmental effects on benthic communities from SBM drill cuttings discharge appear to be generally limited to within 500 meters of the discharge point for exploration drilling. Where SBMs were used, studies typically indicate that benthic recovery commences within several years after drilling.
Regulated Self-Regulation or External Control? A Study of the Effects of Different Legislative Approaches in the Petroleum Sector in Norway and Brazil.
Authors: Hellebust Celma Regina , Braut Geir Sverre
Published: July 2010

This is a study of the regulatory regimes related to health and safety in the offshore petroleum sector in Norway and Brazil. A comparison between these two countries is of particular interest because both countries belong to the same legal tradition emphasizing statutory, written law. This separates them somewhat from the Anglo-American perspective relying heavily upon the common law principle. Even though Norway and Brazil show principal similarities they have chosen quite different strategies related to regulation of occupational health and safety in the petroleum sector.

The study is based upon an analysis of relevant regulatory texts. The document analysis was followed by interviews with key representatives in the petroleum sector in the two countries.

The findings show that the Norwegian regulatory regime has a holistic approach. The authorities focus upon general principles more than detailed prescriptions. The supervisory activities concentrate upon the companies' systematic governance aiming to fulfill regulatory requirements. The Norwegian regime also is closely connected with the societal expectations put upon the actors in the petroleum sector. A high level of engagement and mutual contact is expected from the industry as well as from the employees and the authorities.

The Brazilian regulatory regime is more particulate with quite a huge set of detailed prescriptions. In general these requirements are quite clear. The industry knows the expectations. The legislation is easy to follow up both from the enterprises and through controls by the authorities. Though closely connected to the superior national legislation, it is not a highly integrated part of the industrial culture.

If we shall believe in research claiming that prevention of work related illness and avoidance of accidents are results of cultural and organisational processes, then the Norwegian legislation seems to be the most effective as it relies upon the willingness for the actors to work closely together to shape such cultures. If there are greater tensions and conflicts in the industry or in the surrounding society, the Brazilian model may show to give better control with defined risk factors.

The study is a part of a master thesis at the University of Stavanger. This paper is written with support from the project "Robust Regulation in the Norwegian petroleum industry", funded by The Research Council of Norway.
Case study: Integration of Corporate Social Responsibility into a 150 Years Brown Field in Romania - East Europe
Authors: Roncea Cristina , Peball Ulrich
Published: July 2010

This paper will describe ways to change the understanding and approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility in a National Oil Company from dependency/reactive towards strategic stakeholder engagement.

The key tools and techniques applied for this change will be shown and examples of general use for application in mid size companies given.

The paper will present: examples, the size order and the outline of the material/feedback of key Line Managers, templates/ tools for measuring performance and also the way to work on a performance driven change, examples of projects, ongoing stakeholder engagement and impact on the business.

The paper will describe how this has been achieved:

Keeping focused on best practice in industry and building a CSR strategic approach

Developing Management Systems

Conflict / Claims Management

Internal/ external Capacity Building

Stakeholders Engagement and Partnerships

Keeping the good relationships with local communities and building, in time, a new understanding of social projects, of local development, of local partnerships.

Quick fixes

Continuous emergency help between neighbors

Sustainable social projects implementation

Education

Capacity building

Based on a 150 years oil history, 50 of them in a communist government, Company's relationship with the local communities were started with building the local infrastructure (roads, electrical, water, health, educational) and, during operations development, changing the structure of the local work force, the local networking and creation of dependence on oil industry.

After privatization of the Company the understanding of the new management related to community relationships was based on the best industry practice: CSR and stakeholders engagement.

The most challenging task in integration this approach was to start to change the culture of the company and community, having as starting point their common history.
How to Make a Line Organisation in a Brown Field Live HSEQ
Authors: Peball Ulrich , Simion Ana Maria
Published: July 2010

An international Oil and Gas Company took over a state owned Romanian oil company in 2005 with about 22.000 employees, operating in more than 300 fields all over the country with significant offshore operations in the black Sea. The Original Company had been in operation for 150 years with 50 years under communist management and had become available for buy out after several restructuring efforts by the state.

It was understood from the due diligence process that the HSE performance of the Company was far from that normally expected by modern international standards and that the technical infrastructure as well as the attitude of the workforce towards HSE needed significant improvement.

In the early years after take over the focus was very much on inventorying the existing infrastructure and an assessment of technical safety conditions. The HSE organization was expanded, re-structured and the people trained in modern HSE practices and techniques. A lot of energy was spent in easy, quick wins, such as housekeeping campaigns, fixing the most obvious and unacceptable hazards and endowing the workforce with PPE that conformed to EU Standards.

3 Years after the take over the Management focus of the organization was changed from just production towards production, cost and HSE performance. This has been achieved by change in the Management and training the Managers in HSE understanding and skills such as HSE leadership aspects.

The introduction of annual HSE objectives combined with a Balanced Score Card which the company tied to personal performance bonuses as well as benchmarking the performance at all operational levels helped significantly in the implementation of strategic objectives defined by the new Parent Companies headquarters mantra of; "what gets measured get done".

The results of these initiatives can be seen in the in lost time injury rates which dropped from 1,1 to 0,19 (per million work hours) and also in the level of proactive involvement of the whole workforce through hazard and near miss reports which increased from 35 in 2006 to 25.000 per year in 2009.
Riser Displacement Cleaning Tool Helps Efficiently Displace Drilling Fluid from Marine Riser on Semi-Submersibles During Disconnects
Authors: Herigstad Thor-Petter , Whyte Iain , Kleppa Erling , Aas Nina
Published: July 2010

Periodically on semi-submersibles, it is required to perform planned and occasionally unplanned disconnects of the marine riser from the subsea BOP stack. The reasons are diverse but always result in a change out of fluids in the riser. Typical circumstances for riser disconnects are: preparation for upcoming bad weather situations, changing from drilling to completion riser and the termination of operations on an exploration well.

Should the fluid in the riser happen to be of an environmentally unfriendly nature at the time of disconnect, this fluid must first be displaced to some benign fluid type (e.g. seawater). In the typical displacement, contamination of fluid in the marine riser occurs which generates significant volumes of interface waste or "slop". This might result in a volume of emulsified fluid being created when oil-based drilling fluid or "mud" (OBM) mixes with seawater for example. Since this displacement process often leads to undesirable mixing of two fluids, several prevention methods are often attempted, e.g. the use of viscous pills or similar as a "barrier". Despite these measures, undesirable mixing issues still persist due to the large inside diameter (ID) of the riser compared to the wellbore below. This means that fluid velocities in the riser during a typical displacement are drastically reduced which in turn reduces the effects of the barrier pills. The interfaces between the different fluids have been recorded as being in the region of 30-60 m3 (188-377 bbl) when the rig to sea bed distance is ±350 m (±1,148 ft). The problem is obviously exacerbated significantly as water and hence riser depths increase.

Another issue with riser disconnect is mud residue adhering to riser walls. Should these residues contain hydrocarbons or other environmentally unfriendly substances, the potential exists for discharge to the sea while the riser is open-ended in the water while the rig awaits better weather. In many cases, upon recovery, the riser needs to be cleaned on the rig deck prior to the next operation.

Riser disconnect can become a costly operation when logistics, planning and slop volume treatment/disposal are all taken into account.
Building Safety Culture in a Multi-Cultural and De-Centralised Context: An Innovative Approach to Change
Authors: Matkin Darren B. , Scotti Davide
Published: July 2010

To break through the safety performance plateau the necessity of safety leadership was recognised in achieving an injury-free workplace, and establishing a solid culture of safety throughout worksites globally.

After one year of research and development, an innovative safety leadership program and dissemination strategy was initiated, which has already seen the participation of 4000 senior leaders through business units worldwide.

This paper describes the program, why it was developed and how it is deployed. It will be of great interest to all management levels aiming for zero-accidents whilst operating in multi-cultural and de-centralised contexts, developing an innovative approach to embedding a culture focused on safety within their areas, using an emotional rather than a technical approach.

This is a strong challenge for a company that is truly multicultural, employing over 35,000 people, over 110 different nationalities, spread through every continent of the globe. The strategy was built around 3 distinct phases:

Phase1 The attendance and engagement of all management levels in a 1.5 day Leadership in Safety (LiS) Workshop driven by the CEO, delivering strong messages to management teams, and introducing them to LiS concepts.

Phase 2 Management personally driving and cascading LiS messages to their entire local workforce within a 1 hour influential event.

Phase 3 Normalising effective interventions in the organisation, with the ambitious target to involve every employee in the companies self developed, 4 hour Safety Intervention course.

The paper concludes the need to develop within leaders, a deep sensitivity toward intrinsic values in order to drive safety performance. Developing an ‘emotional intelligence’ toward safety within a leader is key to defining future actions and judgements, prioritising safety and the care for human life above productivity in every day decisions. This moral focus and sensitivity to intrinsic values is what defines a safety leader.

Strong focus is required toward an approach which gains the emotional commitment of leaders. The philosophy is to ‘touch the mind, and hit the heart’.
A Structured Approach to Process Safety Management
Authors: Petrone Annamaria , Scataglini Luciano , Fabio Francesco
Published: July 2010

During the whole Project Life Cycle of an Oil or Gas plant, Risk Management for protection of environment and communities and prevention of major hazards along with Asset Management are the key drivers for making the project compliant with Health & Safety Regulations and Environmental issues and at the same time profitable economic and able to preserve asset value

Improving the level of operational and process safety has become in the Oil and gas industry a crucial and challenging issue in a SHE perspective.

Process safety can be placed at the intersection of these independent but interrelated aspects and can be regarded as the key element for performing an integrated and comprehensive analysis capable to maximize plant effectiveness ensuring the best safety level, minimizing risks to safety and security and limiting at the same time downtime due to operational disruption or interruption, thus achieving consistency throughout the whole project life cycle.

Therefore an effective process safety management demands a holistic and systematic approach for improving operational and process safety throughout the whole project life cycle from design and construction, through operation and maintenance, to decommissioning.

In light of the above considerations a tool for process safety management has been elaborated and is hereafter described.

It proposes from the very early stages of a project a structured multidisciplinary procedure which combines, in an iterative loop, different discipline such as Quantitative Risk Assessment, asset integrity, RAM issues and costs evaluation.

All these disciplines equally concur to define the optimum plant configuration and a scenario that takes into account cost benefit evaluations, system reliability and process up-time (availability), and an effective integration of maintenance requirements to achieve an optimal overall system performance (maintainability) in compliance with Safety requirements.

The tool, which should facilitate the decision making process and process safety management for any incoming new job, is named index ISAAC (index for safety Availability and cost) and proposes to assess plant equipment criticality against the following parameters: –Safety: Ri, IRPA of a specific category of workers)–Unavailability: Production Unavailability, Costs due to loss of production–Costs: cost of corrective maintenance and cost of preventive maintenance–Frequency: Job plan frequency.

The index constitutes the basis to produce both global and partial ranking where criticality thresholds are defined via Pareto analysis.
Are Your Chemical Products Green?—A Chemical Hazard Scoring System
Authors: Sanders Johnny , Tuck Denise , Sherman Robert
Published: July 2010

Oil and gas oilwell service companies are currently under pressure from regulatory authorities, environmental groups, oil companies, stock holders, etc., to use "green" chemical products; however, at this time, there is no universally-accepted definition for "green."

So how does a service company meet the requirement for using "green" chemical products, when "green" isn't defined?

To meet the increasing demand for "green" chemical products, Halliburton has developed a system for scoring the hazards of chemical products.

The Chemistry Scoring Index (CSI) is a method for quantifying the environmental, physical, and health properties of chemical products based on the hazards of its components. Each component of the product is scored in the three- hazard categories based on classification criteria from the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) and by additional hazard criteria developed by Halliburton. Each criterion is weighted as to its level of hazard (e.g., a carcinogen receives a higher weight (score) than an irritant). In addition, the score for a component is weighted on the percentage of the component in the product. The score for each component is added to give the product a score for each hazard category. The score from each hazard category is added together to compile a total score for the product. The lower the product score, the lower the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) impact of the chemical product.

The score for chemical products in the same usage type are compared to determine the best HSE chemical for the application. The scores are used to promote the use of more HSE responsible chemicals, to help in the development of less hazardous chemical products and to help prioritize products in the company's chemical portfolio. Use of the CSI helps reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals that can harm human health, safety, and environment.
Performance Through Cultural Understanding
Authors: Younes N.
Published: July 2010

This paper describes the approach taken by an international Oil and Gas company to ensure safe delivery of their civil works activities in support of seismic and drilling operations. The civil works contract for this oil and gas exploration and development Project in the Omani Empty Quarter Desert was awarded to a local contractor company owned by an Omani Bedouin family. The client company's Civil Engineering and HSSE teams worked closely with the contracted company to improve their operational standards in ways which are both effective and culturally sensitive.

Strong leadership from both companies and cultural understanding helped achieve excellent results. Since start of the Project in July 2007, the contactor has safely constructed or maintained more than 100km of roads, eight drilling location pads, a central camp, a Reed Bed sewage treatment unit and drilled four water wells without a single lost time injury.

The approach achieved a clear industry endorsement when, competing against entries from major oil and gas companies, this approach won the Safety Category prize at a prestigious international awards ceremony held in London (UK).

The Project also showed how the approach based on building up national skills by working in partnership with local companies in the countries in which it operates can yield results which are on a par with best industry practice.
Defining and Assessing Safety Leadership: Experiences from an Operator and a Service Company
Authors: Knode Tom , Shelton Cory
Published: July 2010

Safety leadership has been identified as a critical component of achieving successful safety results. Success is defined not only by the absence of injuries, but by careful consideration and management of risk. It is difficult to describe what "safety leadership" looks like. Many of us know at least one great leader, if not more. They inspire us and transform our lives and organizations with their leadership. But what are the common behaviors of these leaders, and how can we define them so that the common elements can be used to define expectations?

In 2004, BP began the development of an assessment tool to define the behaviors that directly and indirectly affect safety. Experts in the field of behavioral science and statistics worked with internal personnel to develop and refine detailed language used in the assessment. In the end, it was determined that the majority of critical behaviors for safety performance were also linked to organizational performance. These elements can be used to describe the expected behaviors and to clarify and raise the awareness of leaders regarding the expected behaviors for their specific roles and responsibilities.

After the assessment was developed, BP then began the process of deployment. The deployment process was part of a larger effort to provide guidance to leadership. At the same time, Halliburton was also looking for a means of adequately assessing safety leadership. Conversations ensued between the two companies and resulted in a unique intellectual property contract.

Both companies have tested the deployment of the tool, as both a self-assessment and a 360 assessment. The results have led to new insights about expectations for leadership development and for creating organizational capacity that will lead to continuous improvement for safety performance. The experiences also provide insight into pitfalls and potential engagement problems while assessing leadership behaviors.
Will Drill Cuttings and Drill Mud Harm Cold Water Corals?
Authors: Jødestøl Kjell , Furuholt Edgar
Published: July 2010

Cold water corals, e.g. Lophelia pertusa and Paragorgia arborea, are found in several places in the Norwegian Sea where oil exploration and production activities are going on. The corals are expected to be vulnerable for sedimentation of particles and exposure to chemicals from drilling activities (drill cuttings and drilling mud) and for physical damage from e.g. anchor lines. How vulnerable they are for these disturbances is, however, not well known. Oil and gas licences licenses in the area are therefore obligated to map possible corals and to take measures to avoid harming them. These obligations have been strengthened in the Integrated Management Plan for the Norwegian Sea approved by the Norwegian Parliament in May 2009.

Det norske oljeselskap has in 2009 drilled 4 exploration wells in the Norwegian Sea and carried out a number of activities to map corals, study the effects of drill cuttings and drilling mud, and apply technical and operational measures to reduce the effects. This includes: Mapping of corals around the drill site by use of side scan sonar, multibeam echo sounder and ROV mounted camera/videoMeasurement of particle size distributions in the discharges of cuttings and drilling mudComputer simulation of sea bed currents and sedimentation of discharged particlesAnalyses of particles from sediment traps and sea bottom core samples close to the drill site for verification of simulation models and evaluation of effects on coralsCamera observation of corals before and after the drilling operationRecovery of all cuttings (also from the top hole) to the rig for possible disposal away from corals.

Our experience shows that technology is available to handle drill cuttings and mud and control the discharges and spreading to avoid harming corals and other sensitive resources.
BRAT: A Tool for Assessing HSE/CSR in Acquisitions and Mergers
Authors: Kinn Sigurd Juel , Zwick Linda
Published: July 2010

This abstract describes a method and a web-based tool, BRAT (Brownfield Assessment Tool) developed by Statoil, to identify and evaluate key Health, Safety, Security, Environmental (HSE), Social (CSR) and Ethical issues (ECC) issues relevant to prospective acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures relating to existing facilities.

BRAT is a module in EPRA, which is the corporate tool for assessing HSE/CSR/ECC risks in early phases of project development and in farm-in/acquisitions/mergers.

The main objective of the tool is to provide a consistent and structured approach to make informed decisions when carrying- out acquisitions/investments of existing facilities. The tool is designed to support valuation, bid preparation, and contractual negotiations; through the assessment of the condition of a facility compared to internal and external (eg IFC, ILO etc) standards, as well as the identification of relevant liabilities, risks and opportunities.

The tool provides a multidiciplinary approach to: undertaking a structured condition assessment of a facility in relation to minimum standards using a set of predifined statements;identifying measures and costs required to bring a facility to the minimum acceptable level as well as to operate to Statoil requirements; andprovide an estimation of potential liability costs.

Additionally, key features of the tool include the clear and standardised communiction of observations and results, as well the ability to highlight critical "stop sign" issues and other issues that should be covered in a risk assessment using a Statoil risk assessment tool EPRA.

The development of BRAT involved a multidisciplinary team from Statoil together with Environmental Resources Management, through several workshops. Based on these specifications, a prototype tool has been developed and successfully tested on a series of fictitious and real project opportunities which resulted in the implementation of BRAT version 1. An updated version of BRAT (v2) has been developed recently based on experiences of testing version 1.
Synergistic Hearing Loss Secondary to Occupational Noise Exposure and Organic Solvents: A Review
Authors: Chamma N.
Published: July 2010

Noise is one of the most prevalent workplace exposures in a wide variety of industries, and noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational illnesses globally. Despite legislative efforts such as the regulatory mandate enacted by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1983 to help prevent noise-induced hearing associated with workplace exposure, it remains a major problem with significant health implications. Although occupational noise is present in many industry sectors, it is estimated that 25% of the petroleum industry workforce may be exposed to levels beyond the OSHA permissible exposure level of 90 dB on an 8-hour time-weighted average.

Noise has been linked to adverse health effects involving different body systems, chiefly the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Several studies have also suggested a synergistic effect on hearing loss with combined exposures to a number of ototoxic agents including organic solvents. This paper reviews the current scientific knowledge and latest research developments on occupational hearing loss due to the interaction of noise and organic solvents, particularly as it relates to the petroleum industry. We will discuss the implications of these exposures on hearing conservation programs, present current best practices for hazard prevention and control measures, along with the latest guidance by international agencies in their efforts to mitigate the global burden of occupational noise. Since noise-induced hearing loss is not reversible, early detection and intervention is paramount in the prevention of this disorder.
Properly Designed PPE for the Oil and Gas Industry
Authors: Balderas Javier , Gelpke David , Salawage Cliff
Published: July 2010

Promoting and maintaining a safe work environment in the oil and gas industry involves many facets. Strong safety leadership influences behaviors and contributes to an effective safety culture. Effective procedures and training are also important contributors to ensuring a safe work environment. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is recognized as the last line of defense in the hierarchy of controls. Nevertheless, it is an important element in a risk reduction program. It's therefore critical that PPE be selected to address the unique risks for the work performed.

Hand and finger injuries are unfortunately common in oilfield services and they consistently constitute the largest percentage of injuries in our company. Hand and finger injuries are typically caused by impact, caught between items (pinching), cuts, and punctures. Great strides have been made recently in developing hand PPE that provides improved impact protection, numerous gloves offer some degree of cut and puncture resistance, and some gloves offer both impact and cut and puncture protection.

The information available from glove manufacturers about their products is voluminous and often times confusing. This paper describes some of the tests that are used to measure the cut and puncture resistance of a glove and how to use the test results for evaluating one glove against another. We also describe our work with a glove manufacturer to design a product that meets our specific needs.
Biodiversity Offset Strategies for Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Authors: Aronson John G.
Published: July 2010

This knowledge sharing paper explores the latest in biodiversity offset strategies, means to address residual environmental impacts, beyond normal reclamation and mitigation. Global oil and gas exploration and production companies must now operate in increasingly challenging and sensitive environments. Creation of effective biodiversity offset strategy portfolios for these environments requires a solid understanding of the physical, chemical, biological, social, regulatory, legal, and economic characteristics of the project and its environs. Tropical rain forest, desert, coral reef, riverine, ocean, and estuarine ecosystems present different biodiversity challenges. Oil and gas companies face increasing pressure to reduce biodiversity impacts, and can now use biodiversity offsets to improve conditions in their areas of operation. A special focus discussion on Caspian Sturgeon biodiversity offset potential is included.
Implementing a Well-structured and Robust Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan utilizing Innovative Communication Techniques
Authors: Hirst Robert , Rascher Jeanette , Chetty Rochelle
Published: July 2010

As the country's largest-ever industrial investment project, it is essential for Yemen LNG Company (hereinafter referred to as the Company) to raise awareness of the Project activities among affected communities, and to define and manage stakeholder expectations. This paper describes the formation and implementation of the Company's innovative Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan (PCDP).

Implementing the PCDP is a continuous process to ensure ongoing consultation and engagement between the Company, the communities, Government, NGOs and the media. This has included the development of; a field-based community relations team, project awareness campaigns (school visits and village open houses), high-level open houses, press conferences, community newsletters and the formation of a grievance mechanism to ensure that all grievances are recognized, recorded and followed-up. The paper therefore has transverse application to similar large energy projects in developing countries which have poor indigenous educational and awareness standards.

The Company developed the PCDP to guide and outline the consultation and stakeholder activities from the Project's pre- construction phase through to the operations and decommissioning phases. When formulating this PCDP, the specific circumstances in Yemen, associated challenges and the tribal-cultural environment had to be carefully considered. A consultative public participation process creates trust and builds relationships. Consulting with the communities plays a critical role in raising awareness of a project's impact and developing long-term stable relationships with those affected by the project, particularly the marginalized and vulnerable groups.

Throughout the Project, a great deal of experience, research and information about the affected communities, their level of comprehension of the project and the social and cultural structures which govern behaviour and access to information have been gathered. This paper shows how the implementation of a well-informed, culturally relevant plan can effectively be used to manage, engage, inform and gather feedback from stakeholders in a collaborative manner and it evaluates how the challenges were addressed. The communication strategies, tools and lessons learned were significant, and they provide excellent examples to other projects of effective communication techniques which, when adapted to specific cultural circumstances, can be appropriately used in any large energy development project.
Developing and Implementing an Innovative Biodiversity Management Strategy for a Large Energy Project at Balhaf, Yemen
Authors: Hirst Robert , Al-Thary Ibrahim , Abdul-Aziz Malek
Published: July 2010

This paper describes the implementation of an innovative biodiversity management strategy in a difficult context. The paper has transverse application to similar large energy projects in third word countries where construction might impact sensitive ecosystems. The Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was developed in line with international standards and also to empathise with the objectives of the draft Yemeni biodiversity strategy and action plan. In addition, the company carried out biodiversity baseline survey, environmental and social impact assessment studies which translated into two World Bank compliant environmental and social management plans (ESMP) for the construction and operation phase of the project. The BAP describes the biodiversity status of Balhaf and the surrounding coastal area, setting targets for ecological conservation and outlining the mechanisms for achieving these targets, in addition to developing dynamic indicators, which will help to identify any beneficial effects. The BAP also contributes to the conservation of Yemeni biodiversity beyond the affected area. Furthermore, it deals with biodiversity and related socioeconomic aspects which will be implemented during construction, and longer term protection of biodiversity during the operation phase, in addition to promoting scientific development research and capacity building. Following pre-construction surveys, the little known coastline was discovered to be rich in very sensitive and diverse corals which play an important habitat role, contributing to the local artisanal fisheries, and a prime resource in this impoverished region. Nevertheless, Yemen lacks any specific legislation relating to biodiversity preservation, which would mandate significant new projects to develop a specific biodiversity management strategy. However, due to the ecological sensitivity of the site, Yemen LNG decided to voluntarily put in place a biodiversity action plan which is directed towards the conservation and sustainable development of biodiversity and the economic livelihood of local fisheries
Yemen LNG Approach to Cultural Heritage Preservation, Preserving the Past while Building the Future
Authors: Hirst Robert , Sinnah Mohammed H. , Al-Thary Ibrahim
Published: July 2010

This paper describes Yemen LNG approach to the preservation of cultural heritage during constructing of its project, which comprises a LNG plant and a 320km pipeline, both of which are located in one of the richest archaeological areas in a Country with a rare and deep cultural history, thus presenting a great challenge to control the impact of the project activities on cultural heritage. The Yemen LNG project and its locus are described in the paper noting that the Yemen LNG project is the largest industrial investment project ever implemented in Yemen. This paper also gives a short background describing the archaeological landscape of Yemen in general and the archaeological landscape of the project area. The paper then discusses the innovative cultural heritage preservation strategy and management plans which Yemen LNG has adopted to mitigate impacts to cultural heritage. The strategy is based on three principles: knowing archaeology, preserving it and monitoring cultural heritage during construction. Knowledge of cultural heritage is the starting point and the archaeological baseline surveys and studies highlight the sites in the plant and along the pipeline route. These surveys were followed by a comprehensive archaeological documentation covering all the archaeological sites in the project areas. Second is elimination or mitigation of potential impact on cultural heritage, a good example of this effort is that the pipeline was rerouted at several points to avoid damage to archaeological sites, equally, at the plant site at Balhaf, the plant layout was re-designed to preserve key sites (including a historic Cemetery) located inside the plant. To ensure that impacts are mitigated to ALARP, the third level of action is to ensure avoidance of direct or indirect damage to the archaeological sites, by conducting daily monitoring, additionally a team of archaeologists worked ahead of construction to monitor sensitive sites and to ensure that appropriate protection measures were taken before construction began. The paper shares lessons learned from 4 years of managing sensitive archaeological sites and it proposes learning points for future large energy projects which face challenges in sensitive cultural heritage environments. This subject is vitally important in a context where the expectations of stakeholders are that energy Companies should be sensitive to cultural heritage and should respect important archaeological sites.
Driving an Organization From Fulfilling a Plan to Performance Orientations - What Gets Measured Gets Done
Authors: Peball Ulrich
Published: July 2010

HSE Culture and performance:

This paper demonstrates how the HSE culture of a national affiliate of a large multi-national oil corporation, which was initially very much focused on reporting achievement of figures and not actual progress, was driven to achieve Strategic HSE Objectives by application of the measurement and reporting of meaningful and achievable objectives.

Setting the Strategy and Objectives:

A HSE strategy for the multi national group based on an E&P vision was developed by the corporate group for a 5 year rolling period taking into consideration key external drivers for the E&P business. A gap analysis against best industry practices and a defined corporate peer group verified the focus on key issues. For key benchmarks KPI's, targets and key accountabilities were defined.
Monitoring of Human and Organizational Factors Influencing the Risk of Major Accidents
Authors: Sklet Snorre , Ringstad Arne Jarl , Steen Sunniva Anette , Tronstad Lars , Haugen Stein , Seljelid Jorunn , Kongsvik Trond , Wærø Irene
Published: July 2010

The objective of this paper is to present and discuss the OTS-method. OTS is a proactive method for monitoring the status of operational safety barriers influencing the risk of major accidents on oil and/or gas handling offshore and onshore facilities.

An OTS-verification is a systematic and independent assessment of the status of the operational safety barriers. OTS reveals non-compliance with requirements and best practice within different relevant levels in an organization and is suitable as a basis for the development of risk reducing measures. The OTS-method comprises 7 performance standards for the following operational safety barriers; 1) Work practice, 2) Competence, 3) Procedures and documentation, 4) Communication, 5) Workload and physical working environment, 6) Management, and 7) Management of change. Each performance standard comprises a set of performance requirements and associated examination check points.

A range of different methods and data are used to assess and grade the compliance with the requirements, including questionnaires, interviews, document reviews, field observations and analyses of existing HSE-data.

OTS is a proactive improvement tool and provides basis for proposal, decision and implementation of risk reducing measures. Further, OTS provides transfer of experience between facilities and the development of best practice. OTS supports organizational learning, potentially on a double loop level.