2010 was a defining year for the offshore oil and gas industry in the United States. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) floating drilling rig suffered a catastrophic explosion and fire. Eleven men died in the explosion — 17 others were injured. The fire, which burned for a day and a half, eventually sent the entire rig to the bottom of the sea. The extent of the spill was enormous, and the environmental damage is still being evaluated. Following DWH the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulations and Enforcement (BOEMRE) issued many new regulations. One of them is the Safety and Environmental System (SEMS) rule, which is based on the American Petroleum Institute's SEMP recommended practice. Companies have to be in full compliance with its extensive requirements by November 15, 2011.

Risk Management in the Oil and Gas Industry: Offshore and Onshore Concepts and Case Studies delivers the concepts, strategies and good practices of offshore and onshore safety engineering that are applicable to petroleum engineering and immediately surrounding industries. Guided by the strategic risk management line, this reference organizes steps in order of importance and priority that should be given to the themes in the practical exercise of risk management activities, from the conceptual and design phase to operational and crisis management situations. Each chapter is packed with practical case studies, lessons learned, exercises, and review questions. The reference also touches on the newest techniques, including liquefied natural gas (cryogenics) operations and computer simulations that contemplate the influence of human behavior. Critical for both the new and experienced engineer, this book gives the best didactic tool to perform operations safely and effectively. - Helps readers by presenting practical case studies and exercises that are included in every chapter - Presents an understanding on how to approach and apply best practices specific to the oil and gas industry, both offshore and onshore - Provides the knowledge needed to gain new techniques in computer simulation and human factors to apply to various sectors of the industry, including subsea and refineries

This report recommends that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) take a holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness offshore oil and the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) programs of gas industry operators. According to the report, this approach should, at a minimum, include inspections, audits by the operator and BSEE, key performance indicators, and a whistleblower program. SEMS is a safety management system (SMS) aimed at shifting from a completely prescriptive regulatory approach to one that is proactive, risk based, and goal oriented in an attempt to improve safety and reduce the likelihood that events similar to the April 2010 Macondo incident will reoccur. According to the committee that produced the report, it is not possible for a regulator to create a culture of safety in an organization by inspection or audit; that culture needs to come from within the organization. To be successful, the tenets of SEMS must be fully acknowledged and accepted by workers, motivated from the top, and supported throughout the organization and must drive worker actions. The report also notes that BSEE can encourage and aid industry in development of a culture of safety by the way it measures and enforces SEMS. The committee believes BSEE should seize this opportunity to make a step change in safety culture by adopting a goal based holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of SEMS programs. In recommending a holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of SEMS programs, the report explores in detail the role of SEMS in helping to develop a culture of safety, highlights the pros and cons of various methods of assessing the effectiveness of a SEMS program, and investigates existing approaches for assessing the SMS programs of various U.S. and international regulatory agencies whose safety mandates are similar to that of BSEE.

This book shares the technical knowhow in the field of health, safety and environmental management, as applied to oil and gas industries and explains concepts through a simple and straightforward approach Provides an overview of health, safety and environmental (HSE) management as applied to offshore and petroleum engineering Covers the fundamentals of HSE and demonstrates its practical application Includes industry case studies and examples based on the author's experiences in both academia and oil and gas industries Presents recent research results Includes tutorials and exercises

This book evaluates and compares risk regulation and safety management for offshore oil and gas operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia. It provides an interdisciplinary approach with legal, technological, and sociological perspectives on their efforts to assess and prevent major accidents and improve safety performance offshore. Presented in three parts, the volume begins with a review of the technical, legal, behavioral, and sociological factors involved in designing, implementing, and enforcing a regulatory regime for industrial safety. It then evaluates the four regulatory regimes that encompass the cultural, legal, and other contextual factors that influence their design and implementation, along with their reliance on industrial expertise and standards and the use of performance indicators. The final section presents an assessment of the resilience of the Norwegian regime and its capacity to keep pace with new technologies and emerging risks, respond to near miss incidents, encourage safety culture, incorporate vested rights of labor, and perform inspection and self-audit functions. This book is highly relevant for those in government, business, academia, and elsewhere in civil society who are involved in offshore safety issues, including regulatory authorities and industrial safety professionals.

The volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) nature of environmental and operational conditions is still the major cause of marine accidents, with knock-on effects in terms of casualties, property damage, and marine pollution. Recognized as the most effective approach to navigate VUCA environments, risk-based assessment methods provide a solution to address challenges associated with health, safety, and environmental protection in extreme conditions and when accidents involving engineering structures and infrastructure occur. This book serves as a comprehensive guide to the foundational principles, current practices, and cuttingedge trends in quantitative risk assessment and management for ships and offshore structures. With six partsencompassing a total of 35 chapters, it covers risk assessment and management for offshore installations, oil and gas leaks, collisions and grounding, and fires and explosions. Tailored for ship and offshore structural engineers, naval architects, as well as mechanical and civil engineers involved in advanced safety studies, this book is an invaluable resource for both practicing engineers and researchers in this field.• Offers insights into quantitative risk assessment and asset management for ships and offshore structures inextreme conditions and in the event of accidents• Equips engineers with valuable statistical data sets and enhances data assimilation techniques for precisehazard frequency calculations• Seamlessly integrates fundamental principles with practical applications, addressing emerging challengesand leveraging the latest technological advances in the field

This book addresses the international legal dimension of the management of the risk of accidents associated with offshore oil and gas activities. It focuses on the prevention and minimization of harm as well as the post-accident management of loss through liability and compensation arrangements and the processing of mass claims for compensation. Government officials of countries with offshore industries, international civil servants and academics in related fields will find the book a valuable resource.

The blowout of the Macondo well on April 20, 2010, led to enormous consequences for the individuals involved in the drilling operations, and for their families. Eleven workers on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig lost their lives and 16 others were seriously injured. There were also enormous consequences for the companies involved in the drilling operations, to the Gulf of Mexico environment, and to the economy of the region and beyond. The flow continued for nearly 3 months before the well could be completely killed, during which time, nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the gulf. Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout examines the causes of the blowout and provides a series of recommendations, for both the oil and gas industry and government regulators, intended to reduce the likelihood and impact of any future losses of well control during offshore drilling. According to this report, companies involved in offshore drilling should take a "system safety" approach to anticipating and managing possible dangers at every level of operation-from ensuring the integrity of wells to designing blowout preventers that function under all foreseeable conditions-in order to reduce the risk of another accident as catastrophic as the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In addition, an enhanced regulatory approach should combine strong industry safety goals with mandatory oversight at critical points during drilling operations. Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout discusses ultimate responsibility and accountability for well integrity and safety of offshore equipment, formal system safety education and training of personnel engaged in offshore drilling, and guidelines that should be established so that well designs incorporate protection against the various credible risks associated with the drilling and abandonment process. This book will be of interest to professionals in the oil and gas industry, government decision makers, environmental advocacy groups, and others who seek an understanding of the processes involved in order to ensure safety in undertakings of this nature.

Offshore Risk Assessment is the first book to deal with quantified risk assessment (QRA) as applied specifically to offshore installations and operations. Risk assessment techniques have been used for some years in the offshore oil and gas industry, and their use is set to expand increasingly as the industry moves into new areas and faces new challenges in older regions. The book starts with a thorough discussion of risk analysis methodology. Subsequent chapters are devoted to analytical approaches to escalation, escape, evacuation and rescue analysis of safety and emergency systems. Separate chapters analyze the main hazards of offshore structures: Fire, explosion, collision and falling objects. Risk mitigation and control are then discussed, followed by an outline of an alternative approach to risk modelling that focuses especially on the risk of short-duration activities. Not only does the book describe the state of the art of QRA, it also identifies weaknesses and areas that need development. Readership: Besides being a comprehensive reference for academics and students of marine/offshore risk assessment and management, the book should also be owned by professionals in the industry, contractors, suppliers, consultants and regulatory authorities.

Offshore Safety Management, Second Edition provides an experienced engineer's perspective on the new Safety and Environmental System (SEMS) regulations for offshore oil and gas drilling, how they compare to prior regulations, and how to implement the new standards seamlessly and efficiently. The second edition is greatly expanded, with increased coverage of technical areas such as engineering standards and drilling, and procedural areas such as safety cases and formal safety assessments. The new material both complements the SEMS coverage and increases the book's relevance to a global audience. Following the explosion, fire, and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon floating drilling rig in April 2010, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulations, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) issued many new regulations. One of them was the Safety and Environmental System rule, which is based on the American Petroleum Institute's SEMP recommended practice, finalized in April 2013. Author Ian Sutton explains the SEMS rule, and describes what must be done to achieve compliance. Each of the twelve elements of the SEMS rule (such as Management of Change and Safe Work Practices) is described in the book, and guidance is provided on how to meet BOEMRE requirements. - Detailed explanation of how to implement the new SEMS standard for offshore operations - Ties the new regulations in with existing safety management approaches, helping managers leverage existing processes and paperwork - With CEOs now signing off on compliance paperwork, this book provides expert insights so you can get SEMS compliance right the first time