MMS updates Ike damage assessment

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported that, as of 17 September 2008, 49 of the 3,800 offshore oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have been destroyed by Hurricane Ike. MMS said it currently has no information on whether any of the destroyed platforms will be rebuilt by any operator. Oil and gas operators are also reporting damage to offshore infrastructure other than destruction.  These reports are being analyzed by MMS and damage statistics will be released next week.

Initial estimates are that the 49 destroyed production platforms produced a total of 13,000 bbl of oil per day and 84 million cu ft of gas per day.

Additional damage reported included three jackup and one platform drilling rigs destroyed and one jackup drilling rig with extensive damage.

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ENSCO takes line-of-sight approach to safety

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

There’s no silver bullet to creating a zero-incident workplace, but in order to achieve that goal, ENSCO has taken a line-of-sight approach that integrates safety leadership with systems applications, said John Karish, the company’s HSE director, at the IADC Drilling HSE Europe Conference & Exhibition on 9 September.

In 2004-2005, ENSCO decided that safety, health and environment (SHE) must be a part of the company’s overall business strategy. In 2006, a SHE leadership development program (LDP) was created and delivered to company management in order to align and focus SHE with company values, as well as with work systems and activities.

The SHE LDP resulted in the identification of key issues to be addressed, leading to the establishment of project teams and individual coaching for employees who showed potential to be SHE champions.

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Goal Zero marks change in HSE mindset for Shell

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

Most safety accident investigations scratch only at the surface and never dig deep enough to look at the root causes, said Graham Robinson, manager of Shell’s Global Zero Work site Hazard Project. But, at Shell, after an incident involving two fatalities on the Brent Bravo platform in 2003, the company decided it was time to take the investigation to the next level.

A management team of about 20-30 senior leaders, including Mr Robinson, was put together, and the group spent eight to 12 months conducting an investigation looking at the underlying causes of what happened on Brent Bravo.

Out of that investigation came Goal Zero,  and it has been the start of an enduring shift in mind set and behaviors about safety, Mr Robinson said during the keynote presentation on the opening day of the IADC Drilling HSE Europe Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam on 9 September.

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OGP Aviation Subcommittee chairman calls for better helicopter safety

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

The current level of aviation safety in OGP operations is unacceptable, said Exxon Neftegas aviation advisor Robert Williams during his keynote address on 10 September at the IADC Drilling HSE Europe Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam.

Mr Williams, who also serves as chairman of the OGP Aviation Subcommittee (ASC), called for the industry to improve its aviation safety performance and detailed ongoing OGP initiatives aimed at achieving that improvement.

A significant amount of helicopter activities goes on in the oil and gas industry. According to OGP data, there were nearly 1,400 helicopters operating for the industry worldwide in 2006. They carried more than 9 million passengers by flying more than 1 million hours and about 2.7 million flights.

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Petrobras starts first oil production in pre-salt layer

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

Petrobras has kicked off production in Brazil’s new oil province, the pre-salt layer, in the Jubarte field in the Campos Basin, off the southern coast of Espírito Santo. The company hopes to obtain knowledge from this production that will help development of pre-salt reserves in Espírito Santo and other places off the Brazilian coast.

To adjust to the light pre-salt oil (30° API), changes had to be made to the platform’s processing plant that, with the completion of well 1-ESS-103A and its interconnection to FPSO JK (P-34), involved investments of around R$50 million.

Production begins with a long-duration test (LDT) to observe how pre-salt oil behaves, both in the reservoir and in the platform’s process plant. The LDT is expected to last six months to a year.

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StatoilHydro prepares for floating electrification

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

The Gjøa field in the North Sea is expected to come on stream in 2010.

StatoilHydro announced that the Gjøa platform will be the first floating platform in the North Sea to get its electricity from the mainland. A cable running from the new power plant at Mongstad, north of Bergen, will supply the platform with electricity. Compared with the traditional solution of having gas turbines on the platform to produce power, this new alternative, will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year.

“The cable has to be able to tolerate a lot of movement, and together with contractor ABB, a new high voltage power cable is being laid,” said Kjetel Digre, project director for the Gjøa field development.

“This gives high energy efficiency and reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOC) as compared with the alternative solution,” he explained.

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Hurricane IKE

Posted on 20 September 2008 in News

IADC's Internet capability has been temporarily disrupted due to Hurricane Ike.

We apologize for any delays in service you may experience as a consequence."

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Regional leaders converge at Jakarta conference to share ideas for the future

Posted on 27 August 2008 in News

The sound of a traditional Indonesian gong welcomed delegates to the 2008 IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference & Exhibition in Jakarta’s Shangri-La Hotel. Conference chairman Dr Bagus Sudaryanto, senior vice president of operations for PT PERTIMINA EP, presided over the opening session, which included welcoming remarks by Fauzi Imron, SPE director for the Southern Asia Pacific region, and Ken Fischer, IADC regional vice president for the Middle East and Asia.

The ceremony featured a speech by H.E. Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. Also in attendance were H.E. Evita H. Legowo, Director General of Oil and Gas, as well as numerous prominent leaders of Indonesia’s energy industry, not to mention more than 400 drilling professionals representing 27 countries.

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Challenges remain for Indonesian oil industry, but so do opportunities

Posted on 27 August 2008 in News

Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources H.E. Purnomo Yusgiantoro opened the 2008 IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference & Exhibition on 25 August in Jakarta. In his remarks during the opening session, the Minister reminded the audience of more than 400 delegates that, despite the country’s 130-year history of oil production, many challenges remain.  

“Technology is the key to unlocking our energy reserves,” he remarked, noting that most of the country’s oil production comes from aging fields with declining production. The government’s strategy is aimed at extending the life of existing fields while exploring new frontiers in deepwater areas.

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For Saudi Aramco, drilling technology is the way forward

Posted on 27 August 2008 in News

Speaking during the keynote session at the IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Conference and Exhibition on 25 August 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saudi Aramco’s Zuhair Al-Hussain discussed the ways his company is deploying new technologies to help boost production, as well as future technologies that will be needed to meet global oil demand.

Increases in world population and economic growth are projected to push the world’s energy demand up by 50% over the next 22 years, and fossil fuels still remain the major energy source for the foreseeable future. This puts tremendous responsibility on the upstream sector to respond to the call, said Mr Al-Hussain, executive director drilling & workover for Saudi Aramco. The key will be in both building up resources and harnessing technology to improve efficiency and enhance productivity, he said.

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