Oil & Gas UK’s Well Integrity Guidance Incorporates Regulatory Changes
In line with its commitment to continually reviewing and improving the safety and performance of all aspects of well practices, Oil & Gas UK publishes today (March 29) an update of its Well Life Cycle Integrity Guidelines.
The publication reflects recent changes in the regulatory environment, such as the requirement for well-operators and drilling contractors to integrate the management of both safety and the environment as part of the Offshore Safety Directive introduced in July 2015.
Oonagh Werngren, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, said: “These guidelines produced by Oil & Gas UK’s Wells Forum collate current industry expertise and provide further clarification on how best to design a well and plan operations to assure well integrity. The aim is to help well operators and drilling contractors better understand how to select, install, verify, test, maintain and repair suitable barriers to reduce the risk of uncontrolled release of fluids throughout the life cycle of a well.
“A number of organisations worked collaboratively to update the guidelines including members of Oil & Gas UK, the Norwegian Well Integrity Forum, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) Well Integrity Workgroup, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG).”
As part of the industry’s efforts to tackle its cost base and improve efficiency, the well integrity guidelines provide the sector with a common framework to outline good practice, reduce operational complexity and improve safety performance.
For other examples of how the UK oil and gas industry is improving its average unit operating cost by more than 40 per cent compared with two years ago, please view our Efficiency Spotlights.
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Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact Lucy Gordon on 01224 577331 or lgordon@oilandgasuk.co.uk.
1. Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its growing membership, which comprises oil and gas producers and contractor companies, now numbers more than 450.
2. The new Well Life Cycle Integrity (Issue 3) guidelines published today –are available here.
http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/well-life-cycle-integrity-guidelines-issue-3-march-2016/
3. The guidelines help companies (e.g. well-operators and drilling contractors) to better understand and comply more effectively with the relevant legislation; mainly the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction etc) Regulations 1996 and the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2015. In these guidelines, well integrity is the application of people, equipment and processes to comply with this general duty throughout the well life cycle.
4. Oil & Gas UK’s Wells Forum comprises representatives from over 45 well-operators and provides an interface with other industry stakeholders such as the drilling contractor and well services contractor communities.
5. *The Wells Forum is responsible for reviewing the following documents on a regular basis.
• Blowout Preventer Issues
• Competency, Behaviours, Human and Organisational Factors
• Well Integrity
• Well Suspension and Abandonment
• Well Capping
• Relief Well Planning Requirements
• Verification
• Well Examination
• High Pressure High Temperature
• Process Safety Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
All duty holders shall comply with their duties under all relevant regulations. These guidelines will help but are not a substitute for a full understanding of the regulations.
