American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018 - 80

SpecialReport: Insurance Update

Training Mitigates Well Control Risks
By Steve L. Richert
HOUSTON-Mitigating risk is a key
tool to properly manage today's business.
One definition of risk is "susceptibility
to the chance of injury or loss." Everyone
in business must manage risk. From financial to safety, risk is one of the variables
that can be controlled, or at least mitigated.
From the chief executive in the corporate
office to the floor hand on the rig, every
employee can play an important part in
risk management.
Universally, for oil or gas wells, risk
management begins with the planning
of a well and ends with its plugging,
abandonment and monitoring of the
spent well. In the areas of rig crew training and well control, the main source of
risk is the potential for uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons and other formation
fluids to the surface. The highly explosive
nature of methane gas means that an
uncontrolled release to surface can cause
an explosion and fire, which potentially
could destroy life, property and the environment. If a rig crew is unable to
properly anticipate the potential for a
release, the entire drilling operation can
be considered high risk.

Environmental and occupational risk
management works to mitigate the possibility of uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases into the natural environment, which
is crucial to avoiding long-lasting damage.
The ability to manage risk has been
clearly defined, taught, implemented and
tested for many years. Unfortunately, the
lack of commitment to implement basic
risk management principles-which include
proper crew training-is still widespread.
The consequences of poorly implemented risk management programs are
severe. Failures in any area of risk management very easily can destroy a company's reputation and bottom line. As an
industry, all personnel involved in the oil
and gas operational structure-from the
top to the bottom of the chain of command-must challenge any apathy they
encounter toward environmental or occupational risk. We must continue to
highlight the importance of addressing
the full range of environmental risk factors
and emphasize that it is inexcusable for
human lives to be put at risk in the workplace.
Multifaceted Approach
A decade ago, wells were drilled at a

On-location drills provide an assessment of all crew members' well control response
readiness. The introduction of mobile classrooms takes training to the rig site to reach
those on the ﬁrst line of well control defense: derrick hands, rig mechanics, ﬂoor hands,
etc. Moreover, the mobile classrooms can work in combination with kick drills and assessments.

80 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

much slower pace, taking a month or
longer from spud to total depth. With today's drilling technology and practices,
the same wells are being drilled in a
week. Things are happening at an increasingly rapid rate on the rig. Today's
drilling crews need people who are trained,
knowledgeable, skilled and regularly retrained to continually avoid the potential
of a catastrophic blowout event.
The main drawback to traditional approaches to risk management is conformance to the status quo. The notion of
"it is the way we've always done it" is a
dangerous one. Each operation is unique.
If proper individual operation risk analysis
has not been accomplished and a reasonable risk management plan implemented,
what always has worked before might
fail, resulting in catastrophe.
Fortunately, more companies are realizing that not managing risk can result
in severe financial loss that far exceeds
the cost of implementing an engineered
risk management plan and training personnel to carry it out. As a result, at
least from the executive perspective,
more effective risk management plans
are being developed. The much bigger
challenge, however, is ensuring that
those plans are properly realized in field
operations. A worrying gap continues
to exist between executive memorandum/policy and how things are done in
practice. This is where training, drills,
exercises, and crew and equipment assessments have a beneficial role to play:
What gets inspected gets done.
The most important aspect to consider
when selecting a risk management program is the expertise of the consultant
responsible for understanding the risks
involved and how they can be managed.
The consultant should have expertise
solely in managing the risks of uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases, and demonstrable experience in training crews, writing risk management programs, implementing emergency response planning to
blowout and spill management, etc.
Many risk assessment companies provide risk analysis and risk plans. However,
the key is taking the next step: implementing the risk management plan in the
field where the work is done. Application
of the designed risk plan finalizes the
full circle of risk analysis, risk planning
and risk management implementation.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018