Tuesday 21 July 2015

Oil & Gas UK’s Award-Winning Industry Guidelines Focus on Well Operations Best Practice

To improve cross industry understanding of well-related issues on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) Oil & Gas UK has today (July 21) released updated guidelines for the abandonment of wells together with accompanying guidance on generating cost estimates to support this activity. 

Oonagh Werngren, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, said: “The first guidelines on well abandonment were produced in 1994 and the documents published today are testament to the industry’s collective and continuing commitment to regularly review and improve safety and performance in all aspects of well practices.

“Oil & Gas UK developed this fifth issue of the guidelines with well-operators from member companies and other stakeholders to clarify good practice. These guidelines represent just two of over thirty peer-reviewed guidelines published to date by Oil & Gas UK to raise the professional standards of the industry – an outstanding contribution the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) recognised when it presented the Premier Award Medal for Excellence to the trade association last week.

“As the sector steps up its effort to tackle its cost base and improve efficiency, the guidelines on well abandonment cost estimation provide industry with a common framework in which to generate more consistent and complete cost estimates. Oil & Gas UK has now produced nine separate guidelines on aspects of well operations including competency, relief well planning and blow out prevention, to outline good practice to improve safety and performance throughout the life cycle of wells. In producing the guidelines, Oil & Gas UK’s intention is to provide guidance, rather than standards, to support the regulations and associated advice issued by the regulator.”   

Ends

For further information, please contact Lucy Gordon on 01224 577331 or lgordon@oilandgasuk.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

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 producer and contractor companies, now numbers over 500.

2.            The Guidelines for well-operators on good practice for the abandonment of wells and on well abandonment cost estimation should help drilling contractors and well operators comply with the well abandonment aspects of the relevant legislation; mainly the Offshore  Installations and Wells (Design and Construction) (DCR) Regulations 1996. 3. The guidelines are available to Oil & Gas UK forum members to download for free via the Oil & Gas UK website or to non- members for a small charge here.