Today (16 January) Oil & Gas UK published two further guidelines in a series being produced by the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum (WLCPF) to help well-operators comply more effectively with regulations and improve cross industry understanding of well-related issues on the UK continental shelf.

The first of the two new publications provides guidance on relief well planning while the second focuses on competency for wells personnel. Both publications have been written for the use of all operators, drilling and well service companies and other duty-holders active in UK well operations.

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “It is just over a year since the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum was established as a permanent industry forum following the recommendations put forward by the UK’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG).  Through the collaboration of drilling and wells managers from operator and well management companies, the WLCPF has now delivered four sets of guidelines to disseminate good practice and further enhance the oil and gas industry’s  understanding of a range of issues relating to the well life cycle.”

Karl Tolson, co-lead for the relief well planning requirements workgroup, said: “The  WLCPF identified the  need for guidelines  that outline  the degree of  relief well planning that operators should undertake before submitting  an Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), prior to obtaining consent for drilling operations. In the UK, operators are required to provide an OPEP for any offshore installation involved in oil and gas exploration and production including subsea well activities. All the guidelines produced by WLCPF aim to reduce the risk of a major well incident in the UK by sharing a good understanding of well integrity issues.”

Steve Cromar, co-lead of the WLCPF competency, behaviours and human factors workgroup, said: “The guidelines on competency for wells personnel bring together widely-used good practices from the UK oil and gas industry incorporating input from contributors with backgrounds in drilling and service companies, academia, training organisations and the trade unions.

“While the competency of wells personnel currently working on the UKCS is already very high, the guidelines help individuals and companies better understand the competency issues surrounding well personnel, particularly those that are critical to maintaining well integrity. A separate document, providing example competency profiles for senior drilling engineers, drilling supervisors, operations geologists and well-examiners offers a template which companies can tailor to their own operations and company structure.”

These guidelines provide guidance, rather than standards, to support the regulations and associated guidance issued by the regulator but also the industry’s ongoing commitment to continual improvement in safety and performance throughout the life cycle of the well. They comprise the latest in a series of publications produced by the WLCPF, which has drawn on the specialist expertise of representatives from over 40 companies.
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