Challenges in offshore oil and gas exploration and technology advances must not be an excuse to cut costs on safety, Lloyd’s Register Energy is warning at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

Lloyd’s Register Energy is challenging oil and gas companies to re-think their approach to safety, performance and technical innovation to secure the world’s changing energy supply in a sustainable way, from reservoir and refinery to beyond.

The calls comes after Norwegian authorities last week warned that there had been a worrying increase in incidents this year, after “sound improvements in several areas leading up to and in 2014. In 2014, there were no major incidents or fatalities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the Petroleum Safety Authority said. In fact, the country’s measure of risk, its Trends in risk level, or RNNP, was at its lowest since RNNP measurement began. The year also recorded the second lowest number of hydrocarbon leaks since records began. The number of well control incidents had risen, however, from 13 in 2013 to 17 in 2014.

And, 2015 has already seen a number of serious incidents, with both major accident potential and personal injuries. The PSA has undertaken six investigations into incidents in the first three months of this year.

“The restructuring we are now seeing in the industry must not be at the cost of continuous improvements in safety,” said PSA Director General Anne Myjrvold.

Duco de Haan, Lloyd’s Register Energy’s SVP of Commercial Development, said: “With a changing energy mix and increased challenges around innovative drilling techniques, the industry cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to safety.”

Lloyds Register Energy says industry must adapt to anticipated future market and technology developments, but that it must not lose sight of safety.

“There will always be some level of risk associated with offshore and onshore energy production,” said de Haan. “But we can make operations safer by helping our clients manage and minimize risk.”

As part of the OTC Houston conference program, experts from Lloyd’s Register Energy will be presenting:

Advances in Drilling Technologies track: Fiber Optic Sensor Based Monitoring System for BOP

Advances in Offshore Wind Energy track: Effects of Platform Pitching Motion on Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) Rotor

Cutting-Edge Technologies on Deepwater Floaters track: Experimental Investigation of Extreme Waves - Comparison with Analytical Models and CFD

From Lloyd’s Register Energy’s booth (#5171) experts will also be providing insight in to:

• FLNG developments and Rules for Offshore Units
• Operating with total risk-based mechanical integrity (RBMI)
• Life mothballing and decommissioning versus asset life extension
• Mooring system challenges
• Cryogenic analysis guidance
• Cyber-attack issues in land and offshore drilling
• Unmanned aerial systems (aerial drones)
• Global oil and gas survey results
• Client network findings from 30 senior executives in Houston findings

“While industry is getting smarter at managing the performance of its key existing assets, there is still a long way ahead in adopting new innovations that better secure future oil recovery. We hope our insights for industry and the media at OTC Houston will encourage the debate around change,” highlighted John Wishart, Energy President of Lloyd’s Register.

Eighty percent of the world’s offshore rigs are surveyed by Lloyd’s Register Energy’s drilling services business. Its recent acquisitions, drilling training academies, Global Technology Centers and technology JIPs are evidence of their ambition to enhance the safety and reliability of the oil and gas industry.

De Haan said: “We are looking to the future on how safety will change through technology and innovation, where safety will drive the best performing companies.”

Lloyd’s Register Energy’s insight in to current energy challenges supports the theme for the OTC Houston.

Source: www.oedigital.com

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