Oil & Gas UK Releases First Two Well Examination Guidelines

Oil & Gas UK  published  first two in a series of several guidelines to help well-operators better understand and achieve the goals set by the Health and Safety Executive’s regulations regarding well operations on the UKCS.

The ‘Guidelines for well-operators on well examination’ and the ‘Guidelines for well-operators on competency of well-examiners’ have been produced by the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum (WLCPF) which is a permanent body co-ordinated by Oil & Gas UK. These industry guidelines support the regulations and associated guidance issued by the regulator. The first guideline outlines matters to be considered when examining wells and the second provides guidance to well operators on ensuring the competency of their well examiners.

The WLCPF was formed in December 2010 as a result of recommendations made by the UK’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG).

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “The publication of these guidelines less than a year after the WLCPF’s formation illustrates what can be achieved through effective collaboration of drilling and wells managers from operator and well management companies. The forum is just one of several permanent groups that have been created to build on the remarkable work of OSPRAG.”

Gregory King, chair of the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum and drilling engineering manager North Sea (UK) at ExxonMobil International Ltd, added: “The industry is committed to taking forward the recommendations of OSPRAG and continually identifying opportunities for improvement. Under the auspices of Oil & Gas UK, the WLCPF will continue to focus on incident prevention through a series of additional guidelines on topics such as well life cycle integrity.”

 Jonathan Lilley, co-lead of the well examination work group, and well operations manager – UK & Netherlands at Centrica Energy, added: “Well operations are a vital part of our industry and safety remains core to everything we do. We always take the time to do things safely both on and offshore. Over 60 companies have dedicated specialist resource to develop these best practice guidelines, which is testament to the industry’s ongoing commitment to continually review and improve the performance of our wells from design and production through to decommissioning.”

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Offshore Nieuws Staff, November 30, 2011; Image: oilandgasuk