High safety standards in oil & gas operations are better achieved when self-imposed, rather than through excessive government regulation, a leading Shell figure told delegates to this year's SPE ATCE in Denver. US editor Russell McCulley listened in.
Speaking during SPE's Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition opening general session on 31 October, Shell director of projects & technology Matthias Bichsel pointed out that ‘self-regulation' is more effective than strict government oversight in minimizing oilfield risk.
In the wake of Macondo, which produced a slate of new US regulations governing offshore drilling and workplace safety, some in the industry have called for more North Sea-style ‘safety case' regulations, which establish goals and allow operators some leeway in how to achieve them, rather than a prescriptive regulatory approach that ‘doesn't allow you to step out and push the envelope', Bichsel said.
‘It is in our interest, and it is something that our industry needs to work together with the regulators, to come up with the best way forward, which is a performance-based regulation – a goal-based type of regulation,' he said. ‘I think that is the way forward.'
All operators should hew to a set of common standards to prevent accidents that can tarnish the entire industry's reputation, Bichsel said, citing the public's response to last year's Gulf of Mexico blowout and spill at the BP-operated Macondo prospect.
‘Society tends to judge the industry en masse. And we have to remember, industry performance is only as strong as its weakest link. So collectively, we need to up our game and show no tolerance for anyone in the industry who is not doing things properly,' he said.
‘We want standards that meet society's expectations.' The panel, moderated by Baker Hughes CEO Chad Deaton, included Petrobras pre-salt executive manager Jose Formigli and William McArthur, director of safety & mission assurance at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
After Macondo, the Obama administration promised a more ‘dynamic' regulatory environment for oil & gas exploration and production. The language alarmed many in the industry, who countered that oil & gas officials need more certainty when making decisions about long-term projects.
Self-regulation is not another name for lax regulation, said Formigli. ‘When we say self-regulation, it's something that we establish together – all sides: operators, contractors and of course government representatives.'
The method could also help establish best practices that could be applied across the industry and throughout all regions, so that operators and service companies need not ‘try to rediscover the wheel on every country that we have to operate,' Formigli said. SPE reports that ATCE 2011 drew about 9400 attendees from 57 countries. OE
Subscribe
