Following a fifth “tier 1” significant loss of containment event this year in BP’s Prudhoe Bay facilities, and in response to a rising rate of safety incidents, BP conducted several days of training and workshops for its Alaska workforce at the beginning of October, to achieve what the company characterized as a “controlling the work reset,” to address safety issues, according to internal company emails published by the BuzzFeed News website.
The emails published by BuzzFeed were sent by BP Alaska President Janet Weiss to BP’s Alaska staff. In one email Weiss commented on a Sept. 10 leak of an estimated 1,000 kilograms of natural gas involving Flow Station 3. Fortunately the leak, which occurred during testing of the artificial lift system on Drill Site 7, did not result in any injuries - following detection of the leak, the technicians involved arranged a shutoff of the system, evacuated the impacted module and triggered the relevant fire detection and suppression system.
Weiss also commented that there had been 27 recordable safety incidents so far this year in BP’s Prudhoe Bay facilities. That compares with 23 incidents for the whole of 2016.
Safety reset
In a Sept. 27 email Weiss announced a series of safety-oriented training sessions and workshops to be held Oct. 1 to Oct. 3. During that period, only essential work would be carried out on the North Slope, with workers scheduled to travel to the Slope told to cancel their trips unless they were needed for active participation in the work pause.
“We are not where we need to be in safety and it is imperative that we make changes now,” Weiss wrote.
According to the BuzzFeed report, the work pause for safety reviews was subsequently extended to Oct. 12, with many workers being pulled from field operations to participate in safety-related workshops and team discussions.
In a further email Weiss commented that work carried out on the Slope must be properly planned, and that it must be conducted in compliance with plans and rules. Regardless of whether a job may increase production or improve cash flow, a job will only be viewed as successful if it has been planned and scheduled correctly, and has been conducted safely, Weiss emphasized.
“To be clear, we will no longer tolerate work that is not planned and we will take disciplinary action for such rule violations - the safety of our colleagues is at stake,” Weiss wrote.
Tier 1 incidents
One of this year’s tier 1 incidents involved a gas leak and a spray of oil from a well head on Drill Site 2 in April. BP has reported that this leak was caused by a failure of the wellhead casing, as a consequence of permafrost subsidence. The company subsequently shut in 14 similar wells for safety assessments.
According to the BuzzFeed report, a fourth tier 1 incident happened in June, when 5,500 kilograms of gas leaked inside a BP-operated building.
BP: safety a top priority
In an Oct. 23 email BP spokeswoman Dawn Patience confirmed that the October safety timeout had taken place.
“The safety of our workers and protection of the environment are BP’s top priorities,” Patience wrote. “In Alaska, one of the ways in which we work to fulfill our commitment to safe, compliant and reliable operations is a program for pipeline assurance that includes nearly 300,000 inspections each year. In addition, this month, while continuing daily operations, we instituted a safety timeout when we held workshops and other trainings to continue to educate workers and promote personal and process safety. Finally, BP reports all incidents in accordance with state and federal laws, including two natural gas releases earlier this year at a Prudhoe Bay drill site and Flow Station 3. While the goal is to have no releases, both of these incidents occurred during planned maintenance and were halted quickly, and neither resulted in injury to workers or impact to the surrounding environment.”
In terms of the tier 1 gas leak incidents, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has regulatory authority over well safety and the leakage of dry gas on the North Slope. Both AOGCC and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservations receive mandatory reports on any leaks: The AOGCC investigates the leaks and determines whether fines are warranted. AOGCC Commissioner Cathy Foerster has told Petroleum News that the commission is participating in a BP-led investigation into the gas leak at Drill Site 7.
