Pursuing HSE Excellence
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Pursuing HSE Excellence
Zhang Xing
Vice President of CNPC America Ltd.
President of Andes Petroleum Ecuador Ltd.
The oil zone of AndesPetro is located in the heartland of the on strengthening employee’s safety awareness and building
Amazon rain forest, a highly sensitive spot on the world’s eco- system management targeted at safe behavior. We persist in
protection map, with a large portion of the oilfield situated in the system maintenance and compliance audits. In 2004, the company
Ecuadorian national forest reserve. The unique geographic position successfully acquired environmental management system
and diverse biological environment has made the project a center certification for its oil depot, and acquired ISO 14001 certification
CNPC in Latin America
of attention among environmentalists around the world. in 2010. Using a risk matrix approach to rank EHS risks, we prioritize
EHS interested parties in view of the analysis, in order to determine
From the perspectives of managers, responsible persons and
the focus of our EHS efforts. To ensure the safety of each and every
contractors, AndesPetro has planned and formulated a systematic
employee, the company performs post risk identification and
HSE management mechanism whereby HSE duties are specifically
occupational health hazard identification as well as risk assessment,
designated and interlinked, with the notion of HSE firmly implanted
to inform employees in an open and transparent manner of their job
in employees’ minds. First, company mangers strengthen
risks. We have also established a training center to develop safety
their leadership by regularly attending HSE training programs,
training programs, with the annual average training time for each
performing emergency drills and sharing HSE experiences. Second,
on-site employee (including contractors) totaling 34.5 hours. We
the responsible person implements a line responsibility system for
also use a GIS geographic information system to effectively monitor
safety and environmental protection by signing an accountability
the environmental impact of our exploration and development
letter with the relevant person in charge to clarify the HSE duties
activities, and provide support to decision-making in location
for each specific post. And third, contractors shall be encouraged to
selection, positioning of pipeline leaks, wetland analysis, analysis and
share their experiences related to HSE in localized operations.
monitoring of nature reserves, and analysis of the traffic network.
Apart from HSE publicity and education, we effectively promote
Thanks to stringent and concrete safety and environmental
HSE management by monitoring its execution to prevent hidden
protection work at the Andes project, there have been no deaths
risks. The company conducts strict inspections of and encourages
caused by oil production accidents or any environmental pollution
reporting of hidden hazards and performs close-loop management.
accidents. Compared with the recordable incident rate per million
We developed an online hazardous behavior/status reporting
work hours conducted by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
system, and track the correction status every two weeks and
Administration (OSHA) in the oil and gas sector, the Andes project
offer incentives to those who report hidden dangers, including a
did an excellent job in its OSH performance. The company has
monthly “best report” award. The company has thereby established
won a number of awards from the local government, the National
a professional supervision team that is knowledgeable about safety
Assembly of Republic of Ecuador and relevant institutions, such as
and management and capable of handling emergencies. We also
the acknowledgment of its Corporate Excellence by the Ecuadorian
designate local managerial personnel in charge of security, medical
Journalists Confederation. The company has also won awards
service, environmental protection and operational safety at the
for environmental protection and management innovation from
work site, with dedicated HSE personnel now accounting for more
BIZZ and World Oil & Gas, as well as an award for Excellent Work
than 8% of the workforce.
in Technology Transfer and Development of the Oil Industry in
In addition, we strictly abide by international standards to ensure Ecuador from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Non-renewable Natural
the intrinsic safety of equipment, and focus our EHS management Resources and SPE Ecuador Section.
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CNPC’s nine principles for HSE management in global oil and gas operations are: HSE
should be given priority when making any decision; Safety is a prerequisite to employment;
Employees must be fully conversant with HSE compliance; Managers should take
responsibility for HSE in their business scope; Managers must be engaged in HSE reviews;
Employees must be engaged in post-hazard identification and risk control; Potential risks
must be dealt with promptly; Accidents must be reported, analyzed and dealt with promptly;
Unified HSE standards should be applied in contractor management.
Adhering to the concept of “putting the hidden dangers in a comprehensive and truthful
environment, safety, quality and people first”, we manner, organize HSE audits of all project companies
protect the long-term interests of both the host on a regular basis, and conduct inspections of
countries and the company, by strictly complying key production posts aimed at spotting potential
with local environmental laws and regulations, problems at sites.
attaching great importance to operational safety
The Amazon region of Latin America is home to
and environmental protection, and consciously
the world’s largest tropical rain forest, where many
being subject to the supervision and guidance of
primitive tribes dwell. The unique geographic
the local authorities. The focus of HSE management
position and diverse biological environment has
is procedural management and nurturing awareness
made the area a center of attention of international
targeted at promoting employees’ safety awareness
environmental protection organizations. Our Andes
and behavior. Accordingly, by establishing a
project in Ecuador and Block 1AB/8 project in Peru
comprehensive HSE management system, the
are both situated in the heartland of the Amazon
company and its partners strive to achieve the goal
rain forests, while the Intercampo Oilfield project in
of “zero injuries, zero pollution and zero accidents”.
Venezuela is located on Maracaibo Lake, which are
The company incorporates the essence of HSE as a
all environmentally sensitive areas. To meet the strict
key part of its culture, to foster the concept, system
environmental requirements for oilfield operations,
and behavior of a safety culture. Furthermore, we
we developed an HSE management system and
take incentive measures to encourage reporting of
methods tailored for projects in Latin America.
By establishing an HSE management committee
and a mechanism to designate an HSE responsible
person and event coordinator for each project,
we ensured timely and accurate reporting of HSE
information and made sure all major crisis events
are dealt with in a prompt and reasonable manner.
Over the past 20 years, we have strictly complied
with relevant international standards and criterion in
our production and operations, with no major HSE
accident occurring. The MPE3 project in Venezuela
set a record of 20 million man-hours with no
significant personal safety accident or environmental
pollution accident. Well drilling and workover
crews of CNPC’s Greatwall Drilling Company and
Bohai Drilling Engineering Company Ltd. have won
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multiple awards and accolades from the Venezuelan well as industrial waste pollution, thus helping keep
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the water of the Maracaibo Lake crystal-clear.
PDVSA, including the title of “Green Drilling Crew”
At Block 1AB/8 in Peru, oilfield produced wastewater
and production safety medals.
was discharged into the Amazon water system only
In 1998 when CNPC took over Venezuela’s Intercampo after preliminary treatment in the early development
Pursuing HSE Excellence
Oilfield on Maracaibo Lake, we were faced with stage. After joining the project in 2003, CNPC made
considerable safety and environmental risks due a proposal to introduce a three-tier wastewater
to the thick mud on the lakebed with densely treatment system to upgrade the original one, in
distributed cables and pipelines, as well as a order to improve treatment and reduce the oilfield’s
multiplicity of production equipment on the lake environmental impact. Together with our partners,
surface. A detail-focused prevention method was we launched a package of projects including
adopted to identify major risks in each procedure, wastewater treatment, water injection and power/
link and post, and effective risk preventive measures fuel supply. Three residual oil power plants, three
were implemented. For well drilling and workover diesel topping plants and 12 water treatment
operations on the lake, we divided the operational facilities have been built, enabling the combination
procedures into five key links: well site design, of secondary oil recovery and wastewater recycling.
platform construction, drilling and workover vessel As such, all the produced water was re-injected
relocation, drilling and workover operation, and into the underground formations after being
oil production. Meanwhile, potential risks in each properly treated. This has completely changed the
CNPC in Latin America
link were analyzed and assessed. The company mode of production prevailing in the local area for
has thereby compiled with and enforced relevant over 30 years and achieved clean production. In
operational procedures and regulations, effectively addition, Block 1AB/8 project also conducts dynamic
preventing the occurrence of accidents. For instance, monitoring of the domestic water, surface water, air
to avoid blowouts, the company specified and strictly quality, natural gas emission, soil quality and noise,
enforced the operating procedures for every step to ensure that prompt countermeasures can be
including equipment relocation, well drilling and well taken to protect the natural environment of the rain
logging. Such HSE management and control measures forest once abnormalities are spotted.
have effectively prevented operational accidents, as
Surrounding environment of Block 1AB/8 in Peru before (left) and after restoration (right)
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After CNPC took over the project, a major change was the heightened awareness of safety and
environmental protection and improved compliance with a safety culture. Another obvious change has
been stricter adherence to the laws of Ecuador in environmental protection, and occupational health and
safety. For instance, the company launched a self-financed campaign to strengthen the treatment of solid
and liquid waste. Now we can claim with confidence that AndesPetro is the best oil company in Ecuador,
particularly in terms of environmental protection, safety and occupational health. In addition, we also
boast top operating quality and strong technical competence.
Alfonso Carrera
Safety director, T Zone of Andes Petroleum Ecuador Ltd.
Located in the hinterland of the Amazon rain forest, treatment before burial; all formation water produced
over half of our oil zones in Ecuador overlap with in the oil zone is re-injected underground, while the
national reserves. The Andes project gives priority to associated gas is used to generate electricity. After the
environmental management in business development completion of an operation, efforts are made to restore
and actively implements comprehensive wastewater the ground surface as soon as possible. Meanwhile, a GIS
treatment to recycle all the produced water. Highlighting geographic information system is used to monitor the
the role of the EHS department, AndesPetro has impact of exploration and development activities on the
formulated and enforced strict safety and environmental environment, and offer support to decision-making in
protection rules and procedures in accordance with such aspects as location selection, pinpointing of pipe
the highest standards of the industry. When taking leaks, wetland analysis, analysis and monitoring of nature
over the project, it developed a three-year plan aimed reserves, and analysis of the traffic network.
at addressing rain forest pollution. The president of
Aiming to maximize the recycling of resources,
AndesPetro assumes direct responsibility for safety and
AndesPetro has invested in establishing a comprehensive
environmental protection work by regular attending
treatment center. Organic waste from the oilfield is buried
HSE training, emergency drills and experience sharing
in sawdust, in order to convert it into organic fertilizer
sessions. In terms of risk management, the project
for vegetation restoration. Inorganic waste is sorted and
company adopts a “work licensing system” as one of
processed. For example, plastic waste is crushed and sent
its most important management tools, and established
to the waste recycling center approved by the Ecuadorian
an on-line work licensing system which clearly defines
government for further processing and treatment. The
the authority and duties of the responsible person at
remaining wood from packaging is donated to the local
each link. It has also developed an on-line hazardous
behavior/status reporting system to track hidden
dangers and make prompt corrections. In terms of team
building, the company has established a professional
supervisory team to equip the work site with dedicated
managerial personnel, accounting for over 8% of the
total workforce, which is in charge of security, medical
services, environmental protection and operational
safety. Moreover, the company has established a
training center and requires all employees, contractors
and visitors to receive EHS training before entering the
work site, with the training time for on-site employees
and contractors averaging 34.5 hours annually. In oil
production, helicopters are used to transport drilling rigs
and other equipment in order to avoid the destruction of “Best HSE/Sustainable Development Award” granted by
vegetation; drilling cuttings and mud undergo bio-safety World Oil Magazine to Andes Petroleum Ecuador Ltd.
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community as fuel. In addition, oil and water are fractionally
precipitated, with the resultant precipitate further treated for AndesPetro’s RIS
biosafety through the use of chemicals (a phased treatment
2.5
process that usually lasts for six months), and then disposed
of as harmless soil when all relevant chemical indicators reach 2.0
Pursuing HSE Excellence
the standard level. In addition, the company has also built 1.5
seedling nurseries in the surrounding communities in order 1.0
to provide seedlings for vegetation restoration. 0.5
0
Through comprehensive management and the 2006 2008 2010 2012
implementation of multiple measures, AndesPetro achieved
impressive RIS and RIR records at the industrially advanced
level in the region, winning the title of “Best HSE/Sustainable
Development Award” from the World Oil Magazine, and AndesPetro’s RIR
was nominated for the “Environmental World Award” by 5
the Institute of Energy in the United Kingdom. Besides, the 4
Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources 3
also spoke highly of the company’s commitment to 2
environmental protection and its advanced technology of 1
bio-oxidation treatment of contaminated soil. It has won
CNPC in Latin America
0
numerous environmental protection and management 2006 2008 2010 2012
innovation awards from prominent organizations such as
BIZZ and World Oil & Gas, as well as the award for Excellent
Work in Technology Transfer and Development Oil Industry
in Ecuador from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Non-renewable
Natural Resources and SPE Ecuador Section.
Promote Clean Production to Achieve Green Development
Block 6 of Talara Oilfield is located at Lobitos Beach, Block 6/7 had been exploited for over 140 years, more
an ideal surfing spot on the northern coast of Peru, than half of the producing wells rely on swabbing to
which was designated in 2009 as an official site produce oil. In oil pumping operations, the company
for international surfing competitions. Therefore, has strictly required its contractors to take effective
the local government has put a high premium on measures to prevent oil from spilling, overflowing,
the surrounding natural environment. To meet the dripping or leaking so as to achieve clean production.
stringent local environmental protection requirements, Another fact is that waste oil buried underground in its
CNPC’s Block 6/7 project company strengthened its early development stage had started to emerge out of
environmental protection measures for each and every the ground, exerting a negative impact on the ground
step of its oil production process. environment. In order to clean up the oil contamination,
the company hired local contractors to clear the oily
For instance, the project has invested in transforming
sludge off the well sites and transport it to designated
its gas gathering and transportation system, with the
spots for further treatment, thereby solving the leftover
aim of gathering associated gas produced during the oil
problem and meeting the environmental protection
pumping operations. It has also adopted the method of
requirements imposed by the local government. The
laying impermeable membranes at the bottom of mud
company also organizes employees to go to the beach to
pools to prevent slurry oil waste from seeping into the
clean up litter on a regular basis, in an effort to nurture a
soil, with the gathered waste oil removed and processed
pollution-free environment for surfing fans.
collectively after well completion. Due to the fact that
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