Overview (BSEE Risk)As part of its Well Control Rule BSEE appears to have made a major change in the manner in which offshore risk is to be managed. Section 250.107(a)(3) states,[y]ou must protect health, safety, property and the environment by utilizing recognized engineering practices that reduce risks to the lowest level practicable when conducting design, fabrication, installation,…
The material in this article is taken from the post ‘Natural Gas in Transition’, with the sub-title ‘A Net Zero Debating Point’.One of the on-going debates in the Net Zero world is whether or not natural gas can be used as a transition fuel. We need to transition from all fossil fuels (coal, oil and Natural gas) to renewables — particularly solar and wind. However, the role of natural gas as a…
Although Net Zero goals are commendable and deserve our support it is vital that they be evaluated realistically. This article is one in a series to do with difficulties that might be encountered as companies implement these programs. Other articles on this theme are:Net Zero by 2050: The RealityThis article shows how greenhouse gas emissions have risen over the course of the last seven decades.…
The following is taken from the post Net Zero Gradients. On Tuesday of this week we learned that the ExxonMobil company has adopted Net Zero goals.ExxonMobil aims to achieve net-zero emissions from its operated assets by 2050 and is taking a comprehensive approach centered on developing detailed emission-reduction roadmaps for major operated assets. This ambition applies to Scope 1 and Scope…
The post Net Zero: The Business Opportunity and the matching YouTube video introduce some of the themes of this site.Many companies are developing ‘Net Zero’ programs. They aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their organizations to zero by a specified date, often the year 2050. In this series of letters and videos we aim to provide realistic information for these…
This article provides guidance to do with the launching and retrieving of pipeline pigs (also known as scrapers or tools).Pig LaunchingBelow is a schematic of a launcher.In normal operation the fluid (liquid or gas) moves along the line from left to right through the open Main Line valve. The kicker and isolation valves are both closed hence the barrel of the pig launcher is isolated from the…
A theme of the posts at this site is that we are awash in good ideas, but many of these good ideas cannot be scaled up quickly enough to have a meaningful impact on the climate crisis. This post — Realities: Nuclear Power — illustrates this conundrum. Nuclear power is an established energy source. It has its detractors, but it is established and known to work. However, if nuclear is to provide…
OverviewFollowing the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo catastrophe in the year 2010 it became clear that substantial improvements were needed to offshore safety management in the United States. The framework of a new rule was already available as API RP 75 - Development of a Safety and Environmental Management Program for Offshore Operations and Facilities (SEMP). This standard was used…
This Primer, Safety in Design, is priced at $25 (U.S.) It can be purchased here. The Kindle link is here.Summary of Safety in DesignSafety in Design is the foundation of every safe operation. It determines not only how a facility performs under normal conditions, but how it behaves when things go wrong. Decisions made during the design phase fix the limits of what operators…
This article is based on the post SEC Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.DisclaimerThe material provided at this site focuses on the application of technology to climate change challenges. The material provided does not offer legal or commercial advice.A theme of this site is that Net Zero leadership will be provided by businesses and industry. Indeed, they are already doing so. They are…
This article is based on the following post, Solar and Hydrogen: The Foundation.
Our future oil wells. Credit: Unsplash
The Hydrogen EconomyThe climate change world is complex and difficult to understand. There are so many factors, parameters and variables, all of which seem to affect each other in ways that we don’t understand, or that we can even identify. However, when we look at Net…
We have developed a set of process safety management standard examples that are used to illustrate some of the concepts and ideas developed in our publications. Example 1 - Facility DesignA process consists of four operating units and a utilities section. A schematic of the system is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Facility Design
Example 2 - Process FlowFigure 2…
Did you know that from the perspective of an investor, it is the Commissioning & Start-Up (CSU) phase that defines the project as a success or failure? When a project has been fully commissioned and started-up, it is likely the project will also be a financial success, with investors receiving their expected returns. When a project has not been fully commissioned and is then started-up, it is…
Published: August 2021Imagine taking a magic carpet ride through northern Europe from east to west in Biblical. The area is circled on the map shown below — an area that Ugo Bardi rather unkindly refers to as a "vast regions of fog and swamps, inhabited by hairy Barbarians . . . the area we call today "Western Europe".You would fly from what is now western Russia, over the Ukraine, Belorussia,…
The Deepwater Horizon/Macondo catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) in the year 2010 demonstrated the need for new safety management regulations. The draft regulations went through various iterations, and the name of the responsible government agency changed twice. In the end, the SEMS (Safety and Environmental Management System) regulation became a requirement for offshore oil and gas…