Development of Environmental Operational Controls for Risk Minimization and Environmental Clearance for Onshore Drilling Operations

摘要

With the advent of new environmental legislation in Trinidadrnand Tobago, all industrial and commercial developmentrnactivity will require a Certificate of Environmental Clearancern(CEC). The Environmental Management Authority (EMA)rnwhich is the environmental regulatory agency in Trinidad canrnrequest an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) if itrndeems necessary when considering an application for a CEC.rnThe CEC application process will pose great challenges forrnthe petroleum exploration and production industry wherernactivity levels correlate with fluctuations in crude prices. Thernapplication process can take months depending on the scope ofrnthe project and there are significant costs in conducting anrnEIA. This problem is compounded by the fact that mostrnonshore drilling takes place in mature and marginal fields.rnOperators cannot tolerate excessive and expensivernenvironmental assessments, mitigation costs and equipmentrndowntime. A combination of these problems can result inrnpostponement or cancellation drilling programs.rnAs part of Petrotrin’s drive towards ISO 14001 EMSrncertification for its exploration and production operations, thernExploration and Production HSE Department in conjunctionrnwith the Drilling Department has identified all environmentalrnaspects, potential impacts, and developed environmentalrnoperational controls for onshore drilling operations. Theserncontrols were developed through a risk assessment processrnand are integrated into drilling operations through policies,rntraining and regular audits.rnThe project management team realized that environmentalrnoperational controls will not only have benefits suchrnas risk reduction, but can potentially lend assistance towardsrnreducing delays in obtaining environmental clearance forrndevelopment programs.rnThis paper describes the risk assessment process by whichrnPetrotrin developed policy environmental operational controlsrnfor its onshore drilling programs, the use of these controls tornminimize risk, and the novel approach the company is takingrnin using them for obtaining environmental clearance.