Improving environmental performance through ISO 14001

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 540
Author(s):  
Max Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Iso 14001 ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Legal Compliance ◽  
Iso 14001 Standard

The International Standard for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001 (the Standard), has been around for nearly 20 years and 2015 saw its third revision. Various research papers in the early 2000s showed that adoption of—and certification to—the ISO 14001 standard did not have any significant bearing on organisations’ environmental performance, as measured in terms of the frequency of incidents and legal compliance. In this latest revision it is clear that concerns raised about the Standard have been taken on board, and it now provides for a more rigorous and effective environmental management system, which will ensure greater focus on the actual outcomes of the system, rather than the paperwork and procedures that are often the focus. New areas of focus include: environmental performance evaluation, leadership and commitment, life-cycle thinking, and addressing the needs of external stakeholders. Through experience gained over 20 years of working with the ISO 14001 standard in the oil and gas industry—including 10 years as a third-party certifier—the author discusses the benefits of adopting the revised ISO 14001 standard, and incorporates case study examples (from Australian oil and gas operators) of best practice as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid. In addition, the paper explores the potential for Australian oil and gas regulators to apply a ‘lighter touch’ to the regulation of ISO14001 certified operators.

Making Environmental Self-Regulation Mandatory

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Arnold ◽  
Andrew B. Whitford
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Environmental Management System ◽  
Iso 14001 ◽  
Third Party

We describe a simple mechanism for achieving two goals: (1) to encourage firms to take environmentally friendly action, and (2) to make environmental protection impervious to political change. We assert that there is wide evidence now that firms adopting an environmental management system (EMS) like ISO 14001 improve their environmental performance. This is because ISO 14001's third-party audits reduce the chance firms will fully fail to comply with regulations, and the EMS procedure reduces the chances firms will be in noncompliance due to ignorance. Our mechanism is intended to harness the power of EMS systems within firms, while reducing the chances that political change will nullify our solution. We argue that to achieve these goals, governments should make firms' participation in public procurement programs contingent on their adoption of an EMS such as ISO 14001.

scholarly journals Environmental management in small and medium-sized enterprises of oil and gas industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. 012021
Author(s):  
T Sheydai ◽  
O Nykyforuk ◽  
U Berezhnytska ◽  
I Melnychuk ◽  
I Mandryk
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Industry

scholarly journals A contribution of the Cleaner Production Program to the ISO 14001 Management System: a case study in the metal-mechanic sector

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Magnani Cervelini ◽  
Maria Tereza Saraiva Souza
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Management System ◽  
Environmental Management System ◽  
Cleaner Production ◽  
Iso 14001 ◽  
Production Program ◽  
System A ◽  
Iso 14000

The aim of this work is to identify the contributions of the Cleaner Production Program to the Environmental Management System certified to ISO 14000. The results of the research indicate that the procedure standardization demanded by normalization leads the company to adopt environmentally adequate procedures; besides, the implementation of the Cleaner Production Program acts as a complementary tool in the EMS, with a view to improving environmental performance.

Complex Subsurface Well Abandonments Using Relief Well Methodologies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Dorey ◽  
Georgy Rassadkin ◽  
Douglas Ridgway
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Seepage ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Well Abandonment ◽  
Efficient Option ◽  
Practice Methods

Abstract The field experience in the continental US suggests that approximately 33% of plug and abandonment operations are non-routine, and 5% require re-entry (Greer C.R., 2018). In some scenarios, the most cost-efficient option for the intervention is drilling an intercept well to re-enter the target well or multiple wells externally using advanced survey management and magnetic ranging techniques. This paper presents the methods applied of relief well methodologies from the planning to execution of a complex multiple-well abandonment project. Improvements in Active Magnetic Ranging sensor design and applications have improved the availability of highly precise tools for the purpose of locating and intercepting wellbores where access is not possible. These instruments were commonplace on relief well interventions, however, have found a new application in solving one of the major issues facing the oil and gas industry. Subsurface abandonments are a complex task that requires a robust methodology. In this paper, we describe the techniques that have been built upon the best practices from industry experience (ISCWSA WISC eBook). This paper also illustrates how the combination of advanced survey management, gyro surveying, and magnetic ranging can be used following the best industry practices for fast and cost-efficient non-routine plug and abandonment. Case studies of several abandonment projects are presented showing the various technical challenges which are common on idle and legacy wells. The projects include wells that are currently under the ownership of an operator and orphaned wells that have been insufficiently abandoned and left idle over many decades. The case studies outline how the application of relief well methodologies to the execution of complex sub surface interventions led to the successful outcomes of meeting environmental and government regulations for wellbore abandonment. This includes performing multiple zonal isolations between reservoirs, water zones and preventing oil and gas seepage to the surface. The projects and their outcomes prove economically viable strategies for tackling the growing issue of idle and orphaned wells globally in a fiscally responsible manner. Combining industry best practice methods for relief well drilling, along with the technological advancements in magnetic ranging systems is a solution for one of the largest dilemmas facing the oil and gas industry in relation to idle and orphaned wellbores. These applications allow previously considered impossible abandonments to be completed with a high probability of long-term success in permanent abandonment.

Blowout preventer (BOP) risk model to assist critical decisions in offshore drilling

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Inge Alme ◽  
Angel Casal ◽  
Trygve Leinum ◽  
Helge Flesland
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Risk Model ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
Drilling Rig

The BOP is a critical safety system of an offshore drilling rig, as shown in the 2010 Macondo accident. A challenge for the oil and gas industry is to decide what to do when the BOP is failing. Pulling the BOP to the surface during operations for inspection and testing is a costly and timely operation. Many of the potential failures are not critical to overall safety as multiple levels of redundancy are often available. Scandpower and Moduspec, both subsidiaries of Lloyd’s Register, have developed a BOP risk model that will assist the industry make the pull or no pull decisions. Scandpower’s proprietary software RiskSpectrum is used for the modelling. This software is used for equivalent decision support in the nuclear power industry, where the risk levels of total nuclear power plants are monitored live by operators in the control rooms. By modelling existing BOPs and their submerged control systems, and using risk monitor software for keeping track on the status of the BOP subsystems and components, the industry is able to define the real-time operational risk level the BOP is operating at. It, therefore, allows the inclusion for sensitivity modelling with possible faulty components factored in the model. The main task of the risk model is to guide and support energy companies and regulators in the decision process when considering whether to pull the BOP for repairs. Moreover, it will help the communication with the regulators, since the basis for the decisions are more traceable and easier to follow for a third party.

Coatings for corrosion under insulation (CUI) protection—accelerated testing methodology

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Neil Wilds
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Protective Coatings ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Performance Benchmarking ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Corrosion Under Insulation

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a serious issue in the oil and gas industry, with failures often occurring without warning and having devastating effect. When expensive redesign is not possible or practical, operators have a number of options open to them to mitigate the risk of CUI; these include the use of various protective coatings or thermally sprayed metals. Despite a number of technologies presently available, the industry is yet to establish an accepted laboratory test method for the performance benchmarking of products. This has, in the past, damaged confidence in some solutions and hampered the selection and further development of CUI coatings. As a result, the subject of accelerated laboratory testing for CUI coatings is now receiving significant attention across the industry with joint industry programs proposed in both Europe and North America. This paper will examine state-of-the-art accelerated CUI testing, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the existing methods available. It will then offer a detailed description of a test method that has been in use since 2004, testing more than 300 specimens and assessing a wide range of coating technologies. The reproducibility of the test program will be established by the presentation of a range of data including results obtained from a third-party test house. The third-party results will then be correlated with a seven-year case study from an end user perspective provided by Santos, a major Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, from experiences at their Port Bonython facility in SA.

Potential for Implementation of Environmental Management Systems & the EU Ecolabel in the Marble Sector

2013 ◽  
Vol 548 ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Gazi ◽  
George Skevis ◽  
Maria Founti
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Iso 14001 ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Environmental Management Systems ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Eu Ecolabel ◽  
Marble Industry

Marble is a financially important and highly versatile material used extensively in construction, decoration and art. The marble industry however is generated with low production efficiency, high waste material generation, high production costs and overall lack of sustainable resources management. A step towards improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of the marble sector would be the adoption of ecological schemes that are already into force both at national and international levels. The most commonly used schemes are Environmental Management Systems that are focused on the general environmental performance of the enterprise, such as the EU EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) and the international EN ISO 14001:2004 standard and ecolabelling schemes, such as the EU Ecolabel, focusing on specific products or services. The present work aims to provide a concise summary of the technical requirements and procedures for obtaining such environmental certificates, assess the current state of the art in terms of environmental performance of a typical marble plant and enhance the ecological awareness of the sector. A detailed analysis of the technical requirements for achieving EMAS III registration and obtaining the EU Ecolabel for hard floor coverings is presented and the potential for a typical SME marble industry for meeting the above requirements is quantified. Possible measures that may improve the overall environmental impact are proposed. It is further shown that the process of meeting the necessary criteria for obtaining the above certificates will also lead to the adoption of best engineering practices and the production of high added value products.

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