Case Studies: Application of Oil Spill Response Good Practice Guides for Inland and Near-shore Operations

Following key oil spill incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and Australia, the industry initiated a three-year Joint Industry Project to develop guidelines for oil spill preparedness and response management. These documents are commonly known as the Oil Spill Response JIP (OSR-JIP) Good Practice Guides. As the OSR-JIP originated from lessons learnt from offshore incidents, it is only natural that the industry would apply it with the same type of operation, hence the tendency to limit the practical application for inland or near-shore facilities. This paper presents two examples where the OSR-JIP guides are applied at downstream operations located inland and near-shore. The first study is on a refinery located near-shore with an operational jetty and a single buoy mooring. We started with a comprehensive review of their operations and updated their oil spill risk assessment profile in line with the framework described in the OSR-JIP Tiered Preparedness and Response. This process provided a reflection of their current capability and identified the gaps for further improvement. Following this, we proceeded to update the contingency plan using the OSR-JIP Contingency Planning to ensure that the risks identified are adequately mitigated with training of personnel and equipment selection. This exercise supported in improving the readiness of the facility to respond to oil spill incidents in future. The second study involves a terminal located inland that supplies refined products through a pipeline that leads towards a jetty on the coast. We developed several area specific tactical response plans that cover risks from their above-ground pipelines and at the jetty where loading and offloading of the products to tankers are conducted. To accurately define the suitable response technique, we started the planning process with an oil spill risk assessment following OSR-JIP Risk Assessment. The tactical response plans were then developed with reference to several other OSR-JIP guides such as OSR-JIP Inland Response and NEBA. The resulting plans describe health and safety concerns, identification of sensitive receptors, response techniques, location and quantity of resources, logistical requirements and timings and waste management. Based on these case studies, we demonstrated that the OSR-JIP guides can certainly be applied for inland and near-shore facilities and have a more far wider application for the whole oil and gas industry rather than be limited to offshore operations.