Concurrent 27. Oral Presentation for: Decoding decommissioning requirements when using new technology – Queensland’s petroleum wells code of practice
Chris Barrand A *A Resources Safety and Health Queensland, Petroleum Gas Inspectorate, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 - https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22399
Published: 2 June 2023
Abstract
Presented on Thursday 18 May: Session 27
Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) is the independent regulator for safety and health in Queensland’s resources sector. The Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate administers safety and health regulation for the petroleum and gas industry. RSHQ uses a risk-based and data-driven approach to pursue its vision of zero serious harm for resource sector workers. The Code of practice for the construction and abandonment of petroleum wells and associated bores in Queensland (the Code) was introduced in 2011 to manage the expansion of well construction activities associated with the emerging coal seam gas (CSG) industry. The statutory application of the Code under the former Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Regulation 2004 commenced 1 January 2012. Since implementation, the Code has been regularly revised with a single code adopted in 2018 for both CSG and petroleum wells. The Code is applied under sections 35 and 36 of the Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018. The Code directly addresses the highest level of controls in risk management of the identified high-risk areas for the construction, maintenance and decommissioning of petroleum and water bores. The Code permits alternative means of compliance (AMoC) against the stated means of compliance. Since commencement of the Code, approximately 87% of AMoC applications received by the Chief Inspector are related to well decommissioning activities. This paper evaluates the AMoC process under the Code, and considers its application and the regulatory challenges faced by Queensland operators during decommissioning of wells. The paper’s objective is to highlight the application of the AMoC process and identify potential areas for improvement to facilitate the adoption of new decommissioning technologies.
To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Keywords: code of practice, decommissioning, plug and abandonment, regulatory, technology readiness level, TRA, TRL, well abandonment technology, wells.
Chris Barrand was appointed Executive Petroleum Engineer (Well Operations), RSHQ in July 2022. Chris has 16 years’ experience in upstream oil and gas operations in Australia and Africa. Prior to joining RSHQ Chris held roles in both operator and service providers, spanning from Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer to Completions Business Unit Manager. Chris holds a Bachelors in Engineering (Petroleum Engineering) and is an active member of SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) and currently holds the role of Secretary for the SPE Queensland Chapter. |
