Risk-based Safety and Integrity Management of Oil and Gas Production and Processing in Harsh Environment

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Dwindling reserves of oil and gas are driving oil and gas exploration and development further offshore, into deeper waters and into arctic and subarctic regions. However, the risks associated with this development are significant and cannot be neglected. The recent accident in the Gulf of Mexico during hydrocarbon exploration has further highlighted this point. Accidents involving release, fires and explosions cause damage to equipment, environment, and result in financial losses, injuries and fatalities. These accidents are major potential hazards of hydrocarbon exploration and production. Assessing these potential hazards based on the specific location and conditions helps to develop methods to reduce risk of accidents.In comparison with a temperate climate region, in harsh climate (cold climate) the behaviour and phenomena of release, dispersion, fire and explosion are very different. These phenomena are well understood in temperate climates and there are models for design of safety measures and assess the integrity of the system. This level of understanding and modelling is not in place for harsh environments, where it has a much larger impact. Research into the mechanism of accident occurrence, asset failure mechanism, behaviour of release, dispersion, fire, and explosion in arctic and subarctic environment would help bridge the current knowledge gap. This research program aims to develop an integrated safety and integrity risk management framework that incorporates (1) engineering failure analysis during design and operation, (2) risk-based critical decision-making during operation, and (3) human factors with respect to behaviour and performance in harsh climatic conditions. The outcomes of this proposal help to develop safer design, promote safer operational strategies, and safer working environment that reduce risk to the oil and gas operation in the arctic regions. The focus of the present study is the frontier region, such as the Beaufort Sea, Baffin Bay, and the Chukchi Sea.