Safety and Risk Management in the New Generation of Digitalized Oil and Gas Operations in Harsh Environment

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Offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities have evolved from shallow water to large-scale facilities in deeper water and harsh environments (i.e., extreme temperatures, wind, wave, and ice conditions). Discoveries off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador (e.g., Orphan Basin and Flemish Pass Basin) are examples of the growth in large energy prospects in remote and harsh environments. The risks associated with these developments are significant, e.g., technological risks, natural hazards, remoteness, and process hazards. The 2010 accident in the Gulf of Mexico during hydrocarbon exploration underscored these risks. Accidents resulting in oil/gas release, fires, and explosions cause damage to equipment, the environment, and reputation of the industry in addition to financial losses, injuries, and fatalities. These accidents are major concerns for hydrocarbon exploration and production in frontier areas. The recent advance of digital technologies in the lifecycle of offshore oil and gas development can assist in efficiency, communication, system monitoring, and in many cases, minimize human dependence for repetitive and often dangerous tasks. However, it introduces complexity in engineering systems and results in heavy reliance on electronic systems, data processing and transmission, data encryption, and integrated systems. These are vulnerable to malfunction and susceptible to failure, which is prone to evolving hazards. This research program aims to study the evolving hazards and develop an integrated framework with new tools to improve safety and analyze data security risks. The application is in offshore oil and gas production and processing in harsh environments. This research program will contribute to i) better understanding of safety and security risks associated with digitalization of engineering systems in a harsh environment; ii) more in-depth understanding of evolving accident mechanisms (release, dispersion, fire, and explosion) in cold regions (arctic and subarctic conditions) induced by process hazards, data failure, and environmental parameters; and iii) mathematical models to analyze safety and data security risks in evolving operational and environmental conditions.