Technical recommendations aimed at preventing a serious oil spill incident here in the UK will be on the agenda tomorrow (23 June 2011) at a major well conference in London.

Brian Kinkead, supply chain director at Oil & Gas UK, will address delegates at the World Well Integrity Congress at Grange St. Paul’s, where he will tell attendees about the achievements the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) has made since being set up last year in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Brian is leader of OSPRAG’s Technical Review Group (TRG), which was tasked with reviewing relevant aspects of well design, examination and integrity in order to prevent loss of well control. He will tell delegates that the group had conducted a comprehensive review of the UK’s regulatory process regarding the various stages during a well’s life cycle and OSPRAG had concluded that the current regime drives the right health, safety and environmental behaviours.

Speaking ahead of the conference, he said: “Ultimately, what the OSPRAG Technical Review Group has been about is examining what we already have in place to prevent the already unlikely occurrence of a major oil spill, making recommendations to make this even more unlikely and bolstering our response capabilities should it ever actually happen.   

“The OSPRAG Technical Review Group also identified industry best practices as well as areas for potential improvement. In addition, the establishment of the Well Life Cycles Practices Forum will provide a permanent stage to focus on implementing the TRG recommendations and ongoing industry issues – after OSPRAG has eventually completed its work and wound up. 

“The group has also overseen the development of the OSPRAG capping device which will be a key element of the UK’s oil spill response contingency plans. The cap is now rated for deployment in water depths up to 10,000ft on wells flowing up to 75,000 barrels per day at 15,000 psi. This is a much greater depth than any of the deepest wells in the UK Continental Shelf.
 
“We anticipate the device will complete the factory acceptance test by the end of July 2011. Of course, we will continue to assess the future recommendations and learning from the various investigation teams looking into Deepwater Horizon in order to ensure ongoing continuous improvement in the UK.”

The World Well Integrity Congress brings together around 150 leading industry figures over two days, including those responsible for maintaining well integrity from well construction through to abandonment.

OSPRAG (the UK Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group) was established in the UK on 25 May 2010 and includes senior representatives from all sides of the industry, industry regulators, the trade unions, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP), with a representative from the EU Energy Commission attending as an observer. Click here for more information or contact Chris Walker on 01224 577279 or email cwalker@oilandgasuk.co.uk