Health, Safety, and Environment-2022

While the upstream industry continues to incorporate and develop advances in automation and machine learning (ML), its professionals remain dedicated to safety and security, using these technologies to help maintain high standards and achieve new goals.

HSE Intro with hands holding a globe

This year’s selections for the HSE Technology Focus feature demonstrate that, while the upstream industry continues to incorporate and develop advances in automation and machine learning (ML), its professionals remain dedicated to safety and security, using these technologies to help maintain high standards and achieve new goals.

One of the primary paper selections focuses on ML applications in rig-training enhancement. A methodology using both a biometric wearable and an ML algorithm monitors operators’ stress levels during a simulated well-control incident. This allows operators to identify areas of low situational awareness and situation-specific areas in need of improvement.

This emphasis on ML and its effects on individual safety does not mean that familiar goals in HSE have changed, as the other two primary selections, focused upon mercury-contamination mitigation and solids management in produced fluids, illustrate. The former emphasizes a holistic approach, ranging from careful consideration of design parameters to speciation of mercury contaminants, to allow more-effective elimination. The latter discusses the problems posed by naturally occurring radioactive materials, and how these may be handled such that they come in minimal contact with offshore personnel. The authors use a North Sea case study to describe positive results experienced with a dual vessel desander with an interlocking valve design.

Recommended papers also explore a breadth of HSE topics, including the challenges inherent in cyberdefense of offshore drilling rigs, where sophisticated security threats have outpaced existing defense frameworks. Another also is devoted to mercury and the protection of pipelines and topside equipment therefrom. Finally, the third recommended paper takes a comprehensive approach in reviewing both innovations and gaps in pump-room design following a deadly 2015 explosion aboard a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel.

SPE provides a wealth of resources to assist industry professionals in bolstering and growing their HSE knowledge and their participation in professional development. The OnePetro online library is home to hundreds of relevant papers, and SPE Live offers dozens of in-depth interviews and discussions with industry HSE leaders. Both are valuable resources not only for professional advancement but also for the advancement of health, safety, and the environmental impact of the industry.

This Month’s Technical Papers

Study Details Management of Mercury for Production Facilities

Automation and Closed-Loop Systems Reduce HSE Risks

Psychological Factors Coupled With Machine Learning Improve Rig Training

Recommended Additional Reading

OTC 31235 Cyberdefence of Offshore Deepwater Drilling Rigs by Paola Rossi, NavalDome, et al.

SPE 208475 Mercury Contamination of Process and Pipeline Infrastructure—A Novel, All-Encompassing Solution for the Evaluation and Decontamination of Mercury From Pipelines and Topside Process Equipment To Allow Safe Disposal by Stuart Baker, Qa3, et al.

OTC 31639 Guidance for Design and Operation of Pump Rooms Following the Explosion on the FPSO Cidade de São Mateus by Michael Duddy, MISC, et al.


Chris Carpenter joined SPE in 2001, starting his career as an associate editor and then managing editor of SPE’s peer-reviewed journals. In 2013, he joined the staff of the Journal of Petroleum Technology as technology editor. He is responsible for Tech Focus feature synopses of selected SPE conference papers and is liaison for the JPT Editorial Review Board. He has also served as an adjunct professor of English for several Texas community colleges since 2001. Carpenter holds a BA degree in history from Hendrix College, an MA degree in English from Texas A&M University, and an MFA in writing from the University of Arkansas. He can be reached at ccarpenter@spe.org.