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Human error is identified as a root cause of accidents and incidents in 60% to 80% of the cases and a causal factor in another 50% to 60% of all mishaps across many industries.

I was an employee of Union Carbide Corp. (UCC), and like other employees, I know exactly where I was when I first heard the news. Analyzing the root cause of this horrible accident provides insight and opportunities to learn from the mistakes that led to Bhopal.

Good early production caused an FPSO to reach the design topside limit with only five wells connected. A study was undertaken to determine how bottlenecks could be reduced to allow greater production without compromising process safety.

During OTC in Houston last month, offshore construction capabilities drew a room-capacity audience to a technical session about advances in deepwater construction techniques and vessels, including pipelaying and heavy lifting.

Linhua4-1 was China’s first tieback subsea development project. To develop this marginal oil field, a number of technical challenges were overcome through a series of new technologies, and their successful development and implementation.

As offshore development moves into deeper waters, harsh environments, and longer distances, the economic and practical advantages of moving as many components to the seafloor as possible has become a driving factor in technology development.

With inconsistent inlet water quality being the rule rather than the exception, sizing and operational considerations of the treatment system components must vary accordingly to make the most economic sense.

The growing attention on sustainable development has prompted many oil and gas companies to take a hard look at their operations and to build a framework for making them more socially responsible.

Project management professionals need to revise the traditional methods of evaluating the efficiency and progress of major projects, if they want to improve their performance record.

LNG will increasingly be the way to bring stranded gas to market so that it can meet demands for clean-burning fuels. LNG basics for engineers was the subject of a recent webinar presentation.

Modularizing components for facilities sounds like a great idea, but may not be as simple as it seems. The lack of standards is a major impediment. You have to know that parts will work together. But the process of modularization has started and will continue.

Complexity isn't just about the projects we build, but everything in our work. Everyone is "too busy to help." Can we optimize and free up "engineering hours" to use for more valuable and fun activities?