Remote diagnostics and expertise key to safety and risk management

Personal safety and risk management have become top priorities in the oil and gas sector since the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010, and remote diagnostics and expertise are driving the way in terms of innovation in this area.

Technological advances are leading to a "general de-manning of process plants and the requirement for engineers to have broad skill sets to cover a wider range of responsibilities", according to Steve Blair of InTech.

This is being translated into on-site safety and operational assessments, which are now matters of priority among many producers. The hazard and operability study (HAZOP) is becoming commonplace, and is increasingly dictated by new technology and awareness.

The key development here is that risk and safety management is no longer about responding to a problem, but anticipating it. Undetected failures means that there are now instrumentation, analyzers, and systems with sensors that provide real-time data on a range of measurements, as well as reporting back on the health of that measurement.

This is driving these procedures into a new age in the oil and gas industry, and more is likely to come.

Posted by Joseph Hutton