by Russell V. Thornton
Most of us would be hard-pressed to nominate an industry with more potential for pollution than the exploration and recovery of crude oil and natural gas. In each of the cases discussed here, ISO 14001 was instrumental in assuaging the doubts of stakeholders relative to the level of environmental protection that would surround the company's operations.
BACKGROUND: THE OIL COMPANIES
BPXA
BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. (BPXA), under the aegis of its North Slope operations, currently has exploration and recovery activities in the Prudhoe Bay Unit--Western Operating Area, Endicott and Milne Point Unit oil fields in Alaska.
The company has achieved ISO 14001 certification of the operations and activities at BPXA-controlled assets and at facilities where BPXA directly performs the role of operator. This includes management of the environmental aspects associated with the exploration, drilling, production, and transportation of crude oil.
OEPC
Occidental Exploration and Production Company (OEPC) has oil drilling sites located in the rainforest of eastern Ecuador. Operations included within OEPC's ISO 14001 certification include five oil fields in the western section of the 500,000-hectare "Block 15" near Limoncocha, where the company has built a central production facility and has laid a, 16-mile pipeline connected to the government-owned Petroecuador's Trans-Ecuadorian pipeline. Current production delivers more than 15,000 barrels a day. OEPC has also had its Quito administrative sites certified to IS0 14001.
According to the best information available, OEPC's is the first ISO 14001 certification issued to an oil and gas exploration operation in Ecuador, and only the second in all of Latin America.
MEETING STAKEHOLDER DEMANDS
In planning and implementing their goals, both BPXA and OEPC had to consider their responsibilities to many stakeholders. In the case of BPXA, this included the federal government, the state of Alaska, arctic regional government bodies, the North Slope Borough local government, and indigenous peoples. OEPC had to satisfy both the government of Ecuador (which had just elected a new president) and the indigenous populations. Both companies had to consider the effects their operations would have on surrounding wildlife and vegetation.
Both BPXA and OEPC adopted ISO 14001 as a way to show stakeholders that they could operate as environmental "good neighbors."
BP has turned to the ISO 14001 standard worldwide, and uses it as a path that all of its major sites in any production area can follow to have their environmental management systems externally verified. This external certification process now supplements the company's internal auditing activity, as well as its other EHS and quality assurance procedures.
DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
BPXA
BPXA has found that on a day-to-day basis. ISO 14001 increases efficiency, discipline, and clarity around environmental issues and related activities. The certification process drove a consistency review of North Slope Operations. Overall, ISO 14001 has provided a uniform, systematic structure the company can use to raise environmental performance to a new level.
As the company began to identify significant environmental aspects and impacts at Prudhoe Bay, many of the obvious candidates popped up. These included the potential for oil spills, emissions released into the atmosphere, and solid waste sent to landfill sites.
Other aspects and impacts were site-specific concerns that reflected BPXA’s remote arctic operations. For example, ice failure can occur during tundra travel, leading to potential spills or other environmental damage; this was identified as a significant aspect arising out of the difficult and risky (but often necessary) winter activities at the arctic site. In addition, BPXA had to consider issues regarding disposal of food waste in landfill sties; the company had to address the impact that this waste could have on the arctic wildlife that would have access to it at the landfill.
At BPXA sites, all drilling production fluids are processed, transported to market, or recycled wherever possible. Any residual waste is reinjected into specially designed deep dispersal wells.
OEPC
OEPC believes that perhaps as much as 400 million barrels of oil reserves lie beneath the rainforest vegetation of Ecuador—a large find in this small country.
Right from the beginning, OEPC incorporated the ISO 14001 standard into its Ecuadorian activities, even including it as port of the development proposal. ISO 14001 was selected by the company to maintain the highest standards when addressing environmental and community concerns. Some of the goals of OEPC’s environmental plan include minimization of surface vegetation disturbance, protection against pollution, maintaining an "invisible" operation with underground flow lines and pipes, and reclamation of natural resources.
Prior to initiating its operations in Ecuador, OEPC made several commitments. Each of these commitments was put in place to help minimize the effects of its exploration and oil production in the rainforest.
To minimize the disturbance to surface vegetation, the company decided to use a technique called "cluster drilling," which allows for the drilling of more than one well from the same drillpad. The company also planned to bury all pipelines. (In contrast, because of severe cold, burying pipelines was not an option available to BPXA. This serves to illustrate how the ISO 14001 standard can span the widest range of circumstances and still be successful.)
In addition, OEPC chose to use a central production facility instead of individual facilities for each operating field. Thus, the company would operate with fewer physical structures, fewer drillpads, and fewer support roads than normal.
OEPC planned operate with as low a visibility as possible. The decision to bury the pipelines was important here since this makes the lines invisible and less prone to rupture. In addition, OEPC decided to use a horizontal, smokeless gas burn-off flare (a technique that can also help protect against explosion) to replace the traditional 150-foot stack. (In contrast, BPXA had no communities within 150 miles of their burn-off flare, so a traditional approach could be used—again, all within the same ISO 14001 standard.)
To protect against pollution, OEPC reinjects all the process water it produces through buried pipes that are treated with both internal and external corrosion protection. OEPC’s site management plan also calls for the treatment of rainwater runoff, drilling fluids, sewage, and gray water in a specially lined landfill.
Maintenance of natural resources is also an important consideration. OEPC maintains native botanical nurseries, and species are replanted after construction with identical species. The company plans to replace the removed biomass within ten years.
ISO 14001: WHAT BPXA AND OEPC HAVE GAINED
For both BPXA and OEPC, ISO 14001 was instrumental in winning the trust and approval of stakeholders. But the systematic application of the ISO 14001 environmental management system principles has had many more tangible benefits as well.
BPXA
In addressing the role that ISO 14001 played for BPXA, Norman Ingram, Endicott field manager, said, "Prevention of pollution as a result of the ISO 14001 exercise has been surprising, measurable, and even cost beneficial." He offered the following three examples as proof:
- The Endicott field (Prudhoe Bay) and flared gas reduction: Endicott established flared gas reduction goals, and the most recent available information indicates that 1998 volumes for flared gas were running 21 percent below the comparable period in 1997.
- Endicott and the use of scale inhibitor: Endicott has re-evaluated its production fluid chemistry and eliminated the use of scale inhibitor in well lines and the production facility, thereby removing a potential spill source.
- Solid waste reductions at Milne Point: Milne Point has reduced the number of dumpsters sent tot he landfill by 43 percent. This goal was accomplished by banning the use of polystyrene takeout containers (previously in common use because of the need to keep food hot in very cold conditions.) As a substitute, employees were supplied with thermal mugs and plasticware replacements.
In addition, in what is believed to be a unique approach to meeting the challenge of document control under ISO 14001, BPXA has developed intranet web-based EMS manuals. This website framework follows the structure of the ISO 14001 standard. The company’s four Alaskan business assets each have their own electronic manual to allow for functional differences among the oil fields. Within the individual websites are "unified" documents that apply to all business assets. This electronic approach has proved to be efficient and invaluable in overcoming the geographical challenges of multiple remote sites.
OEPC
OEPC reports that "environmental consciousness is now a major part of every aspect of their operations in Block 15," and that "ISO 14001 is playing a significant role in the effort to prevent pollution," according to Patricio Rivera, manager of health, environment, and safety for the company.
As a business strategy, OEPC oil production focuses on lowest cost. That approach is now coupled with guidance on production practices and technology that have the least effect on the environment.
The company continues to look aggressively for alternatives to the current reinjection of produced water (an example of continual improvement). Disposal by discharging to the receiving environment was never an option, but the high water needs of the wells in Block 15 result in an expensive procedure calling for large reinjection volumes. The company is trying to improve on its four-to-one ratio of water used to oil recovered in barrels per day.
As noted previously, a smokeless, horizontal flare is employed at the site. It is not readily visible and it creates reduced air emissions. In addition, rainforest observers believe that the flare attracts less wildlife, resulting in fewer bird deaths.
OEPC even maintains a monitoring system for the natural resources in Black 15, including terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna. There are no open pits, and all contractors are required to take environmental awareness training.
CONCLUSION
During their oil field development projects, OEPC and BPXA both faced many make-or-break issues of environmental custodianship and business necessity. Both genuinely embraced the ISO 14001 standard as a way of addressing these issues and proving their commitment to continual environmental improvement. OEPC and BPXA recognize that, in order to maintain the continued privilege of oil exploration and production to satisfy the world's growing energy demands, appropriate protection of the environment is a daily requirement.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Norm Ingram, Endicott Field Manager for BPXA, and Patricio Rivera, OEPC's HES Manager. Both were kind enough to provide information that was invaluable in writing this column.
