Integrity in Drilling and Wireline Operations in Offshore Assets: A Case on the Potential Error Causation Paradigms

Abstract

The Petroleum Safety Authority, Norway, has performed projects and audits related to human factors and the work situation of drillers and wireline operators. The drillers and the wireline operators actively engage in the control of the well barrier status and the management of well integrity, which are considered critical in terms of limiting integrity incidents, leaks and well control situations. Updated and relevant information on the well barrier status enables the companies to manage operational integrity in a proactive manner and thereby to ensure "healthy" & safe wells, and prevent or reduce potential risks and economic losses. The purpose of this paper is to present the potential error causation paradigms in drilling and wireline operations based on the experience from projects and audits. The error causation paradigms are classified into four paradigms: the engineering-, organizational-, cognitive- and the individual-error paradigm. The different paradigms look at the challenges in drilling and wireline operations from different points of view. The paper presents specific challenges that have a large potential to pose some serious threats to the health, safety integrity, and work performance efficiency. The drillers have challenges due to the design of the working environment and because they have to handle, analyze and respond to a large amount of information. The wireline operator has challenges due to the design of the wireline cabin, communication and the number of procedures. The drilling and wireline operators' work performance has to be understood in a Human-Technology-Organization (HTO) context, to reduce system vulnerability and to improve performance from a safety, environmental, and economical point of view. The HTO context in drilling and wireline operations is seen as an interesting complex work settings which includes a number of interactive elements in a dynamic work setting, where there is close inter-connection between technical and managerial aspects to ensure safe and productive operations.