Risk Management Panel Outlines Program for Deepwater Success

Early identification of project challenges pays dividends later on.

With offshore wells going ever deeper and costs increasing at a rapid pace, risk management has become a strategic element of every project.

At an OTC panel discussion, Randall Kubota, General Manager of Chevron said it's necessary to recognize and understand the risk involved. "There are different risks for each party involved and each party has a different risk tolerance," he said. "Dominant risk categories for deepwater field development include subsurface, geopolitical and technical risks."

Kubota noted that technical drilling challenges abound in the Gulf of Mexico ranging from storms and hurricanes on the surface to the lower tertiary's low natural flow-ability, high temperatures and high pressures.

"In order to get it right, risk management must operate from Day 1," he said. "With more than 5,000 pieces of equipment operating below the hanger, good risk management is essential."

Clearly framing the goal and identifying the risks is the first stage of the process according to James Pappas, Global Technology Coordinator of Devon Energy Corporation. "The project manager retains ultimate responsibility for mitigating risk while the risk manager owns the risk management process and provides oversight during execution."

Dr. K. Janardhanan, Integrity and Risk Management Technical Advisor for Intec Engineering, added "the highest impact of risk management is in the early stages of the project when key decisions are made."

Lifecycle reliability and operability assurance of a subsea system is critical in the management of technical risks for deepwater projects.according to David Brookes, Chief Engineer, Subsea and Floating Systems, "Standardization and a systematic approach to subsea reliability such as API 17N are essential to manage these risks," he said.

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