The development of a Source Control Emergency Response Plan is one of the best ways in which an operator can ensure that the goals of their regional or project-specific Source Control emergency preparedness efforts will be met, if needed.
Procedures for handling emergencies are absolutely essential to ensure the protection of life, property, and the environment.
This Source Control Emergency Response Plan (SCERP) is based on decades of conventional and subsea well control experience to ensure that the planning efforts and to develop Source Control Emergency Response Planning (SCERP) through field deployment of the system in order to cap a subsea well. The aforementioned experience covers many years of source control, well control and intervention operations in conceivable operational settings and in a variety of geographic locations.
The equipment and procedures specified in this SCERP address a “worst case” scenario involving a loss of well control, necessitating the immediate mobilization of intervention equipment and personnel.
The primary objective of the SCERP is to establish a process for responding to and safely managing source-control emergencies using a standard, uniform approach. This process includes the following information:
emergency contact information and resources
response management
source-control operational overview with strategic methodologies
organizational staffing recommendations
check list to guide groups and unit leaders and
key resource identification
The SCERP is not intended to replace sound judgment. Modification of the mobilization plan and intervention strategy may be necessary, depending on circumstances.
Subsea source-control events require common sense and professional judgment on the part of the person(s) in charge of operations, and no operation should be undertaken if it involves unreasonable risk to personnel.
Additional, a Logistics Plan must be developed to support operations by identifying mobilization guidelines from the stored location for the capping stack and other support equipment necessary to secure the well. Disembarkation of the equipment clearly offering various options with estimated timelines for transporting the equipment by air, ground and sea should also be outlined to ensure equipment arrives timely and safely. Locating vessels and rigs meeting operational requirements will help ensure well incidents are managed and executed within incident-command and other expectations.