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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) produces a valuable resource titled “Hydraulic Fracturing and Flowback Hazards Other than Respirable Silica,” which includes sections on hazards during transport, mixing and injection, pressure pumping and flowback operation, and possible gas encounters. Many of the examples and proposed best practice standards in the report are recognizably the result of past incidents. In the publication, OSHA also reinforces that “flammable atmospheres are a significant hazard during flowback. Leaks and other uncontrolled releases need only an ignition source once the airborne concentration reaches the lower explosive limit (LEL)” – and in turn urges companies to take a proactive safety approach.
Studies indicate that investments in proactive safety solutions tend to positively affect a company’s bottom line. Unfortunately, a reactive approach is still common. This is often due to limited budgets and in part because of the belief that accidents merely happen, and there is no reason to make additional investments in safety.
Proactive Safety for Oil & Gas
While gas detection instruments are a consistent part of oil and gas company safety programs, continuous LEL monitoring is not always in place. Any areas that are prone to high pressure leaks, spills, and fugitive emissions should be continuously monitored, as atmospheric conditions can quickly change, and portable instruments may not be in the right place at the right time.
After an incident at one O&G operation, the CEO from another oil production company recognized the need to reevaluate their gas detection program. His primary question; “what can we do to prevent that from happening to us?” With a proactive mindset, the company implemented a combination of Industrial Scientific Radius® BZ1 Area Monitors and Ventis® Pro Series personal monitors on every well pad.
The company decided on this solution because the Radius BZ1 Area Monitor and Ventis Pro personal gas detectors can be wirelessly networked together, allowing them to continuously communicate with each other. Workers can monitor any instrument from their own, creating a reliable safety network. If one monitor alarms, that monitor, and its readings are sent to all other monitors within the network, improving visibility and site-wide communications.
In this case, each well pad site uses four Radius monitors daily for continuous monitoring, and one spare Radius monitor is kept on site, fully charged, and rotated into the network as needed. The instruments are strategically placed around the site with one Radius monitoring the area around the wellhead (the pressure-containing interface for the production equipment), another is placed by the compressor station, a third unit is placed near the manifold, and the fourth one by the oil offloading system. The Ventis Pro travels around the site with one of the company employees. This strategic placement ensures that the well pad is continuously monitored for LELs.
Another reason the company decided to go with the Industrial Scientific solution is because it was easy to deploy. Once the monitors are turned on, they automatically connect without the need for IT, software licenses, or additional infrastructure. And, users have visibility into hazards up to a mile away.
This customer was also concerned about making sure the monitors were maintained. In this instance, each well pad also has one DSXi Docking Station for the Ventis, and one DSXi Docking Station for the Radius. The DSXi is Industrial Scientific’s docking station in cloud-connected mode. In addition to performing bump tests and calibrations, it automatically stores data that can be downloaded from any web-enabled device for reporting and analysis.
The Bottom Line
Being proactive about safety is a good decision. If implementing continuous LEL monitoring can avoid a single worker’s injury on a well pad, then based on NSC (National Safety Council) average calculations, cost savings can easily outweigh the proactive investment in a thorough gas detection set-up. To learn more about ways to proactively protect your well pads visit www.indsci.com/radius.
