An Integrated Approach to Successful Integrity Management of Deepwater Facilities within the Framework of API RP 75

Abstract

The broad goals of a strategy to provide effective integrity management of a deepwater drilling and production facility should be:  (1) to ensure the health and safety of the people operating the facility, (2) to avoid negative operational impacts on the environment, (3) to ensure compliance with government regulations, and (4) to preserve the operability, sustainability, and profitability of the physical asset.

This paper describes the need for taking an organizationally integrated approach to successfully manage the physical integrity of deepwater drilling and production facilities throughout their full life cycle.  In addition, because of the increasing complexity of deepwater facilities, an interdisciplinary engineering effort is needed and can contribute significantly to improving life cycle integrity management.  A complementary approach of integrating externally-provided engineering functions throughout the design/build/operate stages of a facility can also improve an integrity management program – in terms of both technical quality and cost effectiveness.

How this can be accomplished is described within the framework of API RP 75, Recommended Practice for Development of a Safety and Environmental Management Program for Offshore Operations and Facilities, Third Edition, May 2004.

A discussion is also offered on organizational challenges in achieving integrity management goals, and on issues related to the value provided.

Von Aschwege, J., Chappell, J., Brownlee, J., MacNeill, J., and Bhalla, K., “An Integrated Approach to Successful Integrity Management of Deepwater Facilities within the Framework of API RP 75,” Proceedings of OTC 2010 (Paper No. OTC 20526), Offshore Technology Conference, May 3-6, 2010, Houston, Texas.