Advancing Understanding of Offshore Oil and Gas Systemic Risk in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Current State and Safety Reforms Since the Macondo Well–Deepwater Horizon Blowout (2023) / Chapter Skim
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6 Gulf Research Program Activities: Contributions to a Better Understanding of Systemic Risk Reduction
6 Gulf Research Program Activities: Contributions to a Better Understanding of Systemic Risk Reduction
Pages 153-164
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From page 153... ...
funded by the Gulf Research Program (GRP) and other funders have contributed to a better understanding and reduction of the systemic risks in offshore oil and gas operations." In addition, the SOT asked the committee to "Identify critical gaps and prioritize future needs for increased understanding, communication, and management of systemic risk related to the offshore oil and gas industry." In this chapter the committee looks at the National Academies' GRP's past studies and grant-making activities and discusses how these items have affected systematic risk since GRP was established in 2013.
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In 2016, 2017, and 2019, additional grants were made with fund allocations increasing, the number of projects increasing, and the time for each project getting longer to a maximum of 3 years.2 In 2019, GRP released the Gulf Research Program Strategic Plan 20202024.3 This strategic plan laid out the goals, objectives, and approaches for GRP over the next 5 years, including an updated vision and mission (NASEM, 2019b, p.
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• GRP-funded workshops, which have been documented in The Human Factors of Process Safety and Worker Empowerment in the Offshore Oil Industry: Proceedings of a Workshop (NASEM, 2018b) , Opportunities for the Gulf Research Program: Middle Skilled Workforce Needs, Summary of a Workshop (NRC, 2014a)
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From page 156... ...
The final step in our assessment involved answering the question, "Is there anything in our overall committee report that might prove useful to GRP as they or other funders plan for future activities that could contribute to a better understanding and reduction of systemic risks in oil and gas operations? " ASSESSMENT OF GULF RESEARCH PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Table 6-1 presents a summary of the committee's assessment of GRP activities to date against the 15 risk elements.
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TABLE 6-1 GRP Activities to Date Generally Assessed by Relevance to the 15 Risk Elements Grants Workshops GRP GRP GRP GRP HF Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle Offshore and 1 2 3 4 Situation Process Consensus Count System Risk Controls Risk Elements 2015 2016 2017 2019 Room Safety Studies People Culture That 1 Definition of a Culture That Supports X X X 3 Supports Safety Safety 2 Elements of a Strong Safety Culture X X X X X X 6 3 Assessment and Measurement of a X X X 3 Culture That Supports Safety Human 4 Education and Training X X X X X X 6 Resources 5 Worker Empowerment X X X X 4 Human- Human- 6 Integrated System Design X X X 3 Systems Systems 7 SEMS Implementation X X X X X X 6 Integration Integration 8 Checklists, Procedures, and JSAs X X 2 9 Behaviors X X X X X X 6 Systems Hardware and 10 Barrier Identification X X X X 4 Design 11 Barrier Integrity X 1 12 Technology Enhancement X X X 3 Regulatory 13 Barrier Verification X X 2 Environment 14 Inspections X X 2 15 Worker Certification 0 Count 5 4 8 7 6 10 11 157 NOTE: GRP = Gulf Research Program; HF = human factors; JSAs = job safety analyses; SEMS = safety and environmental management systems.
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For future assessments of the relevance of GRP activities to understanding and minimizing systemic risk that go beyond our qualitative assessment, GRP or other follow-on committees could consider using more quantitative methods. The committee fully appreciates how GRP has matured over the past 9 years in terms of organization and strategic planning.
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When National Academies' publications regarding safety culture have been completed, a follow-on workshop could be beneficial to facilitate industry understanding and action on the insights contained in the reports about building a culture that supports safety. Useful for assessing GRP impact would be tracking workshop participation, downloads of reports, and citations of the results in industry or regulatory actions and in follow-on research.
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While evaluating its conclusions, the committee also generated a short list of additional topics not specifically addressed in the conclusions. In its qualitative analysis, the committee determined that the Chapter 8 conclusions serve as a general starting point for GRP or other stakeholders to consider significant gaps in or priorities for future needs for increased understanding, communication, and management of systemic risk related to the offshore oil and gas industry.
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• Best practices in the development and use of procedures, checklists, and job safety analyses to enhance performance, situation aware ness, and engagement during operations, as used in aviation and other safety-critical industries has received less attention. Finally, the committee discussed the following additional topics that, if further evaluated, can add to increased understanding, communication, and management of systemic risk related to the offshore oil and gas industry: • Advanced data collection, analytic, and visualization tools.
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As GRP considers issues relative to the future of the Gulf of Mexico, the committee recognizes that many areas will be identified for research, including the impact of climate change, evolving energy systems, building community resilience, and ecosystem restoration efforts. Some of these considerations will likely affect systemic risk in offshore energy operations, and it will be important for GRP to consider these future impacts on systemic risk in research and funding decisions.
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2021a. Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2020.
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2014b. The Gulf Research Program: A Strategic Vision.
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