| Incident and Response Levels | A three (3) level response will be pre-planned and activated based on the severity of the incident, the operational circumstances, potential for escalation and the potential risk/consequence impact on HSE and company operations per Figure 1.2. |
Figure 1.2 |
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| Level 1 Response (On-Notice) | This response is for incidents that on-site operations staff should be capable of handling, with standard operating procedures (SOP). The incident is of sufficient severity that there is concern for personnel safety and/or potential damage to the well or structure. Level 1 incident classification will be subjective and may be misinterpreted by the on-site staff as routine while it has the potential to escalate to a higher severity level. Notifications are made to immediate supervisors who will approve the classification and proposed control procedures. All level 1 incidents should be appropriately documented and made available for review by other operations staff. |
| Level 2 Response (On-Alert) | This response is for well control or related incidents where there is not a SOP for recovery back to normal operations. Control may require resources in addition to the on-site operations staff and/or the use of unfamiliar, more difficult, well control procedures. The incident is of sufficient severity that there is definite concern for personnel safety and/or potential damage to the well or structure. Well control, however, has not been lost. The Level 2 incident classification will be subjective and the final decision and activation will be made by the Drilling Manager and Area Operation Manager. These decisions will be based on the risk/consequence for further escalation during non-routine, potentially higher risk, control procedures. |
Level 3 Response (Emergency) |
This response is for well control incidents were control of the well has been lost. The personnel and structure are potentially in imminent danger. This would include underground, surface or subsea blowouts. A Level 3 response would initiate a ramp-up to an incident response organization. Resources will potentially be required from outside Oman.Level 3 incidents have the potential to escalate further during control procedures. Further escalation may be massive pollution, loss of life, serious structural damage or total loss of the RIG and wellhead platform due to explosion, fire or seabed cratering. Adjacent wells may also be damaged at the surface and seabed, due to fire or flow erosion damage caused by the initial blowout, creating multiple, simultaneous, blowouts. Production from other parts of the field may be suspended if the blowout is on a platform that acts as a gathering station for multiple pipelines. |
