Page 310 - Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language

Chapter 12 – MANAGING DRILLING OPERATIONS 301

When a major incident occurs, the rig supervisor (usually the contractor
toolpusher or OIM) will assume the position of on-scene commander and
initiate a procedure to call out the response team. The team will assemble

in the incident room, and the first person there will start the log board,
noting times and events. As more team members arrive, they will be able to
see the log board and get a quick view of the situation. It is very important
that the team members allow the on-scene commander to get on with
handling the incident at the wellsite by giving support and coordination
of resources, rather than by trying to pull the strings from onshore (which
they do not have the legal right to do). The people on the rig are (or should

be) qualified and competent to react properly to the situation, and they
are certainly in the best position to assess what is happening. That is also
where legal responsibility rests. However, the experienced operations staff
present in the incident room will be able to look at the data coming in and
advise the rig on alternative scenarios that, in the heat of the incident, the
wellsite staff might have overlooked.

The response team will communicate with the emergency services,
government authorities, and the media. Handling the media is an important
consideration, and it is much better if one person is assigned to keep

the media briefed without releasing names or unconfirmed data. Once

the media sniff an incident (and they will find out about it surprisingly
quickly), they will be all over the place, trying to get any small detail.
Information such as names or numbers of casualties must never be
given over an open communications channel, as these will be monitored
by the media and others. If casualties are involved, the police will take
over the task of informing relatives, as well as gathering information for
later investigation.

Once the incident is under control, the investigation of the causes
and chain of events begins. The police will want to visit the scene of any
casualties (serious injuries or fatalities), and they generally have the power
to demand that the scene not be disturbed more than is necessary to secure
the rig and prevent further damage or problems. If major pollution has
resulted, the cleanup might take some time and cost a lot. The aftermath
can take some time to get through. As much as possible must be learned to
reduce the chances of any recurrence.

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