Articles for IAGC

As reported in a previous newsletter article, in early 2010 the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced that it would proceed with the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Geological and Geophysical Exploration (G&G) on the Mid- and South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). On 2 April 2010, MMS published in the Federal Register a notice reopening the comment period for the Atlantic G&G PEIS. Through the public scoping and comment process, ...

As reported in a previous article, on March 31, 2010, President Obama and Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, unveiled the Administration's plan for offshore oil and natural gas exploration and development. As part of that announcement, on April 1, 2010, the Department of the Interior (MMS) published in the Federal Register (FR) aNotice of Intent to Prepare and Scope an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing ...

On 14 May 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a formal notice of intentto sue the US Department of Interior (DOI) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) for noncompliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when approving offshore drilling operations and other operations such as seismic surveys in the US Gulf of Mexico. In its notification letterto DOI and MMS, CBD stated, "...the Secretary of Interior has taken and ...

The 72nd European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE) Conference & Exhibition was in Barcelona, Spain on 14-17 June 2010. On 15 June 2010, Carl Trowell (President, WesternGeco) chaired an Executive Session on Corporate Responsibility Planning "Managing the Expectations", which focused on environmental issues and Industry's responsibilities. In the Executive Session, IAGC Vice President Sarah Tsoflias provided a presentation on "Environmental Issues, Regulations and the Role of ...

The 62nd Meetingof the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was in Agadir, Morocco, 30 May - 25 June 2010. The IWCwas established under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, whose purpose is to provide for the proper conservation and management of whale stocks. In recent years, the IWC Scientific Committee Meeting has included an agenda item on 'anthropogenic sound' under its Environmental Concerns Committee. There were two reports of ...

In the January-February 2010 Newsletter, the Safety Moment article addressedRisk Assessment - Protecting your most valuable asset! HSE professionals are keenly aware of the need and value of performing a risk assessment as they are developing a seismic project to identify and manage hazardous or unsafe health and safety conditions for the seismic employee in the field. The article in the previous newsletter was re-enforcing the value and usefulness of performing a similar risk ...

At the IAGC Global HSE & Security Steering Committee meeting held on June 9, 2010, Jonathan Miller (CGGVeritas - Executive Vice President, Canada and Western Hemisphere Land Acquisition) Chairman of the IAGC Land Step Change Steering Committee made a presentation outlining his proposal to launch the IAGC Land Step Change for 2010-2011. Unlike the organizational structure used in the past (Steering Committee, Coordinating Committee and Crew Mangers Network), Jonathan is ...

OGP has announced that the Task Force led by Patrick Toutain (Total), which includes Bernard Marley (WesternGeco) and Brain Thorne (PGS), has completed their work on updating and revising OGP 423 (formerly 291) - HSE Management: Guidelines for Working Together in a Contract Environment. The new updated guideline has been officially published and is available through a free download from the OGP website. To ensure it is understood and used by industry, OGP has also ...

As reported in previous IAGC newsletter articles, the IAGC educational CD-ROM, Marine Geophysical Operations: An Overview is now available; order online at http://www.iagc.org/en/cms/?5749. This interactive CD provides an overview of marine geophysical operations using short videos, animations, and narrative explanations. The CD contains general information regarding marine geophysical operations in terms which can be understood by non-technical persons. Topics such as the acquisition of ...

On May 30, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior through the Minerals Management Service issued a 6 month moratorium on all drilling activities in the U.S. OCS in water depths greater than 500 feet. A group of oil and gas industry companies filed suit in Federal District Court challenging the legality of the moratorium and sought injunctive relief. On June 22, 2010, a U.S. Federal Judge in New Orleans ruled that the federal government (the Department of the Interior through the Minerals ...

The 72nd European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE) Conference & Exhibition was in Barcelona, Spain on 14-17 June 2010. On 15 June 2010, Carl Trowell (WesternGeco) chaired an Executive Session on Corporate Responsibility Planning "Managing the Expectations", which focused on environmental issues and Industry's responsibilities. In the Executive Session, IAGC Vice President Sarah Tsoflias provided a presentation on "Environmental Issues, Regulations and the Role of Industry", ...

MAY-JUNE 2010 ISSUE This Marine Environment Newsletter provides information on recent IAGC activities ...

With spring already upon us in the northern hemisphere and summer fast approaching, it is the time we want to get outside – play tennis or golf, go fishing or have a picnic. But spring and summer are also the times when severe weather can be a routine occurrence. If you live in a hot, humid, coastal environment, thunderstorms often occur suddenly and without much warning. Below is some advice we all should take when it comes to experiencing thunderstorms. What to do if you are ...

The spring IAGC/OGP Joint Global HSE & Security Forum was held the 15th & 16th of April in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This Forum was held in Rio de Janeiro to coincide with the SPE-HSE Conference. The Chair and Vice-Chair of both the IAGC Global HSE & Security Steering Committee and OGP Geophysical HSSE Subcommittee developed a very engaging and compelling agenda. The agenda was similar to previous Forums – it included high potential (HiPo) incidence presentations, updates from IAGC ...

The Global HSE & Security Steering Committee has selected Danny Garcia (FairfieldNodal) as Chairman to succeed Charlie Jeffrey (PGS), whose two year term had come to an end. For the past two years Danny has been serving as the Committee’s Vice-Chairman. An election by the Committee members was conducted and Patrick Legh-Smith (WesternGeco) was selected as the Committee’s new Vice-Chairman. Danny and Patrick will serve two years in their respective roles. Charlie Jeffrey has ...

On Friday 16 April 2010, Danny Garcia (FairfieldNodal) and Patrick Legh-Smith (WesternGeco), Chairman and Vice Chairman of the IAGC Global HSE & Security Steering Committee, respectively, held a committee meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The committee covered a number of issues in particular the creation of a workgroup regarding workboats, the numerous accreditation/certification groups that E&P companies are requiring seismic contractors to be a part of, issues surrounding unexploded ...

As reported in a previous article, the IAGC Global HSE & Security Steering Committee has decided to form an Environmental Subcommittee. This subcommittee will address environmental issues – land and marine – that do not fall within the remit of the Sound and Marine Life Workgroup (i.e. marine mammal). Each company representative on the Global HSE & Security Steering Committee has selected an individual within their company to actively participate on the subcommittee and at the ...

The EM Subcommittee met on 7 April 2010 at WesternGeco’s offices in Gatwick, UK. As reported in a previous newsletter article, the subcommittee has been working on the development of an EM Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The subcommittee, with the assistance of Sarah Tsoflias (IAGC) – developed a “tender document” that went to several vendors that are eligible (professionally capable) to perform the work. Sarah and the subcommittee members have reviewed all vendor ...

SafeLandUSA is group of E&P companies, non-seismic contractors, training provides and industry associations that have come together to promote safe operations on onshore E&P operations through a standardized HSE orientation training process. Formed 2005 SafelandsUSA, the founding organizers officially “rolled out” the program in January 2010 to the entire upstream industry with activity on US onshore land with the purpose of requiring all E&P companies to comply. Recently, ...

At the March 23, 2010 meeting of the Americas Data Licensing Committee (ADLC) John Adamick (TGS-NOPEC) announced that he was stepping down as Chairman of the ADLC and that Matt Bognar (CGGVeritas) will assume the Chairman’s role. Matt had been serving as Vice Chairman of the committee. The ADLC is one of the most active IAGC Chapter committees and under John’s leadership the committee has been vigilant in their protection and enhancement of the non-exclusive business model. A new ...