The Impact of the Use of International

Standards on Projects and Their Assets

Gary Napier and Mario Dona
International Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry
Drivers
Drivers for the adoption and use of international standards:
Greater access to international markets for supply of oilfield equipment
and services.
Optimum international standardisation results in
Continual improvement in equipment and systems,
Enhanced safety, operability, reliability and fitness for purpose of
equipment and systems,
Improved cost effectiveness,
Common understanding of expectations and requirements.
Relevance of International Standards to the Australian
Oil & Gas Industry (1)
Australia like USA, Canada, UK, South Africa, NZ and other participants in
the development and harmonisation of international standards, is
standardising with the international community and adopting ISO, IEC and
other international standards.
To date this process however is preceded by adapting such international
standards to Australian terminology, references and conditions.
Direct use of international standards will bypass this adaptation phase
with potential impacts on users as summarised below.
Some of these will translate into benefits and advantages to the project
and/or asset, and others will translate to disadvantages and issues for the
project and/or asset.
ADOPTION vs ADAPTATION
Relevance (2)
The greatest wealth of experienced based knowledge and information
resides in international standards and in particular those born out of
industry based standards of the most experienced communities,
especially the likes of API which are accepted worldwide by default as
international standards.
It is important that when the international community developing
standards adopts the likes of API and adapts them to ISO format that the
technical experience based content is not compromised.
Relevance (3)
It is equally important that in
adopting international
standards such as ISO and
IEC that national users such
as Australia do not
compromise the intrinsic
value of such standards.
The Impact of the Application of International Standards in the
Australian Oil & Gas Industry (1)
Cost (additions or savings)
Time (increase or reduction)
Dependability (personnel
familiarity, training
requirements, etc)
Scope (design and supply,
installation, operations and
maintenance - these need to
be set in context of Australian
installation conditions)
Approvals (stakeholders,
regulators, insurers, etc)
The Impact of the Application of International Standards in the
Australian Oil & Gas Industry (2)
Safety (proven in service
however similar personnel
issues as above)
Competencies (personnel
familiarity and training as
above)
Documentation (standardised
internationally but is this
consistent with standards used
in Australia - will need
familiarisation)
Management of expectations
(purchasers and suppliers - will
they be on the same page -
international suppliers may be,
but what of Australian?)
Advantages to the Project of the Use of International Standards
(1)
The likes of ISO, API, IEC, DNV and ABS, amongst others, bring the greater
breadth and depth of experience of a particular industry to bear on the project,
in the design phase flowing through to procurement, fabrication, installation
and operations and maintenance.
Advantages to the Project of the Use of International Standards
(2)
Such standards have the potential to
curb costs as a result of opening the
door to the international range of
products, equipment, systems and
services. In other words the suppliers
are more likely to more readily
understand and comply with
international standards and therefore
respond to enquiries, as well as their
being quite simply more suppliers with
more services, systems and
equipment on offer than in the national
environment.
Advantages to the Project of the Use of International Standards
(3)
International standards also
have the potential to optimise
project schedules and
minimise critical paths due to
standardisation of products,
systems and services, and
their availability.
Advantages to the Asset of the Use of International Standards
(1)
The use of international standards is likely to improve ongoing availability of
parts and service support. Suppliers to the international community will have
a greater commitment to meet the larger community of users and therefore
products are likely to stay in the market for longer with a greater depth of
support service available.
Advantages to the Asset of the Use of International Standards
(2)
Products, systems and
services developed and
marketed to international
standards in the international
arena are likely to benefit
more from continual product
improvement and
development fed by the
broader international
installation base.
Disadvantages to the Project of the Use of International
Standards (1)
Obtaining regulatory
approvals for equipment and
installations based on
international standards may
take longer to achieve where
regulators are more familiar
with Australian standards for
such, or are committed to an
ongoing regulatory approval
framework predicated on the
use of Australian standards.
Disadvantages to the Project of the Use of International
Standards (2)
Similarly obtaining endorsement by insurers may be more difficult for
installations based on international standards. The Insurers Council of
Australia publishes their ready recognition and acceptance of products,
equipment and installations which conform to Australian standards and
therefore there may be a time and cost premium to consider.
Disadvantages to the Project of the Use of International
Standards (3)
The use of international standards may require the need to overcome
gaps in familiarity and competency with international standards by
designers, engineers and installers more familiar with Australian
standards.
Disadvantages to the Asset of the Use of International
Standards (1)
The use of equipment manufactured to international standards is
most likely to result in equipment and parts manufactured overseas
requiring to be imported. There is a potential exposure to variations
in currency exchange rates and tariffs which may be unbudgeted.
Disadvantages to the Asset of the Use of International
Standards (2)
There may be long term ongoing risks associated with legacy
equipment in older Australian facilities based on international
standards. These risks may include changes to codes and
regulations concerning the ongoing use and maintenance of such
equipment, which could result in unforeseen costs and time to
address during the maintenance life cycle of the asset.
As with design and installation, the use of international standards
may again require bridging competency gaps for maintenance
personnel.
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (1)
Q - Why are there differences in the standards systems used onshore and
offshore?
A - Connection to the supply (electricity, gas, etc) may drive onshore regulatory
approval frameworks whereas offshore resource developers and producers are
also the generators of electricity and the suppliers of their own gas.
A - Availability of relevant Australian standards to the marine industry is
considerably more restricted than either availability of international marine
standards or Australian onshore standards. Accordingly offshore regulatory
frameworks such as P(SL)A and their Schedule of Requirements specify the
use of APIs for marine structures, platforms, helidecks and the like.
A - Availability of products, equipment, systems and services to the offshore
industry is more restricted than for the onshore industry.
Questions commonly posed in the open arena which may or may not have
answers but are generated as a result, include:
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (2)
Q - Why is there such a difference in the weighting of standards
between different disciplines?
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (3)
A - In Australia this is most evident in the electrical and electronics industries which
when applied to offshore and onshore oil and gas facilities appear to have vastly
more standards than their mechanical counterparts. This is possibly driven by the
maturity and establishment of international standards groups such as IEEE and the
IEC, and the greater degree of acceptance they achieve in the Australian community.
The development and use of mechanical standards for the oil and gas industry, by
contrast, are some years behind the electrical industry.
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (4)
A - This in fact translates to one
significant advantage in
adopting international
standards. International
standards apply to all
disciplines in a far more even
handed manner. There are
proportionately more codes,
standards and recommended
practices for structural,
mechanical and piping, than for
electrical, controls and
instrumentation in the likes of
the ANSI/API standards.
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (5)
Q As international standards such as API* are readily accepted by
Australian regulators, insurers and producers of oil and gas in the
offshore industry for the likes of structural, mechanical and non-
electrical equipment, why is there resistance to the acceptance of the
electrical codes and standards from the same suites, ie API,
specifically API RP 14F, API RP 14G, etc?
* Acknowledging that API is in fact an ANSI national standard accepted by default
as international.
A - This is probably because
most electrical practitioners
experience is onshore in
Australia whereas their
mechanical counterparts have
offshore experience overseas
where APIs are accepted
without question.
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (6)
A - Australian standards were never intended for
use offshore and the preponderance of detail is
clearly based on onshore domestic, commercial
and industrial installations. In the fullness of time
one should expect to see references in the
Australian standards to the use of API*, after all
this already exists in hazardous area
classification, the Australian standards for which
cite their acceptance of API RP 500 (API RP
505) and IP 15, and pipeline and piping codes
which cite their acceptance of ANSI B31.3, ANSI
B16.5, etc.
NB The anomaly of acceptance of international
standards is very clearly evident in the apparent
side by side use of NFPA 20 and AS 2941 for
fire pumps. The latter adds no value to the
NFPA & in any event most fire pumps are
manufactured worldwide to NFPA 20.
* Acknowledging that API is in fact an ANSI national standard accepted by default
as international.
Questions in the Open Arena Concerning the Use of
International Standards (7)
Q - What is the international standards community doing to ratify the adoption of ANSI
and API standards as formal international standards?
A - ISO is currently incorporating APIs and promoting them to the offshore oil and gas
community.
A - The IEC have designated committees and liaison representatives bridging between the
groups developing standards for onshore industry, such as TC31 committees, and the
groups developing standards for offshore industry, such as TC18 committees.