Raising the National Average for Asset Integrity Management in the Energy Sector of a Small Island Developing State

Abstract

In 2015 and 2016, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) undertook a National Facilities Audit (NFA) to augment the periodic audit exercises of the Ministry. This Audit was the first of its kind conducted in Trinidad and Tobago and involved upstream, midstream and downstream energy sector companies. Some companies scored highly in the Audit, some were average and others below average. This paper will provide guidance to operators who scored below the average so that they can make the necessary adjustments to improve their Asset Integrity scores to above average and beyond in future. The selected consultant who performed the NFA developed a standardized audit protocol to audit all the companies. The MEEI set up a Steering Committee to oversee the execution and delivery of the audit to ensure it was conducted within the project's objectives. The consultant and MEEI representatives conducted joint audits, which involved document reviews, interviews and site visits. A Systems and Equipment Audit was conducted followed by a site visit. The project lasted 9 months, a total of 30 audits were conducted during the period, and a report prepared and presented to the MEEI by the consulta nts with the findings and recommendations. Scores were assigned to various categories in both the System and Equipment Audits, which contributed to a System score and Equipment score. From these two scores, an overall score was determined. The audit found that Asset Integrity Management (AIM) systems showed a wide variation across the industry, international companies were typically more advanced with AIM than domestic companies, the state-owned companies had the lowest scores and Joint Venture companies generally had the highest scores. Generally, many companies did poorly in the audit due to lack of proper documented internal procedures with respect to Asset Integrity. Companies that did well had well-documented procedures for process safety management. The paper will show the benefit of conducting a nationwide Asset Integrity Audit that can inspire other countries to consider doing likewise and thus encourage improved Asset Integrity Management in the global energy sector. The paper will go into the details of the audit so that in future companies would be more prepared for a similar type of audit, and who show significant improvements with their scores.