The oil and gas industry is renowned for its technological advances in the capture and use of data science to find and release new reserves of hydrocarbons to meet the world's ever increasing energy demands. Such uses of the scientific analysis of data and information have enabled hydrocarbons to remain the primary source of energy, worldwide. Data science unlocks patterns typically unseen in typically available information, thus allowing the industry to see hydrocarbons where previously they were not able to confirm their presence. Other industries that specialize in demographic analysis of data, like Google and Yahoo, use data science to see patterns in human interest, which they then make marketable by selling to manufacturers of goods to target increased sales. Baker Hughes has leveraged what it has been doing for years with data science in its Geoscience expertise, to more completely exploit hydrocarbon reserves; to now better exploit previously untapped revelations from safety incident data. Building on the work that Behavioral Science Technology undertook in 2011 with seven global companies (ExxonMobil, Potash Corp, Shell, BHP Billiton, Cargill, Archer Daniel Midland Company, and Maersk), in their publication “New Findings on Serious Injuries and Fatalities”; and, the further work that ExxonMobil has undertaking with their “Mining the Diamond” approach to safety data analysis, as first reported by Neil Duffin, President – ExxonMobil Development Company, at the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference, Baker Hughes has taken this approach farther. The use of data science applied to safety is revealing previously unseen trends in existing safety incident (near miss and where harm was caused) data. We call this application, “Data Drilling”. The results of Data Drilling are provocative, as they better guide the business to more clearly understand root cause, which precipitates more accurate intervention strategies and effective management of risk (in a high risk industry). Additionally, the products of Data Drilling present a clear and compelling picture of risk management to executives, enabling stronger safety leadership to their organizations. The results of four retrospective studies, of the industry's experience with Dropped Objects, Wellbore Placement During Drilling, Wireline Pressure Control Equipment, and Coil Tubing Operations, are used as examples of how Data Drilling unlocks meaningful root cause that better targets responsible HSE management. In each case, business leadership was presented with a more accurate assessment of risk than traditional oil and gas industry data trending techniques typically reveal. As a result, decisions to support program and process upgrades and capital expenditures for risk mitigating engineering controls are better made.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Technical Report, "Getting to Zero and Beyond: The Path Forward" sets the stage for continuing the discussion across the industry of the essential items the industry must undertake attain and sustain zero harm. Between 2009 and 2016, the SPE facilitated a series of global sessions to develop ideas for the continued improvement of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) in the industry. These sessions brought together leaders from across the oil and gas industry, government, and academia representing diverse disciplines to discuss a simple question: How can the oil and gas industry achieve zero harm? The diverse group of participants generated many valuable ideas for a "step change" in performance, and they precipitated alignment around a vision of safety, specifically the expectation of zero harm. What the participants identified and the authors emphasize is that the industry must unequivocally set an expectation of zero harm and urgently commence with the required breakthrough in thinking, collaboration and an approach to achieve zero. For the industry, this includes the following: Define a safety vision in which zero is an attainable expectation today - not a future goal.Learn from other industries mature in human factors with the expressed intent to progress the application of human factors across the oil and gas industry.De-emphasize lagging performance indicators (injury rates) and utilize more leading indicators to ensure a progressive and preventative focus on the effectiveness of safeguards and risk reduction.Establish a no-risk-to-sharing culture - a commitment of collaboration - across the industry with the expressed intent to overcome perceived risks and competition barriers.Remove barriers to open sharing of lessons learned from major incidents, high-potential near misses and projects where, although complex and with considerable risk, the work was executed without incidents.Work with regulators to ensure they can match the best minds in industry so competent discussions about the risk-management strategies are occurring. For individual companies the actions include: Realize an interdependent HSE culture demonstrated by a commitment to a collaborative environment and consistent safety culture at the worksite regardless of company position (operator, service company, specialty contractor).Achieve operational ownership of HSE.Ensure sustainable HSE leadership. Ensuring an industry-wide commitment to the expectation of zero harm will be additive to the ongoing efforts of companies integrating elements of human factors to improve human performance. These efforts are aligned to High Reliability Organizations (HROs) and are an important evolutionary step for oil and gas companies to reach and maintain a sustainable "Getting to Zero" culture. It is this culture that helps make the expectation of zero harm attainable.

The safe and responsible development of oil and gas resources is essential to meet the complex energy demands facing us today and enhance public acceptance of expanding industry activity. While use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques in shale formations has resulted in rapid growth in oil and gas production in the United States and a transformed world energy outlook, these practices have also presented concerns associated with impacts from industrial activities. Extracting energy from shale has required more complex hydraulic fracturing operations, with a corresponding increase in equipment, personnel and materials, including water.A comprehensive suite of technologies and best practices provides our industry with solutions to improve the efficiency of hydraulic fracturing operations, while addressing safety risks, environmental stewardship and community concerns. Environmental and social challenges are varied and significant, with community and regulatory stakeholders focused on reducing emissions, noise, truck traffic and water use while safeguarding water quality. The ultimate goal is to reduce the footprint of hydraulic fracturing activities and to do so at a reasonable cost, to ensure energy remains affordable for communities, industry and overall economic growth.Extensive research and development has produced cost-efficient technologies that support safe, environmentally responsible hydraulic fracturing operations. Case studies of widely applicable technologies presently used in various shales throughout the United States will be reviewed to demonstrate such benefits as:• Replacing diesel with cleaner-burning natural gas for engines, with examples of up to 70% reduced diesel use; • Eliminating truck trips to supply materials including diesel and water, reducing community traffic; • Reusing up to 100% of flowback water and using produced water rather than fresh water through advanced treatment technologies; • Reducing well site emissions, in some cases decreasing nitrogen oxides (NOx) 50%, particulate matter 70%, carbon monoxide (CO) 100%, and carbon dioxide 32%; • Developing measurably greener chemistries for downhole fracturing fluids; and• Promoting greater transparency in the chemistries used in fracturing fluids Technology innovations must be combined with operational best practices and continued collaboration among industry partners, communities and other key stakeholders. Together, this can promote the sustainability of hydraulic fracturing operations and build public trust.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) technical report, Getting to Zero and Beyond: The Path Forward, sets the stage for continuing the discussion across the industry of the essential actions the industry must undertake to attain and sustain zero harm. The report is a compilation of discussions from various SPE sessions and expands on those discussions to identify and evaluate actions that may aid the industry by exploring current thinking and views; incorporating experiences and learnings from other industries that are mature in the application of human factors; and suggesting the next steps that will enable the oil and gas industry to meet an expectation of zero harm. Introduction The goal of health, safety, and environment (HSE) programs and departments is to eliminate incidents that produce harm whether to people, the environment, or property. But somehow the industry has settled into a comfort zone, a zone that tolerates incident occurrence and satisfaction with incremental improvement. Phrases such as “you should have seen the way it was before” or “but we are better than we were” are heard and some-how enable us to accept that what we are doing is sufficient, good, and OK. Industry safety statistics were the subject of an analysis conducted using International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) member company annual safety data. The findings showed that in the period from 2014 to 2016, the lost-time injury frequency and total recordable injury frequency both posted an incremental decrease (Fig. 1). However, during the same period, the fatal accident rate showed an increase (Fig. 2). In June, IOGP released its annual Safety Performance Indicators for 2017. Although the 2017 statistics illustrate an improvement in the number of fatalities, the number of fatal incidents increased in 2017 (IOGP 2018). Most striking is the realization that the top three causes of fatal incidents that occur in the global upstream oil and gas industry have remained the same since IOGP first began collecting the data in 2010. Fundamentally, fatalities are occurring despite the industry implementing traditional HSE efforts such as IOGP’s Life-Saving Rules, management systems, training programs, and targeted injury campaigns. What needs to occur is to challenge the current mindset, the ingrained culture. What if we could reject this incremental mindset and make the leap to be satisfied only when we are attaining and sustaining zero harm? That is exactly what a group of SPE members did. They united, starting in 2010, to change industry thinking—to challenge incremental HSE performance improvement, and to create “zero thinking,” not as the end or long game, but as the starting point to defining HSE performance. Their work and efforts have culminated into a recently issued SPE technical report titled Getting to Zero and Beyond: The Path Forward.

Guest editorial For the more than 7 billion people on our planet, every measure of quality of life, from gross domestic product per capita and infant mortality, to education levels and access to clean water, is correlated to the consumption of modern fuels, including oil and gas. Now more than ever, our industry faces imperatives: delivering affordable energy more safely, economically, and sustainably—that is, in a way that responsibly meets the needs of today’s populations without jeopardizing the Earth or its future populations. Sustainability will depend on continuing to close gaps, not only in technology, but also in health, safety, and environmental (HSE) performance, to eradicate HSE incidents from our operations. The expectation is a future with an incident-free workplace and where everyone returns home safely each day. Closing the HSE gap will require major shifts in cultural, organizational, and human performance paradigms. Changing the Culture For years, HSE was seen as a regulatory obligation to meet government requirements. It was governed by, and managed in reaction to, rules and regulations. Control and discipline were prevalent. An incident-free workplace was generally not considered possible, and when it was considered, it was only as a vision, at best. Over time, industry HSE culture began to shift from dependent to independent as the process and complexity of operations became better understood, and commitment to safety became more personal and individual. An incident-free workplace began to be seen as a possibility, but still as a target to achieve rather than a realistic goal. A further evolution from an independent to an interdependent safety culture took place over the first decade of the 21st century, with a stronger focus on cooperation within and across teams. Employees and well and asset team members began to see themselves as their peers’ keepers. HSE became recognized as “the right thing to do” for two very important reasons. 1. It is part of our moral and ethical responsibility to our employees, customers, contractors, and the communities in which we work, and to the future of our planet. 2. It is good for business. There is no downside to good HSE practices. Conversely, the cost of poor practices can drive companies out of business.