The North Slope of Alaska has significant accumulations of low API-gravity oil in unconsolidated formations. The combination of low-productivity wells in relatively unconsolidated formations in the arctic environment presents many challenges. Consequently, both formation stimulation (for economic production rates), and sand control (for acceptable operating costs) are required. A fracturing technique for sand control (FSC) with a resin-coated proppant (RCP) for proppant-flowback control proved feasible in laboratory testing. The initial attempts at field implementation were an investment in learning that resulted in a large number of first-order failures resulting from proppant and formation flowback. With these early failures, these attempts were not commercially viable. Laboratory investigations and field tests revealed the source of the problems, and led to design changes and improvements in implementation procedures. Field results have demonstrated that the FSC completion is a viable technique within certain formations on the North Slope that can achieve the stated goals of effective stimulation, proppant-flowback control, and sand control.

The identification and subsequent evaluation of environmental aspects and their potential impact is key to determining the framework and scope of a company's environmental management system. Although the importance is understood, there remains an absence of simple yet objective methods, resulting in evaluations that are too often subjective and fail to provide clear direction. This paper describes an effective method of aspect / impact evaluation (described by an ISO 14001 Registrar as a "noteworthy effort") resulting in a means for prioritizing identified adverse environmental impacts. It incorporates work done by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPXA) and includes a straightforward yet quantified approach, developed by a service company that successfully achieved ISO registration in that state. The approach is based on identifying and evaluating potential impacts in the absence of controls to determine which are significant, and then systematically factoring in the number and type of controls that are used to manage the risk. The output is a Risk Index for each aspect that can in turn be used to inform the setting or revision of objectives and targets for ongoing improvement. The procedure also has the further benefit of clarifying and targeting controls. The paper defines the method and demonstrates a template that any organization struggling with this particular element of its environmental management system can use to determine, by the use of ranking, which aspects are significant and which are not, allowing them to focus on Juran's "vital few"1. Introduction By implementing a management system that meets the requirements of International Standard ISO 140012, organizations demonstrate to their customers, their stakeholders and the communities in which they operate their commitment to environmental excellence. The Standard is designed with continual improvement in mind, based on the cyclical process of ‘plan’, ‘implement’, ‘check’ and ‘review’. Within this framework are a number of elements against which an organization must be successfully audited in order to achieve and maintain certification. Although an organization's Environmental Policy acts as the guiding document for an environmental management system, there is little doubt that the key to its successful implementation lies in the identification and analysis of the organization's aspects and potential impacts. For it is in this careful analysis that cost effective and efficient management programs are developed that, when subsequently implemented, lead to ongoing improvement. If this analysis is poorly done, it can result in ill-conceived or inadequate targets, objectives and programs, which may be costly and provide little or no benefit to the environment or to the organization. The difficulty in achieving a meaningful analysis of an organization's environmental aspects lies not so much in their identification but in their subsequent prioritization, by determining which is significant and which is not. A number of methods have been developed or adapted to facilitate this analysis, however there remains a need for a simple yet objective method that provides clear direction and removes a great deal of subjectivity. Background In mid-1997, British Petroleum p.l.c. (later BP p.l.c.), BPXA's parent company, committed all of its worldwide operations to implement a formal environmental management system (EMS) and to achieve external certification under ISO 14001. BPXA received certification in September 1998. Recognizing the benefits of an EMS and, with the support of BPXA, Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Alaska (HES Inc., Alaska) implemented a system that was certified to ISO 14001 in July 2000.

This paper focuses on the development and field application of an acid resistant, microfine portland cement composition. This specialized cementing system has been developed for remedial water and/or gas shut-off squeeze operations in the Prudhoe Bay Field of Alaska. Because of the unique properties of microfine cements and the requirements of this application, new laboratory and field test procedures have been introduced. A full-scale mixing and pumping test was conducted prior to field application of the new portland cement system.This testing was performed to ensure proper performance of the cement in a field environment. Slurry properties after mixing and pumping through 17,300 ft. of coiled tubing are presented. To better illustrate the sequence of lessons learned, several case histories and prior microfine cement designs are discussed. Background