ISO/TC 67/SC 8 - Arctic operations

This document establishes the principles, specifies the requirements and provides guidance for the development and implementation of an escape, evacuation and rescue (EER) plan. It is applicable to offshore installation design, construction, transportation, installation, offshore production/exploration drilling operation service life inspection/repair, decommissioning and removal activities related to petroleum and natural gas industries in the arctic and cold regions. Reference to arctic and cold regions in this document is deemed to include both the Arctic and other locations characterized by low ambient temperatures and the presence or possibility of sea ice, icebergs, icing conditions, persistent snow cover and/or permafrost. This document contains requirements for the design, operation, maintenance, and service-life inspection or repair of new installations and structures, and to modification of existing installations for operation in the offshore Arctic and cold regions, where ice can be present for at least a portion of the year. This includes offshore exploration, production and accommodation units utilized for such activities. To a limited extent, this document also addresses the vessels that support ER, if part of the overall EER plan. While this document does not apply specifically to mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs, see ISO 19905‑1) many of the EER provisions contained herein are applicable to the assessment of such units in situations when the MODU is operated in arctic and cold regions. The provisions of this document are intended to be used by stakeholders including designers, operators and duty holders. In some cases, floating platforms (as a type of offshore installations) can be classified as vessels (ships) by national law and the EER for these units are stipulated by international maritime law. However, many of the EER provisions contained in this document are applicable to such floating platforms. This document applies to mechanical, process and electrical equipment or any specialized process equipment associated with offshore arctic and cold region operations that impacts the performance of the EER system. This includes periodic training and drills, EER system maintenance and precautionary down-manning as well as emergency situations. EER associated with onshore arctic oil and gas facilities are not addressed in this document, except where relevant to an offshore development.

This document establishes the principles, specifies the requirements and provides guidance for ice management (IM) in arctic and cold regions, from the point of view of planning, engineering, implementation and documentation. Reference to arctic and cold regions in this document is deemed to include both the Arctic and other regions characterized by low ambient temperatures, sea ice, icebergs and icing conditions. These regions are often remote and lacking in marine and communications infrastructure. Ice management to support the following in-ice activities and infrastructures are covered by this document: — floating moored and/or dynamically positioned drilling vessels, coring vessels, production facilities and work-over vessels; — construction and installation (includes trenching, dredging, pipe laying); — tanker loading and other offloading operations; — protecting subsea structures and equipment; — seismic operations; — oil spill response; — bottom founded structures (fixed platforms and movable structures, including jack-ups). This document also applies to mobilization, demobilization and construction support services, because these can be affected by ice conditions. In view of the wide range of possible offshore operations in arctic and cold regions, this document provides guidelines, but does not present typical ice management plans for field operations. This document does not provide requirements, recommendations or guidance pertaining to the design of structures, systems and components used in ice management, beyond the principles given. This document does not provide specific formulations for ice loads, which are covered by ISO 19906. This document is not applicable to coastal port operations and to commercial trading vessels conducting transit or convoy operations.

ISO/TS 35105:2018 provides recommendations for material selection, manufacturing and fabrication requirements, testing and qualification of steel structures and components for offshore and onshore petroleum and natural gas facilities operating in Arctic and cold environments. ISO/TS 35105:2018 is intended to be used as a supplement to existing standards for steel structures where the particular operating conditions in Arctic regions are not sufficiently addressed. ISO/TS 35105:2018 gives particular requirements to ensure safe operation with respect to the risk of brittle fracture at low temperatures. These requirements will affect the selection of material grade and design class as well as the technical delivery conditions for steel. They will also affect the fabrication requirements as well as testing and qualification requirements. ISO/TS 35105:2018 also gives recommendations: - to mitigate the operational and integrity aspects related to snow and ice accretion on topside structures; - to take into account the particular Arctic operating conditions in corrosion assessments and requirements for corrosion protection systems; - for particular operational requirements to ensure safe operation in Arctic regions. The requirements in this document are applicable to any operating temperatures, but particular requirements related to de-rating (loss of strength) at high temperatures are not addressed. Limitations to the applicable minimum design temperature caused by the capability of the materials' low temperature performance can exist, but are not a limitation for the scope of this document. As a practical guideline for the use of this document, low temperature is defined as lowest anticipated service temperature (LAST) below ?10 °C. NOTE For determination of LAST, see 6.3.2.

ISO 35106:2017 specifies requirements and provides recommendations and guidance for the collection, analysis and presentation of relevant physical environmental data for activities of the petroleum and natural gas industries in arctic and cold regions. Activities include design and operations, which involve planning and actual execution. Reference to arctic and cold regions in this document is deemed to include both the Arctic and other locations characterized by low ambient temperatures and the presence or possibility of sea ice, icebergs, shelf ice, glaciers, icing conditions, persistent snow cover, frozen surfaces of lakes and rivers, localized and rapidly changing weather systems and/or permafrost. ISO 35106:2017 outlines requirements for a range of different operations that have been or are presently being undertaken and for existing design concepts. This document can also be used for other operations and new design concepts in arctic and cold regions as long as it is recognized that all data requirements are not necessarily addressed.

ISO 35103:2017 gives requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that environmental monitoring in the offshore Arctic region is fit for purpose. The Arctic region includes the territory lying to the North of the Arctic Circle (Latitude 66°33′45.8″). This document can be applied to sub-Arctic locations which experience Arctic-like conditions and contain relevant components of a cold-climate ecosystem. ISO 35103:2017 is applicable to all Arctic oil and gas operations from licence block acquisition through exploration, engineering design, construction, commissioning, operation, decommissioning and restoration. It covers the offshore or maritime environment, including for the purposes of this document, the fully marine and estuarine waters of the Arctic, whether frozen or ice-free. The environment includes all relevant physical, chemical and biological components. Monitoring methods for onshore (terrestrial) environments are not covered in this document, although onshore environments are included where monitoring is required at onshore locations in relation to an offshore development. ISO 35103:2017 covers both monitoring of environmental aspects for normal, abnormal and emergency conditions, and monitoring of environmental impacts. It includes monitoring in near-field, far-field, transboundary and regional scales, but does not include global environmental monitoring.

ISO 35101:2017 describes the working environment that can be expected when operating oil and gas facilities in Arctic environments/climate. ISO 35101:2017 provides principles and generic guidelines for the design and operation of fixed and floating oil and gas facilities both onshore and offshore. The aim of ISO 35101:2017 is to ensure optimal health, safety, human performance and decision-making conditions for people working on oil and gas facilities in Arctic conditions. ISO 35101:2017 applies to the design and operation of new facilities and structures, and to modification of existing facilities for operation in the Arctic environment. This also includes offshore and onshore exploration and accommodation units for such activities. ISO 35101:2017 is divided into three main parts. - The first part (Clause 5) describes the general principles and guidelines for risk management. - The second part (Clause 6) describes the general working environment (working environment hazards found in many workplaces and provides some threshold limit values (TLVs) and design references that can be especially challenging in Arctic conditions. - The third part (Clause 7 to Clause 9) addresses the climatic conditions expected in the Arctic. Clause 8 describes working environment design and technical solutions, while Clause 9 describes working environment operational requirements for prevention and management of cold-related problems.