OREANDA-NEWS. Baker Hughes announced today that it is the first service company to have enrolled in the new Regional Operational Integrity Program™ (ROIP) for the petroleum and natural gas industry and to receive Gold Recognition for its Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Center of Excellence from the Wollam Petroleum Advisory Group (WPAG). Baker Hughes and WPAG, an oil and gas consulting firm, helped develop and pilot the new program that was implemented in late 2015. ROIP incorporates API Q2 standards and extends that specification's purpose of driving consistency, risk mitigation and service quality in upstream operations beyond the facility, to the regional level.

API Q2 was developed in 2010 to ensure that service providers implement quality controls at the facility level, based on identifying, assessing and managing risk. ROIP goes beyond facility certification to ensure consistency in all aspects of quality and risk mitigation control throughout a region. It is the industry's first program to incorporate global supply chain, manufacturing, drilling contractors, service providers and operators into one program to collaborate on a broader scale. The controls encompassed by the program include, but are not limited to, risk assessment and management; contingency planning; service design, quality plans and performance validation; identification and qualification of mission-critical suppliers; and change management based on risk factors. ROIP comprises six steps based on these controls in which a company must complete before receiving recognition for a region as Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze. 

 "Our responsibility as an industry is to 'do things right the first time.' We have learned from past incidents that moving the industry toward safer, more reliable operations requires that all aspects of quality programs be interrelated, interdependent and consistent," said Steve Ellison, Vice President, Quality at Baker Hughes. "Baker Hughes has taken a lead position with standards such as API Q2, and now ROIP, to support procedural controls, guidelines, risk mitigation and other aspects of quality that will help our clients reduce risk and ensure safe, trouble-free operations on the broadest scale possible."

"Beyond the products, services and expertise we provide our customers, one of the most important elements we must continue to deliver as an industry is trust," said Richard Ward, President, Global Products and Services at Baker Hughes. "Collaborative efforts such as ROIP demonstrate the industry's commitment in this area, and I want to thank the Baker Hughes' team as well as our partners for their efforts to strengthen quality and reliability standards and practices worldwide."

In 2015, Baker Hughes received API Q2 certification for its Completion Centers of Excellence in Houma and Broussard, Louisiana and for multiple product lines in Oman. It also successfully passed API Q2 certification audits in Brunei. The company is continuing to participate in the API Q2 review and certification process for its facilities globally and plans to apply for enrollment in the ROIP for operations in all of its regions.   

Baker Hughes' recent enrollment and recognition in ROIP and API Q2 certifications are the latest examples of its commitment to quality and reliability. Other milestones in this area include the following.

  • Helped develop the API Q2 specification, participated in the pilot program, and was the first service provider to train and certify employees as API Q2 registered professionals
  • First company in the industry to receive the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) - Drilling Industry Training Accreditation for its Design for Reliability program
  • First service company to achieve IADC's accredidation for its Competency Management Program and successfully complete its third annual recertification in September 2015  

The recent quality achievements are important components of Baker Hughes strategy to improve well efficiency, optimize production and increase ultimate recovery.

Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. The company's 43,000 employees today work in more than 80 countries helping customers find, evaluate, drill, produce, transport and process hydrocarbon resources.