PR-1078 – Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) Management – PDO

Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) is an extremely dangerous substance and can cause fatalities if not managed properly. H2S is present in more of PDO’s operations as existing fields begin to sour and as high sour developments are brought on stream. This procedure deals with the identification and assessment of the hazards and the management of the associated risk for “sour gas”, or gas containing H2S.

H2S in the upstream oil and gas industry comes from:

• the original reservoir, as a result of the hydrocarbon source material and the conditions under which it was converted to oil and gas. If this is the case then H2S will be produced with the fluids
• the reservoir after prolonged injection of water with oxygen (brackish or formation water) which may result in ‘souring’ of the fluids within it due to the action of SRB introduced during the injection process. Any H2S will be subsequently produced with fluids.

The purpose of this procedure is to outline the hazards associated with H2S and the steps required to assess and manage the associated risk and protect personnel within Production Operations.