First Regional Symposium On Carbon Management

Workshop on NORM Management in Oil & Gas Facilities: Sharing Best Practices in Petroleum Industry

Environmental accountability and awareness stand as one of the most important measures by which any company is ranked specially by public’s perception. Indeed, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Oil/Gas facilities gained considerable attention and importance since its discovery in the mid 1980's as an important occupational and environmental protection issue which require establishing adequate control measures.

NORM exists at various natural levels in oil/gas reservoirs fluids and geological formations. Oil and gas production and processing operations can cause, under certain conditions, NORM to accumulate at concentrations above its average natural levels in various parts of the production lines such as well heads, downhole tubulars, surface piping, oil/gas separation vessels, pumps in gas facilities, and other producing and processing equipment. Under certain work conditions and without implementing adequate measures, NORM could pose potential radiation hazards to workers. Also, uncontrolled handling and disposal of NORM contaminated waste and equipment could pose potential radiation hazards to the public and the environment.

Since early 1990's, guidelines and regulations were issued by various national and international entities worldwide to establish NORM management requirements. Although several national and International oil companies issued internal guidelines for NORM management, there are still variations in the attitudes and practices among various oil companies with regard to NORM management; which highlights the need to enhance interaction among oil companies to exchange views and share best practices in this important area.

Objectives

Saudi Aramco is organizing this workshop to be a venue for enhancing interaction among EHS professionals in oil/gas industry to exchange views and share best practices on NORM management. The workshop will address various aspects of NORM management such as NORM monitoring techniques, workers protection measures, decontamination of NORM contaminated equipment, handling and disposal of NORM waste and other relevant issues. The workshop also aims at maximizing the utilization of expertise on NORM management among oil companies and will work toward more uniformity in addressing the various aspects of NORM.

Registration

For assistance with registration, please contact:

Ms. Batoul Al-Sinan at batoul.sinan@aramco.com or
Mr. Abdullah Al-Zahrani at abdullah.zahrani.32@aramco.com
Tel: +966 3 873-0066 or +966 3 873-5560
Fax: +966 3 873-2013

If you need entry visa to Saudi Arabia, please refer to the Visa Information page.

NORM Workshop Technical Program

May 20, 2006
8:00 – 8:30	Registration & Refreshments
8:30 – 8:45	Opening Remarks & Outline for the Workshop
Session 1
8:45 – 9:15	Basic Aspects of NORM
9:15 – 9:45	NORM in Oil & Gas Production Facilities
9:45 – 10:15	Health Aspects of NORM
10:15 – 10:30	Panel Discussion
10:30 – 10:45	Break
Session 2
10:45 – 11:15	NORM Regulations and Guidelines
11:15 – 11:45	Practical NORM Detection Techniques
11:45– 12:00	Panel Discussion
12:00 – 1:30	Lunch
Session 3
1:30 – 2:00	Workers Protection, Guidance and Training
2:00 – 2:30	Control of NORM Contaminated Equipment
2:30 – 2:45	Break
2:45 – 3:15	Decontamination of NORM Contaminated Equipment
3:15 – 3:45	NORM Waste Management
3:45 – 4:00	Panel Discussion

May 21, 2006
Session 4
8:30 – 9:00	NORM Disposal Options, and Risk Assessment
9:00 – 9:30	Down hole injection of NORM Waste
9:30 – 9:45	Panel Discussion
9:45 – 10:00	Break
10:00 – 10:30	Remediation of NORM Contaminated Lands (case study)
10:30 – 11:00	NORM Management in Saudi Aramco
11:00 – 11:30	Panel Discussion and Closing Remarks
11:30 – 1:00	Lunch