Importance of Conducting Risk Assessments

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) claims that oil and gas workers face a twenty-five percent higher death risk compared to what other industries experience. The CDC’s figures show that the real estimate is even much higher and sevenfold (OSHA, 2020). They include dangers from toxins such as the often fatal hydrogen sulfide gas, oil leaks, occurrence of pipeline bursts and explosions, and much more. Gases like hydrogen sulfide gas are dangerous, and their inhalation in large concentrations is life-threatening. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (2024), many risks are bound to be encountered by petroleum engineers, and one of them is working close to hydrogen sulfide gas.

Concerning such hazards, structured approaches toward risk assessment need to be established to define how possible threats could be recognized and assessed and how they could be managed. Based on a survey of fifty petroleum engineers from Saudi ARAMCO, a strong consensus supported the need to conduct risk assessments at all phases of exploring for and drilling for oil, pumping the oil, and transporting it to protect workers, reduce detrimental financial impacts or loss, and help safeguard the environment.