What is ISO 20815 - Production assurance and reliability management in petroleum industry about?
ISO 20815 is a safety standard for production assurance and reliability management in petroleum industry, enabling efficiency, performance and longevity in petroleum industry applications.
ISO 20815 describes the concept of production assurance within the systems and operations associated with exploration drilling, exploitation, processing, and transport of petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas resources. ISO 20815 covers upstream (including subsea), midstream and downstream facilities, petrochemical, and associated activities.
ISO 20815 focuses on production assurance of oil and gas production, processing, and associated activities and covers the analysis of reliability and maintenance of the components. ISO 20815 includes a variety of business categories and associated systems/ equipment in the oil and gas value chain. Production assurance addresses not only hydrocarbon production but also associated activities such as drilling, pipeline installation, and subsea intervention.
ISO 20815 provides processes and activities, requirements, and guidelines for systematic management, effective planning, execution, and use of product assurance and reliability technology. This is to achieve cost-effective solutions over the life cycle of an asset development project structured around the following main elements:
- Production assurance management for the optimum economy of the facility through all its life cycle phases, while also considering constraints arising from health, safety, environmental, and quality
- Planning, execution, and implementation of reliability technology
- Application of reliability and maintenance data
- Reliability-based technology development, design, and operational improvement
ISO 20815 designates 12 processes, of which seven are defined as core production assurance processes and addressed in ISO 20815. The only requirement mandated by ISO 20815 is the establishment and execution of the production assurance program (PAP). It is important to reflect the PAP in the overall project management in the project for which it applies. ISO 20815 recommends that the listed processes and activities be initiated only if they can be considered to add value.
Who is ISO 20815 – Production assurance and reliability management in petroleum industry for?
ISO 20815 on the production assurance and reliability management in petroleum industry is relevant to:
- Operating facility, e.g. safety, maintenance, and engineering personnel
- Technology developers, concept, and system planners, HSE staff, integrity management, maintenance management, and professional subject-matter experts
- Manufacturer, designer and suppliers
- Authority, regulatory body
- Consultants and contractors
Why should you use ISO 20815 - Production assurance and reliability management in petroleum industry?
The petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries involve large capital investment costs as well as operational expenditures. The profitability of these industries is dependent upon the reliability, availability, and maintainability of the systems and components that are used. Therefore, for optimal production availability in the oil and gas business, a standardized, integrated reliability approach is required.
ISO 20815 provides users guidance on production assurance that enables a mutual understanding with respect to the use of reliability technology in the various life cycle phases and covers the activities implemented to achieve and maintain a performance level that is at its optimum.
ISO 20815 also provides users guidance on production performance analyses, such as reliability and availability analyses, which are systematic evaluations and calculations that are carried out to assess the performance of a system.
Overall, ISO 20815 is useful as it provides a basis for decisions concerning the choice of solutions and measures to achieve an optimum economy within the given constraints. This implies that the analysis should be performed at a point in time when sufficient details are available to provide sustainable results.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN ISO 20815:2018 supersedes BS EN ISO 20815:2010, which is withdrawn.
BS EN ISO 20815:2018 replaces the first edition (ISO 20815:2008), which has been technically revised. The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
- Clause 3: several updated terms, definitions, and abbreviations
- Clause 4: new 4.1 and new Figure 2
- Annexes A, B, C and E: minor changes
- Annex D: various new text and new figures
- Annex F: new text in Clause F.3, new Clause F.4, and new figure.
