Chemicals play a vital role in the oil and gas sector, but behind everyday use lie significant risks. When chemicals are poorly managed, they can threaten health, damage equipment, and harm the environment.
Chemicals in Offshore and Land-Based Operations
Chemicals are used daily across offshore installations and land-based facilities. They are essential for drilling, production, maintenance, and cleaning activities, supporting everything from corrosion protection and scale prevention to water treatment and lubrication.
Used correctly, these substances enable reliable and efficient operations for both operators and drilling contractors. However, their widespread use also means that even minor lapses in handling, labelling, or documentation can create significant safety and environmental consequences.
Common Chemicals and Their Use:
Acids: Used for cleaning and well stimulation.
Biocides: Prevent bacterial growth in water systems.
Corrosion inhibitors: Protect pipelines and equipment from rust.
Degreasers: Clean machinery and remove oil residues.
Demulsifiers: Separate oil, water, and solids in production.
Drilling additives: Control pressure and lubricate during drilling.
Glycols: Prevent freezing and hydrate formation.
Hydraulic fluids: Power valves, pumps, and tools.
Scale inhibitors: Prevent mineral build-up in wells and pipelines.
Typical Chemical Hazards and Risks
Chemical hazards affect people, the environment, and operational performance across the oil and gas sector.
Health Hazards
Toxic exposure: Inhalation of vapours, mists, or dusts may cause respiratory irritation, dizziness, or long-term health effects.
Skin and eye contact: Many chemicals are corrosive or irritating, posing risks of burns, dermatitis, or eye injury.
Flammability and explosion risk: Solvents, fuels, and gases can ignite under specific conditions, especially in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas.
Reactivity: Incompatible chemicals may react violently, generate heat, or release toxic gases.
Chronic health effects: Long-term exposure can contribute to neurological, reproductive, or carcinogenic outcomes.
Sensitising risk: Certain substances, including diisocyanates, are strong respiratory and skin sensitisers. Repeated or prolonged exposure may cause allergic skin reactions, occupational asthma, or long-term breathing difficulties, with symptoms potentially occurring even at very low exposure levels once sensitisation has developed.
Environmental Hazards
Marine pollution: Offshore spills can spread rapidly, affecting marine life and coastal ecosystems.
Soil and groundwater contamination: Land-based spills or improper disposal can cause long-term environmental impact.
Air emissions: VOCs and other fumes released during handling or disposal contribute to air pollution and create hazardous vapours.
Operational Hazards
Corrosion and material degradation: Poor control of corrosive substances can weaken pipelines, tanks, and valves.
Equipment malfunction: Contamination or incompatible products may damage pumps, sensors, or control systems.
Storage and containment failures: Poor segregation, temperature control, or maintenance increases the risk of instability or leaks.
Process disruption: Mismanaged inventories can cause delays, shutdowns, or reduced efficiency.
Emergency response limitations: Incorrectly labelled or untraceable chemicals complicate firefighting and incident response.
Staying Clear of Chemical Hazards and Risks
Managing chemical risks is all about preventing incidents before they occur.
Stay Compliant
In the oil and gas sector, chemical management must meet strict industry-specific regulations alongside general health and safety requirements. Clear documentation, robust controls, and regular audits help ensure safe operations and ongoing compliance.
Clear Procedures and Training
Conduct regular risk assessments and ensure clear handling and storage guidelines are in place. Continuous training and a strong safety culture help staff recognise hazards early and respond effectively.
Accurate Labelling and Documentation
Keep safety data sheet (SDS) and risk report updated and accessible, and use standardised, multilingual labelling across all sites. Full traceability, from delivery to disposal, reduces the risk of errors and non-compliance.
Adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Select and use PPE suited to each chemical and task. Proper gloves, eye protection, and respiratory equipment reduce exposure risks and support safe handling.
Safe Storage and Maintenance
Separate incompatible chemicals, maintain containment systems, and carry out regular inspections to detect leaks or corrosion before they escalate.
Digital Oversight
Digital tools make it easier to track inventories, check compatibility, and share data between locations. Real-time visibility helps prevent incidents and simplifies reporting. Real-time visibility helps prevent incidents and simplifies reporting, particularly in complex, multi-site oil and gas operations. Where connectivity is limited, offline functionality ensures critical chemical data remains available, with updates synchronised automatically once a connection is restored.
Chemicals will always be a vital part of the oil and gas industry, supporting everything from drilling and production to maintenance and safety. But with their benefits come undeniable risks. In such complex and high-pressure environments, effective chemical management is not optional – it is essential. By combining clear procedures, continuous training, and digital tools, companies can turn chemical safety from a compliance task into a core part of the operation.
In the oil and gas industry, chemical risk assessment is essential for safe and reliable operations. Drilling, production, processing and maintenance all involve chemicals that can pose significant health, environmental and operational risks if not properly controlled. Establishing a clear and consistent approach to assessing these risks helps companies prevent incidents, protect workers and maintain compliance across diverse global sites and regulatory frameworks.
What Is a Risk Assessment?
A risk assessment is a systematic process used to identify potential hazards, evaluate the likelihood and severity of harm and determine the measures needed to control those risks. In the context of chemical safety and broader risk management, this involves understanding the hazardous properties of a substance, analysing how it is used and assessing the potential for worker exposure or accidental release.
Many organisations also use a risk assessment matrix to visualise the relationship between likelihood and consequence. This helps classify risks into categories such as low, medium or high and supports consistent decision-making across departments, sites and regions.
A risk assessment answers three key questions:
What could go wrong?
How likely is it to happen?
What are the consequences?
Why Chemical Risk Assessment Matters
In high-risk environments, for example during surface treatment, well intervention or maintenance activities, inadequate control may lead to acute health effects, chronic exposure problems or severe incidents including fires and explosions.
A comprehensive risk assessment enables organisations to understand these hazards and put effective controls in place. For companies operating internationally, it also helps ensure alignment with regulatory frameworks such as:
Equivalent rules across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific
Most jurisdictions require employers to document chemical risk assessments in writing. While specific rules differ between countries, the principle is the same. Employers must identify hazardous substances, assess potential exposure and record how risks are controlled. Clear and consistent documentation supports internal communication, provides evidence of compliance during audits and forms the foundation for safe operating procedures.
Chemical Risk Assessment Step by Step
1. Maintain an accurate chemical inventory
An up-to-date chemical inventory with the latest safety data sheets (SDS) is the starting point. Ensure that the SDS complies with globally recognised formats such as GHS and contains reliable information about hazards and safe handling.
2. Identify the inherent hazards
Review SDS data to understand the chemical’s classification, health risks, environmental impacts and physical hazards such as flammability or reactivity.
3. Assess exposure
Evaluate how the substance is used, the quantities handled, possible exposure routes, the work environment, ventilation, existing control measures and the frequency and duration of tasks.
4. Determine the level of risk
Combine the hazard and exposure findings to estimate the overall risk and prioritise necessary actions.
5. Implement and improve control measures
Based on the risk outcome, establish suitable measures. These may include engineering controls, process changes, improved ventilation, automation, safer alternatives, or appropriate personal protective equipment. Ensure these measures are reflected in work instructions, toolbox talks, checklists and training routines.
6. Document, monitor and review
Record the entire process and revisit the assessment when new chemicals are introduced, processes change or equipment is modified. Regular reviews help ensure continuous compliance and improvement.
Digital Tools for Risk Assessments
Digital chemical management tools can make it significantly easier to organise chemical inventories, access SDS documents, streamline risk assessments and maintain proper documentation. For organisations operating across multiple regions, digital systems help standardise processes and ensure compliance with varied regulatory requirements. Integrated features such as automated updates, version control and embedded risk management workflows further strengthen the consistency and quality of assessments.
A robust chemical risk assessment helps companies manage hazardous substances safely, maintain compliance and reduce the likelihood of costly incidents. With structured controls, regular reviews and the support of digital tools, organisations can strengthen their risk management practices and ensure safer, more reliable operations.
Chemical substitution is one of the most effective strategies for reducing risk in workplaces that rely heavily on chemicals. As global regulations strengthen and customers demand higher safety and environmental standards, choosing safer alternatives is becoming a core part of responsible operations.
What is Substitution?
Substitution, in general, means replacing something. In the chemical context, it usually means replacing a hazardous chemical with a safer option or changing a process so that a risky substance is no longer required. The purpose is to minimise both short-term and long-term harm to people and the environment.
Substitution is not simply a regulatory requirement; it is a way to improve safety performance, reduce downtime, strengthen environmental stewardship and future-proof operations. Replacing a high-risk chemical with a safer alternative often reduces the need for extensive protective equipment, lowers the likelihood of spills and emissions, and helps businesses avoid restrictions on hazardous substances that may arise in the future.
Situations Where Companies Should Consider Substitution
When introducing new chemicals, products or technologies
When using substances with known health or environmental hazards
When processes are updated or automated
When safer innovations become available
When customer or regulatory requirements change
When operational issues arise
Pros and Cons of Substitution
Pros
Improved worker safety: Lower exposure to hazardous substances can reduce illnesses, injuries and long-term health effects.
Reduced environmental impact: Safer alternatives help minimise emissions, contamination and waste.
Enhanced regulatory compliance: Supports adherence to regulations such as REACH, GHS/CLP, OSHA and local chemical management laws.
Operational efficiency: May reduce personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements, ventilation needs and spill-control costs.
Stronger market position: Customers increasingly expect sustainable, low-risk materials in the supply chain.
Cons
Limited technical alternatives: Not all hazardous chemicals have substitutes that meet performance requirements.
Potential cost increases: Safer alternatives may initially be more expensive or require process changes.
Time-intensive testing and validation: Ensuring compatibility with equipment and processes can be time-consuming.
New risks may appear: Substitutes may have different hazards.
Training and documentation updates: Staff may need new competencies, safety data sheet (SDS) updates and revised procedures.
Substitution Step by Step
It is recommended to consider substitution systematically, for example:
1. Identify and assess current chemicals
Compile a full inventory of chemicals in use. Review SDS, exposure scenarios and operational needs. Engage frontline workers to understand actual use conditions.
2. Compare, test and select
Explore options through suppliers, technical databases, industry organisations and digital assessment tools. Consider toxicity, environmental impact, performance, availability and lifecycle cost.
3. Implement and update procedures
Introduce the substitute into operations, update documentation, revise risk assessments and train all relevant staff.
4. Communicate across the value chain
Inform customers, suppliers and partners of changes when they may affect product specifications, safety information or operational processes.
Substitution is a proactive approach that enhances safety, reduces environmental impact and helps companies remain compliant in a fast-changing regulatory landscape. By systematically identifying and implementing safer chemical alternatives, companies, can reduce risk, support sustainability goals and strengthen their competitive position.
