Promulgate a new standard with prescriptive requirements, similar to the Control of Hazardous Energy Standard, as well as a performance-based safety management system framework, similar to the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard, that applies to the drilling, production, and servicing/workover activities surrounding onshore oil and gas wells. At a minimum, this standard should include the following:
1. Prescriptively address requirements for primary and secondary barriers for well control;
2. Detailed written drilling, production, and servicing procedures with specified steps and equipment alignment for all operations;
3. Management of change requirements (except replacements in kind) that, at a minimum, address procedures, the well plan, and equipment;
4. A risk assessment of hazards associated with the drilling, production, and servicing/workover plans;
5. A requirement to follow Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP);
6. Development of a Well Construction Interface Document between the operator and the drilling contractor prior to the commencement of drilling and servicing activities and an equivalent document for production and workover contractors which, at a minimum, includes a bridging document and well plans specifying barriers and how to manage them;
7. The performance and documentation of flow checks using acceptable methods at defined points during the operation for a specified duration;
8. A requirement for employee participation, similar to the Employee Participation requirement in the OSHA PSM standard;
9. A requirement for maintaining critical well information, similar to the Process Safety Information requirement in the OSHA PSM standard, which at a minimum includes well history and documented well control methods during workovers;
10. A requirement for analyzing and assessing the hazards during all phases and steps for well servicing, similar to the Process Hazard Analysis requirement in the OSHA PSM standard;
11. A requirement for developing, executing, communicating, and maintaining procedures for drilling, production, and servicing operations on a well, similar to the Operating Procedures requirement in the OSHA PSM standard; and
12. The documentation of well control plans for drilling, production, and servicing/workover operations for a well utilizing acceptable methods for monitoring the effectiveness of well control methods.