Wireline Operations Safety Assessment through the Application of Success Paths and FMECA

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the federal agency responsible for promoting safety, environmental protection, and resource conservation on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, participated in the development of API Recommended Practice (RP) 16WL to fulfill its mission and its obligations under the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995. Recognizing that wireline operations represent a mature but highly siloed discipline with limited regulatory guidance and no existing API standards, BSEE engaged Argonne National Laboratory to support the API Subcommittee 16 workgroup by conducting Success Path and Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) evaluations of key barrier and pressure‑control systems. These analyses were intended to document prevailing assumptions about equipment configurations, identify potential single‑point failures, and highlight areas requiring enhanced safety measures. Through biweekly technical exchanges with subject matter experts, the study revealed significant challenges in achieving consensus on terminology, nomenclature, system configurations, and definitions of barriers—issues that must be resolved to ensure consistent application of the widely accepted two‑barrier philosophy. While the analyses demonstrated both robust system elements and areas needing further attention, additional agreement is required on what constitutes a barrier and how barriers can be reliably maintained across different wireline subsets, particularly braided‑line operations. The study concludes with recommendations to continue applying Success Path and FMECA methodologies, advance terminology standardization, expand training to build stakeholder alignment, and pursue improved data collection and future research to strengthen the technical foundation of API RP 16WL.