Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE)

This blowout is a national tragedy with 11 fatalities, 3 critical injuries, many lives disrupted, and a major ongoing oil spill.  Nonetheless, as with every disaster, there are some positives.  A  few come to mind:

1. 115 workers were rescued following the initial explosion.
2. The first ever deepwater oil containment and collection system is being built.  Should the responders not be able to soon stop flow from the well, this system will be deployed and evaluated.
3. An innovative and unprecedented attempt may be made to install and operate a second BOP (above the failed stack).
4. New spill cleanup options such as underwater dispersants are being studied.  The resulting data will be very useful to oil spill researchers.
5. Lessons from Macondo are likely to trigger improvements in BOP systems and well integrity assurance procedures.