- Montara watch: 19 days have now elapsed since the Montara Inquiry Report was presented to Minister Ferguson, and there are no recent media updates on the release of the report. Meanwhile, Australian radio has a good piece on Montara – long, but worth the time.
- Macondo: The relief well reports continue to be sketchy and inconsistent. On July 4, the Unified Command reported that the primary relief well had reached 17,400′ (presumably measured depth), while BP’s update for the same date indicated that the first well had reached 17,725′ (this too must also be measure depth, not true vertical depth). It’s unclear whether the final casing (9 7/8″ liner) has been set. Admiral Allen will likely provide a better update today.
- More regulatory philosophy: The regulatory system is at least as important as the specific operating requirements. This UNEP piece provides a good summary of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
Archive for July, 2010
Montara Vigil Continues, Macondo Relief?, More Regulatory Theory
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged Australia, blowouts, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, relief well, well control on July 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Preventing Future Blowouts and Limiting their Effects
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged blowouts, Colin Leach, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, safety, well control on July 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
BOE friend and internationally recognized well control expert Colin Leach has submitted an excellent paper suggesting new procedures that will improve well design and intervention. Click here to read Colin’s paper.
The goal is to eliminate the possibility of what actually could happen not being recognized (at the time of the design). This is achieved by having a core of knowledge against which individual operating companies and outside assessors can assess designs and approaches. Communication between the operator and the “knowledge core”would be confidential as long as a well control incident did not occur. The format of this “knowledge core” is such that it eliminates the “committee think” within an operating company where a dissenting individual (who is actually knowledgeable) can be overruled by a committee vote.
“Must Read” Article for Regulatory Philosophers
Posted in accidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Helge Ryggvik, macondo, Preben Lindoe, regulatory philosophy, Research Council of Norway, safety, well control on July 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
While the Norwegian model is built on trust, cooperation, and sharing of experience and information,” asserts Dr Lindøe, “the situation in the USA is nearly the opposite.”
When an accident happens on the Norwegian continental shelf, the parties convene to uncover any weaknesses in systems or routines that contributed to workers making a mistake. There is agreement that this is how to achieve better results, rather than spending resources on finding scapegoats and not bothering to change the systems.
In the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon, MMS has been criticised for having too cozy a relationship with the companies and for having reduced the number of inspections,” says Researcher Helge Ryggvik of the University of Oslo. “Yet its inspection activities are more comprehensive than on the Norwegian continental shelf. And unlike the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, MMS has its own helicopters and can conduct unannounced inspections.”
This excellent Research Council of Norway article, which discusses some of the differences between the US and Norwegian systems, should be mandatory reading for regulators and operators. Ironically, I made some similar comments to a wind turbine safety committee last week. In assessing the root causes of accidents and the associated equipment and procedural issues, we must not lose sight of the fundamental regulatory objectives and how they can best be achieved.
Happy Independence Day!
Posted in Uncategorized on July 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Have a great 4th of July everyone!
A special salute to the relief well crews and all of the emergency responders in the Gulf of Mexico!
Auf geht’s Deutschland! Hup Holland Hup!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Hup Holland Hup, Schwarzwald, SSM, Todtmoos on July 4, 2010| 3 Comments »
Todtmoos im Schwarzwald
Now that the US has been eliminated, BOE is rooting for Germany and the Netherlands to reach the World Cup final. My great-grandfather, Johann Dannenberger (one “n” got dropped in the new country) emigrated to Pennsylvania from the beautiful village of Todtmoos in the Black Forest region of Germany. In his honor, we are pulling for Germany. Karen and I also have many wonderful Dutch friends including Jan, Jos, Roel, Michael, and others at the State Supervision of Mines, so the Netherlands is another big BOE favorite. We would be happy to see either side take home the cup.
Adios Diego!
Relief Well Down to 11817′ TVD BOF
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, relief well, safety, well control on July 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
bottom of the flowing Macondo well
Based on the latest information provided by Admiral Allen, the relief well has reached 11817′ below the sea floor and is thus only 273′ above the 9 7/8″ casing shoe on the flowing Macondo well. After drilling another 200+ feet, they will open (enlarge) the relief well and install a 9 7/8″ liner. They will then drill a few hundred feet beneath the liner and intercept the flowing well. They will presumably kill the flow in the annulus outside the casing (assuming that is a flow path) with heavy mud before milling into the 7″ casing, killing any flow inside that casing, and plugging the well bore with cement. Stay tuned.
Relief Well Status Per Admiral Allen
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, DD3, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, oil spill, relief well, safety, well control on July 2, 2010| 1 Comment »
Regarding the relief wells, Development Driller III now is at a distance of 11,641 feet below the seafloor. As you know, they’re going through a series of operations which we call ranging. They’re into their fourth cycle of this. In ranging, they withdraw the drill pipe and put down an electrical cable and actually try and sense the magnetic field around the wellbore. They are within around 15 feet of the wellbore at this point. They will continue down 700, 800 more feet, slowly close into the wellbore, and when they know they’ve got it exactly in range, know exactly where the drill pipe is in relation to the wellbore, then they will attempt to move in and drill through the wellbore and then the casing as well. At that point they’ll be in a position to be able to try the bottom kill or to be able to insert the mud, and hopefully after that, put a cement plug in that will kill the well.
Relief Well Fever
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, DD3, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, relief well, well control on July 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
DD3
BOE doesn’t really care about where LeBron James chooses to play basketball, but we are big fans of the team on the Development Driller III or DD3. The DD3 crew, some of whom are Deepwater Horizon survivors, is ahead of schedule and predictions for an early intercept and well kill are approaching irrational exuberance levels. This may be the most important well in history, and crew has responded to the challenge.
After the DD3 crew finishes the job, we owe them a victory parade in New Orleans. “Throw me somethin’ mista! 🙂
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 