Posted in Uncategorized on March 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The supermoon is a normal part of the moon’s orbit around Earth. Because of small fluctuations in that oval-shaped orbit, the moon will be about 8 percent closer to Earth than it usually would be at that point in orbit. That means it will look huge, about 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than full moons occurring on the opposite side the orbit, according to NASA. Arizona News
Posted in accidents, tagged accidents, Air France 447, black box, blowouts, BOPE, drilling, safety on March 19, 2011| 1 Comment »
Specialists are launching a fourth undersea search effort next week for the plane’s so-called black boxes, or flight recorders.
‘We are convinced if we find the black boxes we’ll be able to reconstruct what really happened on this tragic flight Air France 447,’ Enders said. Airbus officials say the search is a company priority.
Air France and Airbus will finance the estimated $12.5 million cost of the new search, in which three advanced underwater robots will scour the mountainous ocean floor between Brazil and western Africa, in depths of up to 4,000 meters (13,120 feet).
Already $27.5 million has been spent on three previous search attempts that failed to find Flight 447’s voice and data recorders. Daily Mail
Aviation safety proponents have argued that it’s time to start replacing black boxes with satellite systems that stream critical data real time. Similarly, as we have previously suggested, it’s time for real time monitoring of wellhead and BOP pressures and functions. This relatively inexpensive improvement would support testing and maintenance programs, improve our understanding of BOP performance, assist with well control decisions, and facilitate investigations.
Posted in accidents, tagged API, Offshore Safety Center on March 18, 2011| 2 Comments »
“After extensive review and development, the oil and natural gas industry has approved the creation of the Center for Offshore Safety, which will promote the highest level of safety for offshore operations, through an effective program that addresses management practices, communication and teamwork, and which relies on independent, third-party auditing and verification,” said Jack Gerard, API president and CEO. “The board directed API to further develop the operational framework and timeline for the center—working with other industry stakeholders—to enhance industry safety and environmental performance.”API Announcement
Comments:
Posted in accidents, tagged Fukushima, macondo on March 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I’m no nuclear power advocate, but it would be nice if everyone focused on fixing the problem, protecting those who are truly endangered, and restroring some sense of normalcy in Japan. There will be plenty of time to investigate and find fault.
By the way, do you remember the fear mongering about Macondo oil on East Coast beaches?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on March 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
From Platts Oilgram News:
BP seeks Macondo BOP access to perform tests Washington—BP is seeking access to the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer so it can run tests the company says the joint investigation has failed to perform. BP filed a motion in US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans March 9, asking Judge Carl Barbierto allow the company access to the BOP after the joint investigation being run by the US Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, is finished with it. The BOP, a five-story stack of valves, sat atop BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexicoand failed to suppress a blowout April 20,2010. The blowout killed 11 workers fromTransocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig and triggered a massive oil spill. The joint investigation, under the supervision of the Department of Justice, has been conducting tests on the BOP at a NASA facility in Michoud, Louisiana. DNV Columbus washired to conduct the forensic tests and BP,Transocean, and Cameron, which made the BOP, have been observing.The test results are supposed to be delivered to the joint investigation by March 20. Hearings on the BOP are scheduled for the week of April 4. In its motion, BP said it submitted to the Joint Investigation Team a list of highly technical tests it felt should be conducted, but that the final list of approved tests did not include several of the items BP and other companies had requested.“BP, however, believes that performance of these forensic activities will add value to an analysis of why the BOP did not work as intended on April 20, and recommends they be completed,” the company said in its court brief.— Gary Gentile
Posted in accidents, Uncategorized, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on March 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Summit Entertainment, Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi, have announced that they’ve acquired the film rights to a 2010 New York Times article on the BP oil spill.Forbes
This is the excellent New York Times piece referenced in the quote.
Posted in gas, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Australian, China, Japan, natural gas, nuclear energy on March 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I just sent someone an email commenting that demand for Australian LNG (and their offshore gas production) was about to soar, but it looks like the Wall Street Journal is already on this story.
A global shift away from nuclear power in response to the atomic plant crisis unfolding in Japan will likely spur a scramble for Australian energy, catapulting the country ahead of Qatar as the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas in the near future.
![[OZLNG]](https://i0.wp.com/si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/AM-AM993_OZLNG_NS_20110316055703.jpg)
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Carolita Kallaur Award, IRF, NOIA, SAFE Awards, Safety in Seas Award on March 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I am honored to be serving as one of the judges for this year’s Safety in Seas Award. As it has been every year since 1978, this prestigious award will be presented at NOIA’s Annual Meeting in April. To the best of my knowledge, Safety in Seas is the oldest safety award program for offshore oil and gas operations. This year’s nominations are very impressive. Congratulations to the participating companies and individuals!
I have had the pleasure of participating in other offshore safety awards programs including the Carolita Kallaur Awards and the MMS Safety Awards For Excellence (SAFE). Unfortunately, the latter program appears to have been suspended or terminated, presumably as a result of last year’s blowout. That is unfortunate. The SAFE program was initiated in 1983, and District and National awards had been presented each year. The winners took great pride in their safety achievements. As many as 800 people packed the annual awards event in Houston to recognize the winners, promote safety achievement, and draw attention to safety issues.
Past achievements don’t guarantee future success in any endeavor, be it sports, the arts, business, or even politics. However, we don’t stop recognizing champions because they might fail in the future, we don’t stop presenting Academy Awards because future movies might be disappointing, and we don’t stop holding elections even though we never seem to get it right.
It’s been a tough five years for the US offshore industry – recovering from a series of major hurricanes and an unprecedented drilling blowout. Investigations continue and changes are necessarily being made. During these challenging times, positive recognition is more important than ever. We must learn from successes as well as failures, and reinforce outstanding offshore safety leadership. I look forward to the presentation of the Safety in Seas Award and hope that SAFE program will resume in the near future, either under the direction of the Federal government or separately.
DOI Asst. Secretary Sylvia Baca and MMS Associate Director Carolita Kallaur present 2000 SAFE Award (moderate activity category) to British Borneo USA
Posted in energy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged energy, Gulf of Mexico, House Energy and Commerce, offshore drilling, offshore oil on March 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Speakers list and link to live streaming
The Subcommittee on Energy and Power announces a multi-day hearing on “The American Energy Initiative.” The first day of the hearing will be on Thursday, March 17, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. It will focus on oil supplies, gasoline prices, and jobs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 