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Archive for the ‘accidents’ Category

Incident Trends – 2023 Q3 – Gulf of Mexico

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on November 20, 2023| 1 Comment »

An excellent compliance and incident update by Jason Mathews is attached. BSEE’s focus on risk assessment, compliance and incident trends, high potential near-misses, medivac capabilities, hot work safety, lifting operations, and gas releases is encouraging. Good work by the folks in BSEE’s Gulf of Mexico Region.

Observations:

  • Zero 2023 occupational fatalities through Q3. Hoping this holds through the end of the year and beyond.
  • INCs/component are down but INCs/inspection are slightly higher. This may imply a relative increase in the inspection of high component deepwater facilities.
  • No. of hours worked is increasing; good sign for the offshore program.
  • Hand and finger injuries are driving up the injury count.
  • Well control incidents are stable at a low level.
  • Improved fire data help facilitate risk assessments
  • No YTD explosions
  • No. of collisions is down
  • 10 YTD spills> 1 barrel (total volume not specified)
  • Some evidence of decline in lifting incidents in Q2 and Q3
  • Gas releases are up (aging facilities, decommissioning related?)
ooc-eexcutive-board-meeting_osm-trends_8nov2023Download

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Pipeline spill in Main Pass area of Gulf of Mexico

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, pipelines, tagged , , , on November 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

  • Location: Spotted Thursday morning 19 miles east of the mouth of Main Pass; slick moved southwest on Friday, toward the mouth of South Pass
  • Operator: Main Pass Oil Gathering, a subsidiary of the Houston oil company Third Coast.
  • Volume transported: 80,000 bopd
  • Age: Pipeline was completed in Aug. 2022
  • Spill size based on slick estimate: 291 bbls

The cause of the spill is unknown at this time. External damage (perhaps anchor dragging or vessel contact with exposed section) is a good bet.

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BSEE issues guidance about fundamental helicopter loading procedures

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , on November 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

BSEE shouldn’t have to issue guidance about helicopter loading precautions that every worker and visitor should be taught before going offshore, but apparently they do. See the safety alert that is attached below.

In this alarming near-miss event, a helicopter was stationed on the facility’s helideck and a crew member approached the aircraft from the rear, entering the rotor arc area before the rotor blades had come to a complete stop. This unsafe action posed a significant threat to the safety of all personnel involved. An offshore helideck assistant repeated the unsafe behavior by approaching the helicopter from the rear, entering the vicinity of the tail rotor, and positioning themselves within the main rotor’s danger zone immediately after the helicopter had landed on the facility’s helideck.

Meanwhile, we are still awaiting the final report on the tragic crash at the West Delta 109 A platform last December. Why is this taking so long?

bsee-safety-alert-474-safely-approaching-a-helicopter-on-offshore-helidecksDownload

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Does the latest Washington Post/Der Spiegel report help us better understand the Nord Stream sabotage operation?

Posted in accidents, pipelines, tagged , , , , , on November 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

No, because it provides no evidence in support of either of the two prominent Nord Stream sabotage theories: (1) the Seymour Hersh account and (2) the rental yacht narrative.

When the findings from important investigations are delayed, information leaks serve to control the narrative and satisfy political or economic objectives. Why are these intelligence organizations so eager to assign blame within the Ukrainian government? Why are the actual findings of the investigations not being released? Perhaps the WP and Spiegel reporters can answer those questions.

Former secret service agent Roman Chervinskyi in court in Kyiv in April; photo: Nikita Galka

According to the joint research by DER SPIEGEL and The Washington Post, Chervinskyi’s name is circulating both in Ukrainian and international security circles in connection with the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. The former agent allegedly coordinated the attack and also provided support for the specialist unit behind the sabotage operation.

Cautionary note:

People in Western security circles say that the Ukrainian security apparatus is plagued with rivalries and infighting, and that information obtained from sources there must be handled with caution.

both quotes from Der Spiegel

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IRF Country Performance Data published for 2021 and 2022

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, IRF, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on October 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

International Regulators’ Forum Country Performance data for 2021 and 2022 have now been posted. Unfortunately, the US fatalities data for 2022 are incorrect. Four workers died as a result of a helicopter crash at the West Delta 106 A platform on 12/29/2022. However, the IRF summary table indicates only one fatality for the year.

Per the IRF guidelines, “Helicopter operations at or near an Offshore Installation” are supposed to be counted. The fatal 12/29/2022 incident clearly happened at the platform’s helideck (photos below).

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IRF conference slides

Posted in accidents, conferences, decommissioning, NOPSEMA, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , on October 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

NOPSEMA has kindly provided links for the slides presented at the 3-4 October International Regulators’ Forum Offshore Safety Conference in Perth, Australia. They will be uploading the video recordings at a later date.

On day 2 (stream 2) Bryan Domangue (BSEE) presented updated data on the progress that is being made in plugging inactive wells and decommissioning idle platforms (see the charts pasted below). In the following session, Bryan made an interesting presentation on the capping stack deployment exercises in the GoM (picture below).

For excellent slides on investigation and sharing the lessons learned, see session 9 (day 2, stream 1).

Agenda

capping stack deployment exercise, Gulf of Mexico

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Important BSEE Safety Alert on medical evacuation preparedness

Posted in accidents, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on October 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Consistent with the findings of their inspections and data gathering (as discussed further here), BSEE has published a safety alert (attached) that identifies significant shortcomings in medical evacuation planning and performance.

The findings suggest that a renewed focus on medevac preparedness should be an immediate industry priority. Note the evacuation time, supply, training, and other planning issues summarized in the BSEE alert. Also note the helideck safety issues that were identified. These issues are particularly troubling in light of last December’s fatal crash.

bsee-safety-alert-469-bsee-identifies-medical-evacuation-and-emergency-hazards-during-risk-based-inspectionsDownload

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Senator Bob Menendez and the Macondo hearing

Posted in accidents, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on October 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I was on the first panel to appear before a Senate committee during the Macondo blowout. All of the senators were respectful and professional with two exceptions, one of whom was Bob Menendez. Perhaps Senator Menendez’s penchant for political grandstanding was an indication of more significant character flaws.

Robert Menendez Allegedly Agreed to Use His Official Position to Benefit Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, and the Government of Egypt in Exchange for Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars of Bribes to Menendez and His Wife Nadine Menendez, Which Included Gold Bars, Cash, and a Luxury Convertible  

Dept. of Justice

Last week, Sen. Menendez was cited for additional charges accusing him of accepting bribes from a foreign government and conspiring to act as a foreign agent.

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2022 incident rates are cause for concern

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, IRF, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , on August 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Per the BSEE presentation attached below:

Slide 13: “In 2022, the rate of occupational fatalities, reported for activities on facilities where BSEE has primary investigation authority, decreased to being near the historical national average of approximately 0.9 fatalities per 25,000 full time equivalent workers per year. However, considering all offshore risk factors, including helicopter transportation, diving, marine transfer, and COVID-19 exposures, the occupational fatality rate for all OCS activities has remained high since 2019.“

Slide 15: “In 2022, the TRIR for both production and construction operations increased to the highest levels recorded since 2010 and remained high even after discounting the impact of COVID-19 illnesses. The TRIR for drilling and well operations, however, remained near their historical lows.“

Comments:

ocs-performance-metrics-2010-2022-incident-rate-chartsDownload

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Final BSEE well control rule is attached

Posted in drilling, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, well control incidents, tagged , on August 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Published today.

2023-17847Download

Comments on the proposed rule.

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