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Archive for the ‘accidents’ Category

Cheryl Anderson’s Macondo Oil Spill Update

Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged , , , , , , , on August 1, 2011| 1 Comment »

Dauphin Island tarballs, May 2011

Cheryl’s update after reviewing the latest reports:

  • There is a USCG unified command specific to BP spill residue after storms.
  • The tarballs are not considered toxic, just an unattractive nuisance.
  • Tarball cleanup on Dauphin Island was halted on May 1 to protect nesting birds.
  • BP estimates a total Macondo spill volume of about 4 million bbl as opposed to the government estimate of 4.9 million bbl.
  • BP estimates that 850,000 barrels were captured, burned or skimmed off the water.
  • 1,260 people remain employed in spill cleanup as of [July 14, 2011], down from a peak of 48,200 a year ago

Articles of interest:

Alabama.com

WALA New Orleans

Bloomberg Business Week 

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How deepwater and surface spills differ

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , on July 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Very interesting findings for those interested in the fate of spilled oil:

The deep sea entrainment of water-soluble hydrocarbons has far-reaching implications for deep water oil spills. Our results demonstrate that most of the C1-C3 hydrocarbons and a significant fraction of water-soluble aromatic compounds were retained in the deep water column, whereas relatively insoluble petroleum components were predominantly transported to the sea surface or deposited on the seafloor, although the relative proportions are not known.

The resulting apportionments of hydrocarbon transfers to the water column and atmosphere are therefore very different for a deep water oil spill versus a sea-surface oil spill. During seasurface oil spills, highly water-soluble components such as BTEX, C3-benzenes, and naphthalene quickly volatilize and are rapidly lost to the atmosphere within hours to days, thereby limiting the extent of aqueous dissolution into the water column. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, however, gas and oil experienced a significant residence time in the water column with no opportunity for the release of volatile species to the atmosphere. Hence, water-soluble petroleum compounds dissolved into the water column to a much greater extent than is typically observed for surface spills.

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FAA won’t require helicopter gear box retrofits

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , on July 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

In light of the 2009 helicopter crash that killed 17 workers offshore Newfoundland and the rash of other helicopter incidents around the world, helicopter safety is a major concern for the offshore industry and regulators. This FAA decision (link courtesy of Cheryl Anderson) is sure to be controversial in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere.

The U.S. aviation regulator says it won’t require the retrofit of a gearbox blamed in a fatal helicopter crash off Newfoundland because it would be too expensive for the industry.

 The decision by the Federal Aviation Administration rejects a call by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to phase-in a requirement that all Sikorsky S-92A gearboxes be capable of operating at least 30 minutes after losing oil.

The March 2009 crash of Cougar Flight 491 resulted in 17 deaths during a flight to an offshore oil platform, and has brought demands from the families of the victims that regulators in the United States, Canada and Europe change the rules governing the gearbox.

The FAA memo on the decision, obtained by The Canadian Press under U.S. freedom of information legislation, says the service record of the helicopter no longer supports the certification’s basic premise that the chances of an oil leak are “extremely remote.”

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Improvement in UK Gas Leak and Casualty Numbers

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , , on July 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Encouraging report from Steve Walker and his HSE colleagues.

Figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that there were 73 major or significant hydrocarbon releases associated with offshore installations in 2010/11, compared with 85 the previous year. There were 61 recorded in 2008/09 – the lowest since HSE began regulating the industry. Overall, there continues to be a downward trend in the total of all reported hydrocarbon releases offshore.

For the fourth year running, no workers were killed during offshore activities regulated by HSE and 2010/11 also saw a fall in the number of major injuries. There were 42 reported compared with 50 the previous year, bringing the total in line with the average of the previous five years.

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BP announces enhanced standards

Posted in accidents, Regulation, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2011| 2 Comments »

You be the judge.

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PSA Announcement on Valhall Fire

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , , , on July 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

14.07.2011 | On Wednesday 13 July, a fire broke out in the compressor area of Valhall PCP. Today the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) will send two representatives to Valhall to investigate the incident.

The fire, which was reported to the authorities yesterday afternoon, started at around 4.40 p.m. A standby vessel was deployed to put out the fire and at 6.45 p.m. it was confirmed that the fire had been extinguished. All personnel were evacuated and there were no injuries.

link

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Fire suspends operations at Valhall production facility offshore Norway

Posted in accidents, Norway, tagged , , , , , on July 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Per Upstream:

A fire at BP’s Valhall oil platform off Norway in the southern part of the North Sea forced the UK supermajor to halt production and evacuate the facility today. 

Valhall Complex (www.mfox.nl)

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Helicopter crash offshore Myanmar – 3 dead, 8 rescued

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , , on July 11, 2011| 1 Comment »

BOE’s Cheryl Anderson picked up this AP report.  Helicopter accidents continue to be a leading cause of offshore casualties.

A helicopter carrying crew from an offshore drilling rig crashed into the sea off Myanmar, killing three people on board. Eight were rescued.

The aircraft was carrying staff of the Malaysian oil company Petronas from the Yetagun offshore gas field in the Andaman Sea.

The oil field is operated by Petronas Carigali of Malaysia, PTTEP of Thailand and Japan’s Nippon Oil company. Petronas also operates a cross-border gas pipeline to transport gas from Yetagun to Thailand.

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Visund gas leak investigation

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , , on July 11, 2011| 1 Comment »

If someone had asked me a few years ago what the highest risk offshore system was, I certainly would not have said a fully cased well in the process of being suspended. Yet that was the scenario for both of the recent mega-incidents, Montara and Macondo.

I would have instead suggested that dynamic production risers were the highest risk offshore system. The combination of relatively new technology, movement,  fatigue potential, exposure in the splash zone, and continuous hydrocarbon flow poses risks that must be carefully managed.  That is why investigations of incidents like the Visund gas leak are so important. In that regard, PSA does an excellent job and prominently posts all of their reports so that we all may benefit. I recommend that you take a look at this one.

In connection with the planned shutdown on Visund on 9 April 2011, a hydrocarbon leak occurred from well A21’s 6” flexible riser UK-18-0009. The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has carried out an investigation of certain aspects of the incident.

 We have identified three nonconformities within the areas of establishment and follow-up of preconditions for safe operation of dynamic risers, training and expertise and governing documentation.

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Positive step for Australia

Posted in accidents, tagged , , , , , , on July 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

From the West Australian:

A new system to regulate the offshore gas and oil industry – a direct response to the 2009 Montara north of the Kimberley – has been approved by the Federal Parliament’s lower house.

Under the changes, the seven state and territory authorities will be replaced by a single Commonwealth body, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

It will regulate all safety issues from exploration to well decommissioning.

In the US, the jurisdictional conflicts (offshore) differ in that they typically involve multiple Federal regulators with overlapping jurisdiction and different priorities. Since most of the necessary streamlining would only involve Federal agencies, one would think that regulatory reform would be achievable, especially after a major blowout that killed eleven. Unfortunately, meaningful US reform appears to be highly unlikely.

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