Transocean Ltd., the world’s largest offshore oil driller, may attempt to recover some or all of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and sank during last year’s Macondo well disaster. Bloomberg
U.S. Attorney Steve Overholt told District Judge Carl Barbier that testing of the failed blowout preventor (BOP) that led to the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion should be done by the end of this week. Louisiana Record
Archive for the ‘accidents’ Category
Partial recovery of the Deepwater Horizon? BOP testing about to conclude?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, BOP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, transocean, well control on February 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Capping stacks and containment systems are important, but well integrity is critical
Posted in accidents, Uncategorized, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, capping and containment, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Helix, macondo, Marine Well Containment Company, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, well control on February 28, 2011| 2 Comments »
Good Nola.com article on the well containment systems
Comments on well capping and containment:
- Capping and containment systems, while important and necessary, are for blowout response, not blowout prevention. Their use, successful or otherwise, would only occur after a series of unacceptable failures.
- Having two capping and containment consortia in the Gulf of Mexico (and none anywhere else in the world) does not seem to be very cost effective or efficient.
- What are the plans for subsea capping and containment systems elsewhere?
- A capping/containment capability would not have saved a single life on the Deepwater Horizon. Verified barriers must be in place to prevent flow from the well bore.
- The well responsible for our other major drilling blowout spill (Santa Barbara – 1969), was capped at the surface by closing the blind ram on the BOP shortly after flow began. However, capping doesn’t work if you don’t have a competent well bore. The well flowed through numerous channels back to the seafloor.
- Capping subsea wells is safer than capping surface wells.
- Capping the Montara blowout (2009) in only 80m of water was neither safe nor technically feasible because of the way the well was suspended. Despite the complete absence of a capping option at Montara, the capping of surface wells has received little attention.
- The more critical, but less publicized, post-Macondo initiatives pertain to well design, construction, and verification. In that regard, important new standards, including the Well Construction Interface Document, are scheduled to be completed soon. That work must not be delayed.
- While capping stacks and containment systems will only be used in the event of a series of major failures, design and construction procedures are critical every time a well is drilled. The importance of the initial design decisions continues into the production phase and beyond, even after the well has been plugged and abandoned.
BOP Hearings in Early April?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on February 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
These hearings should be interesting:
The JIT expects to hold another set of public hearings the week of April 4 to focus specifically on the BOP and findings from the forensic examination. BOEMRE and the USCG expect to issue a joint release regarding the investigation by mid-April.
Houston Chronicle on BOP Failure
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, BOEMRE, BOP, Coast Guard, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, safety, well control on February 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Giant metal shears successfully sliced and closed pipe full of runaway crude in the early moments of last April’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, but the oil blasted through rubber gaskets around the blades and unleashed the nation’s largest spill, according to sources familiar with an ongoing investigation. Houston Chronicle
That would be consistent with the video evidence recorded on the Q4000, but we still need a lot more information about the timing of the shear ram closure, the position of the ram and drill pipe before and after shearing, maintenance, and other important BOP issues.
Kudos to the Chronicle for their ongoing coverage of Macondo issues.
Steven Chu – not your typical Cabinet Secretary
Posted in accidents, drilling, Offshore Energy - General, well control incidents, tagged DOE, drilling, macondo, safety, Secretary Chu, Ultra-Deepwater, well control on February 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Few Cabinet Secretaries are scientists or engineers, and none has been a Nobel Prize winner. We expect Secretary Chu to be different and yesterday’s meeting with DOE’s Ultra-Deepwater Advisory Committee was not your typical Washington “hit and run” performance. Rather than making a quick speech and running along to his next appointment, Secretary Chu engaged in technical dialogue with our committee for a full hour, offering insights and responding to questions. Among the topics discussed were BOP instrumentation and monitoring, well integrity, ROV/AUV issues, and Macondo findings.
Kudos to Secretary Chu for his commitment to offshore safety.
Gary Gentile published this report on the meeting in Platts Oilgram News. (click on the story to enlarge)
Transocean Report
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, transocean, well control on February 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
“Our internal investigation into the events of that tragedy is nearing completion,” Newman told investors during a conference call to discuss Transocean’s fourth-quarter earnings. “In light of continuing delays and obtaining information on the third-party testing of the Horizon’s (blowout preventer), we expect to release findings in the next month or two.” Fox Business
Russia:”Can’t Happen Here”
Posted in accidents, tagged accidents, arctic, blowouts, Can't Happen Here Award, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, offshore oil, Russia, safety, well control on February 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
No deepwater horizons in Russian arctic:
Developed by SevMash, the first Barents Sea oil rig will be a steel table the size of a football pitch and capable of withstanding temperatures of down to minus 50 Celsius. The whole point of it is that standing on the seabed, it will allow drilling and pumping the way they are done of firm land. This is a very far cry from the Deepwater Horizon. That platform was semi-submersed, positioned dynamically and designed to pump oil from beneath a mile of sea. When the oil gushed, the spill proved almost unstoppable. The Barents Sea platform will employ a very different production technology, which involves the use of powerful pumps. Chief Technology Officer of the Gazpromneft Shelf company Dr Alexander Kisser
Comment:
- Don’t demonize deepwater production to promote the arctic (or vice versa). The world needs responsible production from both.
- “Can’t happen here (or to me)” talk impresses no one. Explain how a disasters can happen to you and what you are doing to prevent them.
- Identify the special risks at your site and how they will be mitigated. Don’t tell us why the arctic isn’t the Gulf of Mexico.
- Perhaps we should present Can’t Happen Here awards as part of the Not My Job awards program.
PSA reviewing Macondo
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, macondo, Norway, offshore oil, PSA on February 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The PSA established a project team on 7 May 2010 with some 20 members drawn from relevant disciplines to follow up the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Its overall goal is to systematise and assess experience and investigations in the wake of this incident, so that appropriate lessons can contribute to learning and improvement on the NCS.
The project will identify areas where enhancements can be made to the requirements in Norway’s regulations and/or other types of measures related to Norwegian petroleum operations. PSA.no
Offshore worker dies in fall
Posted in accidents, tagged Apache, fall, lifting, offshore platforms, personnel transfer on February 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says it is looking into an incident on Apache Corporation’s natural gas production platform WC 575A, about 150 miles south of Lake Charles that led to the death of an offshore worker.
The incident occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, the bureau said. The worker fell into the water, apparently while transferring from a vessel to the platform.
Other crew members were able to get the worker back on the platform, but shortly thereafter he became unresponsive and was subsequently pronounced dead.
Lucky Australia? Lucky PTTEP?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, drilling, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, well control on February 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Anthea Pitt, Executive Editor of the Petroleum Economist and a native Australian, recently wrote about her country and its historical dependence on natural resources:
Australia is well aware it relies on primary industries for its wealth. In the 19th century, the country proudly “rode on the sheep’s back”. More recently, iron ore, coal, bauxite and gold helped keep the worst of the sub-prime crisis at bay. Soon, a slew of large hydrocarbon developments off the country’s remote northwest coast will come on line, another rich seam flowing into Australia’s resources revenue stream.
The blowout at Montara was well-earned, and Australian and PTTEP were lucky even during a massive disaster. No one was injured, the well was at a remote location, and international attention was soon diverted to the spectacle of Macondo.
Evidence given to the inquiry showed exactly how fortunate Australia had been. It emerged that wells drilled at Montara failed to meet PTTEP AA’s internal well-construction standards, let alone satisfy regulatory requirements. The H-1 well, which had been suspended as a future producer during batch drilling operations, was open to surface for around a week before it blew out. Its downhole cementing job was flawed; there were no mechanical barriers in place. The rig’s blowout preventer was over another well at the time of the incident.
Although PTTEP has been given a pass by Australian Resources Minister Ferguson, the lessons of Montara must not be ignored. Deepwater drilling is not the problem; Montara was in 80m of water. Poor planning and execution are the problem, whether the well is in the Timor Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the arctic, the North Sea or anywhere else in the world.
