What?
The blowout in the Gulf of Mexico could have been prevented if the last-line of defence—the blind shear ram on the blowout preventer, located at the well head on the ocean floor—had activated and crushed the drill pipe. Given the importance of this equipment, and the evident dangers of relying on a single device, we urge the HSE to consider prescribing specifically that blowout preventers on the UK Continental Shelf should have two blind shear rams.
Comments:
- The UK government should NOT be commenting on the BOP failure until the US government has completed its forensic testing and investigation.
- The Committee has apparently not paid any attention to the testimony on the BOP issues or the other BOP information that has surfaced. Have they not seen the comments from BP and Transocean or the videos shot on the Q4000?
- Would it have been appropriate for the US government to publish a report on Piper Alpha before Lord Cullen had completed his review?
President-elect Dilma joked recently that the oil discoveries were just the latest proof that God is Brazilian. And economists from Goldman Sachs no less are predicting that Brazil — along with Russia, China and India — will dominate the world economy in the 21st century.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 