Judge and attorneys find humor in BOP and cement testing
I guess you had to be there …….
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Courtroom Humor
Posted in Uncategorized on March 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Microbes and Oil Spills
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged American Academy of Microbiology, microbes, oil spill on March 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Thinking deep; is it time for seafloor drilling?
Posted in drilling, offshore, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged automated drilling, Deepwater, offshore drilling, Seabed Rig on March 22, 2011| 1 Comment »
from SeabedRig.com
Advances in drilling technology tend to be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Floating rigs, dynamic positioning, top-drive systems, measurement-while-drilling, automated rig floors, and other important advances were logical next steps, not radical makeovers.
Many of us have long been fascinated by the possibility of locating drilling equipment on the seafloor, particularly for deepwater wells. Why operate from a massive floating vessel that requires a sophisticated stationkeeping system and a long riser to connect to the wellhead? Why link surface personnel to seafloor risks? Why increase the complexity of balancing well pressures (without fracturing formations) by adding thousands of feet to the mud column? Why heave and roll on the surface when you can operate from the seafloor?
It’s not that easy, of course, and there are many questions and issues. While fully automated drilling systems are no longer a reach, what about reliability and repairs? How will casing be set and cemented? How will downhole measurements be transmitted to the control center? Cuttings samples? Coring? Well testing? The list of challenges is daunting.
At least one company, Seabed Rig, is committed to developing and demonstrating seafloor drilling technology. Earlier this month, Seabed Rig reached agreement with NASA to create the first autonomous drilling rig. While a lot of work remains, Seabed Rig and other pioneering companies are applauded for their innovative thinking and willingness to challenge conventional practices and wisdom.
Kudos to the Coast Guard and responsible journalists
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Coast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, oil sheen on March 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Kudos to:
- The US Coast Guard for promptly analyzing the Gulf of Mexico sheen that was reported over the weekend and determining that it was not associated with offshore oil and gas production.
- The many news organizations and journalists who ignored the irresponsible speculation, and waited for the Coast Guard to complete its investigation.
Coast Guard: Gulf Sheen likely from dredging
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Coast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, oil sheen on March 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
What was reported as a miles-long oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is likely a plume of silt emanating from a dredging operation on the Mississippi River, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said Sunday.
So much for the hysterical post-Macondo rush to judgement by a few reporters.
Gulf sheen: new information or irresponsible reporting?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Coast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, sheen, W&T on March 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Examiner is reporting the following:
The oil sheen is suspected of coming from the Matterhorn field which includes a deepwater drilling rig, Matterhorn Seastar that is owned by W&T Technology. The oil is suspected from coming from a leak in the well which is a producing well.
Suspected by whom? Does the reporter have legitimate information or is this rank speculation? The Coast Guard is sorting this out, so we should know something soon. A statement from W&T would be helpful.
Coast Guard investigating reports of large Gulf of Mexico sheen
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Coast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, oil spill on March 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Coast Guard said in a news release that it received a report of a three-mile-long rainbow sheen off the Louisiana coast just before 9:30 a.m. local time on Saturday. Two subsequent sightings were relayed to the Coast Guard, the last of which reported a sheen that extended from about 6 miles south of Grand Isle, La. to 100 miles offshore.
Though the Coast Guard was able to confirm that there is a substance on the water’s surface, it has not yet been able to determine if it is oil. Wall Street Journal
I was “moonstruck” this morning
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
Deepwater Horizon – The Movie?
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.
Safety Awards are more important than ever
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
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 