February 8, 2011 by offshoreenergy
In addition to managing the catastrophic risks associated with fires, explosions, and structural failures, chronic health and safety risks must also be effectively managed. Hearing loss is one such risk, and PSA Norway has challenged industry to minimize the effects of noise on the health of offshore workers.
The risk level in the Norwegian petroleum activities (RNNP) shows a relatively high number of noise injuries. These are chronic injuries that will worsen with age. The RNNP questionnaire survey shows that 37 per cent state that they quite often/very often/always suffer from a high noise level. Five per cent state that they suffer some or quite a lot from impaired hearing, and 45 per cent of them believe noise in the working environment is the reason for their impaired hearing.
Click here to view the article, presentation, and recorded seminar.
Posted in Norway | Tagged hearing loss, noise, Norway, offshore oil, safety | Leave a Comment »
February 7, 2011 by offshoreenergy
Montara Blowout - Timor Sea
Link
PTTEP will have to report monthly and meet quarterly with Mr Ferguson under a binding agreement for the next 18 months.
Comment: That “penalty” is almost comical. What is the next level of punishment – weekly meetings with Ferguson? Also, shouldn’t the Minister let the regulator oversee PTTEP? Shouldn’t the Minister receive such reports and briefings from the regulator?
There is no disincentive, there’s no penalties. That’s what I think many Australians will be scratching their heads about. Paul Gamblin, WWF WA Director
Comment: I have to agree with the World Wildlife Federation. As one who has been following Monatara since the blowout was first reported and has read every page of the submissions and testimony, it seems inconceivable that PTTEP is able to continue its operations with no apparent penalty.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
February 7, 2011 by offshoreenergy
The Canadian Transportation Safety Board’s report on the March 2009 helicopter crash that killed 17 workers offshore Newfoundland will be released on 9 February. This CTV piece provides a good summary of some of the significant issues that have surfaced in the press including:
Pre-crash warnings:
A Canadian investigator who red flagged main gearbox problems months before a Sikorsky helicopter crashed off Newfoundland says he’ll closely read a federal report on what caused the deadly accident.
Criticism of the FAA for their failure to respond:
He forwarded his results to the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. agency that originally certified the aircraft, saying he hoped to hear what a deeper probe would find.
FAA says “Not My Job:”
Les Dorr said the agency didn’t send any follow up research it did to Yearwood because it wasn’t under any obligation to do so under international agreements.
Transport Canada says “Not My Job” and points the finger at FAA:
Maryse Durette, a spokeswoman for the agency, says in an email the matter was the FAA’s responsibility and Transport Canada would wait for the original certifier to make recommendations before acting.
While the data suggest that the risk to offshore workers may be greatest when they are travelling to and from a facility, this investigation has received very little attention outside of Canada. That is unfortunate.
Posted in accidents | Tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil | 1 Comment »
February 6, 2011 by offshoreenergy
link
Bahamas Petroleum, the oil and gas exploration company with licences in The Bahamas, is pleased to announce that the company has completed the acquisition of 1120 km of long-cable (8km) 2D seismic in its southern licences. The new seismic survey has confirmed the presence of multiple prospects, some of which are 4-way closure in nature and some of which are combination stratigraphic-structural traps.
I’ll defer to the geologists regarding the significance of this announcement, but the results would seem to provide further encouragement for the island nation’s exploratory drilling plans. Will Florida politicians try to bully the Bahamas the way they have been bullying Cuba?
Posted in cuba, drilling, offshore | Tagged Bahamas, cuba, drilling, offshore oil | Leave a Comment »
February 6, 2011 by offshoreenergy
link
Tony Hayward, the former BP chief executive who stepped down in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, is in talks to launch a new global oil company, according to press reports.
Mr Hayward was approached by representatives from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund who offered to bankroll him to the tune of several billion dollars to enable him to build a global oil and gas group, according to the Sunday Times.
BTW, are journalists required to use the phrase “in the wake of” in every article about the blowout? It sure seems that way. This short article uses the phrase twice (bonus points?).
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Abu Dhabi, Deepwater Horizon, macondo, Tony Hayward | Leave a Comment »
February 6, 2011 by offshoreenergy
This cartoon reminded BOE sage Odd Finnestad of the Deepwater Horizon BOP “forensics” testing.
While the BOP testing is now in its 4th month with no official updates and no information on the badly neglected investigation website (where items from last August are listed as the “latest news”), there is online video evidence that gives us good clues about what happened. However, this is partial evidence, and concerned operators, contractors, and regulators need complete information. While we wait, wells are being drilled around the world without the benefit of even preliminary findings.
When a plane crashes, information is released as soon as possible so that future accidents can be prevented. Why is that not the case with this investigation? The absence of urgency and transparency is most disappointing.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, BOP, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
February 6, 2011 by offshoreenergy
BOE’s Chery Anderson has alerted us that the Petrobras P-33 platform, which had been shut-in at the direction of the Brazilian regulators, has resumed production. Unfortunately, as has been the case with many post-Macondo articles, the author felt compelled to link the Petrobras problem to deep water.
…the accident once again raised concerns about the safety of deep-water oil output in the wake of last year’s disaster in the U.S Gulf of Mexico.
Contrary to popular opinion, water depth was a relatively minor factor in the Macondo blowout, and had nothing to do with the maintenance issues at the P-33 and other Campos basin facilities. Shallow water was a more significant contributing factor to the Montara blowout (batched completions, mudline suspensions, and two-stage platform installation) than deep water was at Macondo.
Posted in accidents | Tagged ANP, Brazil, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, Petrobras, safety | 2 Comments »
February 5, 2011 by offshoreenergy
Gryphon Alpha FPSO
A BBC report (forwarded by Cheryl Anderson) indicates that 70+ workers were safely evacuated from the Gryphon Alpha Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility in the UK sector of the North Sea. Four of the FPSO’s ten mooring lines failed in 30-foot seas and high winds which allowed the vessel to roll up to 12 degrees. 40 essential personnel remained aboard the facility.
While mooring system failures have been relatively common during hurricanes and other major storms (in the Gulf of Mexico, this problem was addressed through comprehensive MMS-industry programs after the 2005 hurricane season), such failures are much less common at floating production facilities. We await the findings of the UK’s inquiry.
Posted in accidents, UK | Tagged accidents, FPSO, Gryphon Alpha, mooring failures, UK | 3 Comments »
February 5, 2011 by offshoreenergy
From Platts Oilgram News (3 February 2011):
Mitsui affiliate MOEX Offshore has received invoices from BP seeking $2.64 billion in reimbursement related to the Macondo oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico, Mitsui said February 2.
A wise attorney (not an oxymoron :)) recently mentioned that you had to be very careful about ventures that you are buying into (as a partner) or selling into (as a contractor or manufacturer). If something horrible happens, your company’s economic future could be jeopardized, even if your role was rather small.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control | 7 Comments »
February 4, 2011 by offshoreenergy
Australian Department of Resources, Energy, and Tourism
The Independent Review concluded that the Montara Action Plan effectively responds to the issues identified by the Montara Commission of Inquiry and sets PTTEP Australasia on the path to achieving industry best practice standards for both good oil field practice and good governance.
Comments:
- Perhaps the results of the “Independent Review” should have been released before PTTEP announced that it was moving ahead with development of the Montara field.
- Macondo was a model operation compared to Montara which was suspended for months with only a flawed casing shoe and a corrosion cap as barriers. When well activities resumed after the suspension, and the corrosion cap was removed, they could have tied back the 13 3/8″ casing and installed the BOP stack, but instead moved to another well so they could optimize efficiency. When the well began to flow, there was no means of even attempting to shut it in or install a surface cap.
- PTTEP has not been fined or penalized in any way by the Australian government. I wonder how Commissioner Borthwick and the folks who participated in the Montara Inquiry, which did an admirable job and was very critical of PTTEP, feel about that.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged Australia, blowouts, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, relief well, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
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Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 