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
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, macondo, Norway, offshore oil, PSA | 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.
Posted in accidents | Tagged Apache, fall, lifting, offshore platforms, personnel transfer | 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.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, drilling, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, well control | Leave a Comment »
“If the sea state is too rough for a successful emergency ditching, then a helicopter shouldn’t be operating, period,” TSB’s Wendy Tadros said at a press conference in St. John’s Wednesday afternoon.
On Friday, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Newfoundland’s three offshore oil operators — Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose — would adopt the TSB’s recommendation.
Posted in accidents | Tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil, safety | 1 Comment »
Courtesy of BOE’s Cheryl Anderson and Gary Gentile of Platts Oilgram News:
Draft Administration comments on the National Commission’s legislative recommendations.
Michael Bromwich speech at Baker Institute, Rice University on 11 February.
House testimony of Commissioners Don Boesch and Terry Garcia on 11 February.
Posted in accidents | Tagged Bromwich, Don Boesch, FPSO, Gryphon Alpha, National Commission, Terry Garcia | Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler, one of our astute commenters on offshore safety issues, is a subsea engineer with vast international experience. He holds patents for seabed drilling templates and subsea control systems, and has worked all over the world on offshore projects.
JL is also an accomplished artist who has exhibited in Paris, le Havre, Singapore, Houston, Edinburgh, and Calgary. He works mainly with acrylics, and his preferred subjects are boats, maritime scenes, harbors and the working environment associated with the sea.
Sometime he combines his interests. “Waiting on Weather” (below) was published in a book about North Sea oil development. Below that are an impressionistic offshore platform painting, an extraordinary coastal sunset scene that my wife really liked, and one of JL’s exciting America’s Cup paintings. Click on any of the paintings for enlarged images.
Mr. Daeschler was raised in France, has traveled the world, and currently lives on the coast of Scotland.
Waiting on Weather
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, JL Daeschler | Leave a Comment »
Posted in conferences | Tagged accidents, Baker Institute, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, Rice University, safety | Leave a Comment »
Magne Ognedal
It’s impossible to inspect quality into the petroleum industry. The latter must itself ensure quality. Magne Ognedal, Director General, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway
More thoughts from Magne:
Understanding risk is central here. We must all recognise first and foremost that the petroleum industry involves risk – just like any other activity.
However, accepting risk does not mean accepting accidents, he emphasises. “Quite the contrary. But we must constantly remind ourselves that accidents have happened – and can happen again.
“The risk of a major accident is present, in Norway and in all other nations with an oil and gas industry. This means that incidents will occur.
“Risk must accordingly be managed, with clear management responsibility, at every level and in every company which participates in the industry.”
Preventive measures can be a challenge, Mr Ognedal concedes, because they require that action is taken – often at a cost – without a disaster or other accident having occurred.
“However, history offers many examples where extensive measures are adopted after disasters. Companies in the petroleum business should consciously ask whether it would not be far better to have an established system which means that preventive measures based on learning, new technology and so forth are implemented, in order to be able to prevent accidents and disasters.
Safety – Status and Signals: This is a great publication – highly creative, easy to read and understand, very current, and loaded with good information. Check it out!
Posted in Norway, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Norway, offshore oil, PSA, Safety - Status and Signals | 2 Comments »
Area map with helicopter track and impact position
BOE’s Cheryl Anderson has been tracking this story. Click here for the full TSB report.
Occurrence Summary:
On 12 March 2009 a Cougar Helicopters’ Sikorsky S-92A on a flight to the Hibernia oil production platform had a total loss of oil in the transmission’s main gear box. The flight crew descended to 800 feet and headed towards St. John’s. Approximately 35 nautical miles from St. John’s, during an attempted ditching, the helicopter struck the water in a high rate of descent. One passenger survived with serious injuries and the other seventeen occupants of the helicopter died of drowning.
Safety Issues
- Category A rotorcraft certified under the “extremely remote” criteria may not be capable of continued operation for 30 minutes with only residual main gear box lubrication.
- Given today’s operating environments, it may now be technically feasible and economically justifiable to produce a helicopter that can operate in excess of 30 minutes following a massive loss of main gear box lubricant.
- Helicopter crews and passengers in Canada remain at risk where helicopters are operated over sea states exceeding the capability of their Emergency Flotation Systems.
- Without a supplemental breathing system, occupants have very little time to egress from a submerged or capsized helicopter before breaking their breath-holds in cold water.
TSB Recommendations
- The Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency remove the “extremely remote” provision from the rule requiring 30 minutes of safe operation following the loss of main gearbox lubricant for all newly constructed Category A transport helicopters and, after a phase-in period, for all existing ones.
- The Federal Aviation Administration assess the adequacy of the 30 minute main gearbox run dry requirement for Category A transport helicopters.
- Transport Canada prohibit commercial operation of Category A transport helicopters over water when the sea state will not permit safe ditching and successful evacuation.
- Transport Canada require that supplemental underwater breathing apparatus be mandatory for all occupants of helicopters involved in overwater flights who are required to wear a Passenger Transportation Suit System.
Posted in accidents | Tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil, safety | Leave a Comment »
