We need real teamwork! Have a nice weekend!
This post merits home page attention before being moved to its rightful location on the Way Offshore page.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Unfortunately, this isn’t a Cajun joke. According to Upstream, Noble’s Clyde Boudreaux, a deepwater semisubmersible, is being moved to Brazil to work for Shell.
We expect to see additional units leave the Gulf region, which may at some point impact the broader deepwater market. Roger Hunt, Noble
Posted in Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Brazil, Clyde Boudreaux, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Noble, offshore oil | Leave a Comment »
While thunder-snow created a surreal setting outside, the scene was rather predictable inside as the National Commission co-chairs testified before the House Natural Resource Committee. Members acknowledged the Commission’s service, questioned qualifications, expressed frustration with the “permitorium,” raised concerns about our economic and energy future, and disputed the conclusion that “systemic industry failures” contributed to the disaster. Others suggested that Macondo safety issues had not been resolved, that the risks associated with offshore drilling were not being managed properly, and that everyone else in the world regulates offshore operations more effectively than the US (or at least their disasters have been less recent).
Putting all that aside, I was pleased by the interest of the members in the BOP failure. They seem to share our frustration with the delays in the BOP examination/testing/forensics/autopsy. Perhaps the Committee can determine the status of this very important aspect of the investigation, and provide a summary of what has happened since the stack was recovered and what work remains to be accomplished. That would seem to be a reasonable request.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, House Natural Resources Committee, macondo, National Commission, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
Good news first:
Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts found circumstantial evidence that the chemicals guided some oil into underwater currents, stopping it from bubbling up to the surface, where it would do more damage, said marine chemist Elizabeth Kujawinski.
Now the bad:
But she added, “the dispersant is sticking around,” which is worrisome. The chemicals didn’t seem to biodegrade the oil and gas as fast as basic chemistry would predict.
See the AP article recommended by BOE oil spill guru Cheryl Anderson.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, dispersants, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill | Leave a Comment »
From the State of the Union address:
The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in saltwater. I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked. President Obama
While this comment drew laughs from the audience, the regulation of salmon is rather straightforward compared to the extraordinarily complex regulatory regime for offshore facilities and pipelines. The first and most important recommendation in my testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last May was as follows:
Streamline the OCS regulatory regime to minimize the potential for gaps, overlap, and confusion. Because of the complexity of the OCS regime, regulatory and industry personnel spend too much time resolving and coordinating administrative and procedural matters. This time would be better spent focusing on mission critical safety issues. A single agency should be responsible and accountable for safety and pollution prevention at offshore facilities, and should draw on the expertise of other agencies and organizations as necessary to achieve performance objectives.
If we are to achieve our safety, pollution prevention, efficiency, and energy production objectives, the OCS regulatory regime must be consolidated and simplified.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accidents, Deepwater Horizon, offshore oil, President Obama, safety, salmon, Senate Energy and Natural Resources, State of the Union | Leave a Comment »
Bob Graham and William Reilly will testify.
Schedule (Eastern Time):
0930 – Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – live streaming
1400 – House Natural Resources Committee – broadcast live on C-SPAN3
The questioning should be pretty lively, especially at the House hearing.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
Montara Blowout - Timor Sea
SapuraAcergy’s scope under the contract involves the engineering, procurement, load out, transportation and construction activities for the removal and disposal of the existing topside and the transportation and installation of new pipelines, risers, umbilicals, spools, manifolds, FPSO mooring systems and a new replacement topside, all of which to be undertaken at PTTEPAA’s Montara Development Project in water depths of approximately 80 metres. Dow Jones
The work will be performed in 2011.
Comment: What about the Australian government’s commitment to review PTTEP’s license?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged Australia, blowouts, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, PTTEP, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
The Buchanan measure would permit the U.S. secretary of the interior to deny drilling leases to companies involved with countries facing trade sanctions. Buchanan specifically noted that Repsol, a Spanish corporation, has an agreement in place with Cuba to drill off the Florida coast. Sunshine News
Comment: In addition to the economic and foreign policy flaws, this legislation could increase risks to Florida by further limiting the pool of technically advanced and responsible companies that could participate in Cuban offshore drilling.
We would lose regardless of what these companies decided. If a company opted not to purchase US leases (so they could drill offshore Cuba), we would lose economically (i.e. jobs, revenue, and energy). If the company chose to exit Cuba, less capable companies would fill the void.
While it seems unlikely that this bill will pass, even its threat could influence the decisions of leading international companies. If Congress is interested in protecting US interests, how about a bill that would facilitate dialogue with Cuba on safety and pollution prevention issues? How about a bill that would allow leading American companies to work offshore Cuba?
Posted in cuba, Florida | Tagged cuba, drilling, Florida, offshore oil | 2 Comments »
Step Change in Safety, a UK partnership committed to offshore safety achievement, has published an interesting human factors report. The report, which was brought to my attention by Melinda Mayes, includes 12 one-page case studies of offshore incidents with commentary on how human factors played a role.
I suspect that many of you can relate to “Case Study 3,” which begins as follow:
After going through a difficult downsizing a company decided to restrict recruitment and personnel moves, in an attempt to avoid painful redundancies in the future.
At the time there was great demand for personnel in the oil and gas market. One installation lost a number of its operational leadership to another company. For a while the installation managed. It was able to maintain its minimum manning levels, and less experienced personnel were asked to step-up into leadership positions. The Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) and offshore engineer began micro-managing work on the installation.
After reading the report, you may want to take a look at the comments posted at the Step Change site. These comments illustrate another human factor – differences in opinion!
Posted in accidents | Tagged human factors, offshore, offshore workers, safety, Step Change in Safety | Leave a Comment »
