Notes:
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, relief well, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
Regarding the relief wells, Development Driller III, which is the lead drilling rig for the relief wells is now at 17,780 feet measured depth, within a couple hundred feet of the proposed penetration point of the wellbore.
Admiral Allen: Thank you for reading BOE and responding to our request. You even specified “measured depth!”
Relief Well Team: Great work! Time to finish the job!
Posted in accidents, Uncategorized, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, admiral allen, blowouts, BOE, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
Varanus Island, Western Australia
Odd Finnestad, BOE’s Senior Vice-President for International Activities (note the recent promotion), and his talented, multi-lingual staff keep close tabs on investigations and accident reports worldwide. Odd thinks we may be in for a long wait for the Montara report, so the BOE cyber vigil will not include any rash measures like hunger strikes.
While Australia does a great job of investigating, holding hearings, and preparing reports, they seem to struggle with the simple step of releasing those reports. Odd reminds us that the report on the 2008 Varanus Island gas plant explosion has still not been released. This important accident reduced Western Australia’s gas supply by one-third, and thus had major economic consequences. The Veranus report was finalized in June 2009, but maneuvering by the responsible party and legal reviews within the Western Australia Ministry for Mines and Petroleum have kept this report under wraps. Now we are getting the same uncomfortable feeling about the Montara report. Perhaps, Minister Ferguson will prove us wrong and release the Montara report without further delay. We hope so!
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, gas plant, Montara, safety, varanus, well control | Leave a Comment »
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged acoustic BOP, Australia, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, well control | Leave a Comment »
We would have had mixed feelings if Germany and the Netherlands were meeting in the final, but now that the octopus has ended Germany’s run, BOE is fully behind the Dutch. Hup Holland Hup!
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When I was a boy …. 🙂
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Those of us on the “Deepwater Response External Affairs” Mailing List received ten email updates yesterday. Not one included relief well information. The relief well information that has been provided has been inconsistent and contradictory.
Given the importance of these wells and the apparent confusion among observers (a number of whom have contacted BOE), a daily relief well update would be appreciated, at least for the primary well. It would be helpful if the subject line said “relief well update.” This update should include the precise relief well depth, whether the depth is measured (total length) or true vertical, and the point of reference (e.g. below the sea floor). A short summary of the operations over the past 24 hours would also be helpful.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, relief well, safety, unified command, well control | Leave a Comment »
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged Australia, blowouts, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, relief well, well control | Leave a Comment »
The goal is to eliminate the possibility of what actually could happen not being recognized (at the time of the design). This is achieved by having a core of knowledge against which individual operating companies and outside assessors can assess designs and approaches. Communication between the operator and the “knowledge core”would be confidential as long as a well control incident did not occur. The format of this “knowledge core” is such that it eliminates the “committee think” within an operating company where a dissenting individual (who is actually knowledgeable) can be overruled by a committee vote.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged blowouts, Colin Leach, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
While the Norwegian model is built on trust, cooperation, and sharing of experience and information,” asserts Dr Lindøe, “the situation in the USA is nearly the opposite.”
When an accident happens on the Norwegian continental shelf, the parties convene to uncover any weaknesses in systems or routines that contributed to workers making a mistake. There is agreement that this is how to achieve better results, rather than spending resources on finding scapegoats and not bothering to change the systems.
In the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon, MMS has been criticised for having too cozy a relationship with the companies and for having reduced the number of inspections,” says Researcher Helge Ryggvik of the University of Oslo. “Yet its inspection activities are more comprehensive than on the Norwegian continental shelf. And unlike the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, MMS has its own helicopters and can conduct unannounced inspections.”
This excellent Research Council of Norway article, which discusses some of the differences between the US and Norwegian systems, should be mandatory reading for regulators and operators. Ironically, I made some similar comments to a wind turbine safety committee last week. In assessing the root causes of accidents and the associated equipment and procedural issues, we must not lose sight of the fundamental regulatory objectives and how they can best be achieved.
Posted in accidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Helge Ryggvik, macondo, Preben Lindoe, regulatory philosophy, Research Council of Norway, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
