- Now that the Unified Command has had a couple of days to review the static kill data (which were certainly considered in planning the cementing operation that was concluded yesterday), please provide an update on the latest thinking with regard to the well’s flow path.
- Please post a cross section schematic (best estimate) of the well after the completion of yesterday’s cementing operation.
Posts Tagged ‘blowouts’
Two requests for the Unified Command
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, relief well, safety, well control on August 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Was Macondo flow inside the production casing?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, Colin Leach, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on August 5, 2010| 2 Comments »
Kent Well’s response to a reporter’s question and Colin Leach’s comment on BOE seem to give credence to our suspicion that the flow path for the Macondo well was inside the production casing! If true, this is enormously significant for the following reasons:
- The root cause of Macondo is eerily similar to that at Montara in that oil and gas entered the well via compromised cement in the casing shoe and a failed float. Did the BP engineers and TO crew even know about Montara? This shows why accident information must be promptly circulated and brought to the attention of key personnel everywhere in the world. It also demonstrates why the Montara report needs to be released without further delay.
- Presumed contributing factors that would be irrelevant or less significant: the long string vs. liner/tieback decision, and the failure to run a Cement Bond Log, additional centralizers, or a lockdown sleeve on the casing seal.
- Contributing factors that would have even greater importance: selection of the casing point (integrity at the base of the well), waiting on cement time, timing of the positive and negative pressure tests (this is a topic that warrants much more scrutiny and discussion), and failure to set a cement plug before displacing the mud with sea water.
What happened to the oil?
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on August 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Click to read the full “Oil Budget” report (just released).
The vast majority of the oil from the BP oil spill has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed – much of which is in the process of being degraded.
Macondo is dead
Posted in accidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on August 4, 2010| 3 Comments »
I awoke to an email message from Odd Finnestad linking the BP announcement. It’s only fitting that Odd delivered the news. He and I have been following Montara and Macondo on a daily basis since August 21, 2009, the day the Montara well blew out in the Timor Sea. A few thoughts:
- The real end date for the blowout was July 15th, when the containment cap shut-in the well. It was an uncertain ending with the capping described as a temporary integrity test and talk about re-opening well vents. Fortunately, good judgement and common sense prevailed, and the well remained shut-in.
- The efforts to prevent recurrence can now proceed with fewer distractions. It’s difficult to calmly address the issues while video images of oil gushing into the Gulf are being broadcast worldwide.
- We need to do more than react to Macondo, and every offshore operator and contractor needs to be involved. Only 20% of Gulf of Mexico operators attended a critical industry-government hurricane conference after Katrina and Rita. (No, I’m not going to stop ranting about this!)
- Industry needs to look at EVERY aspect of offshore operations, not just the drilling issues associated with Macondo. Fixing what happened at Macondo doesn’t prevent production, pipeline, and other types of drilling disasters. Helicopter safety, lifting operations, and workplace safety issues also need to be further addressed.
- This is a major effort and everyone needs to participate. If you aren’t committed to improving overall safety performance, in the US and worldwide, you shouldn’t be in the business.
A Tale of Two Spills
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Lousiana, macondo, marshes, offshore oil, oil spill, well control on August 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
In the less than 3 week period since Macondo was capped, we have transitioned from “doom and gloom” to “all is well.” What next?
Click to read an interesting USA Today article.
“Oil doesn’t really kill marsh plants,” says John Pardue, director of Louisiana State University’s Hazardous Substance Research Center, who has studied the effects of oil on marshes. “You can put several inches of oil on the vegetation surface and you won’t kill the plants.”
Macondo spill rate – 53,000 bopd before capping, 62,000 bopd at outset
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, well control on August 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Those are the latest official numbers provided by the Unified Command’s Scientific Teams. Once again, no assumptions or calculations are provided. Why? What was the range of estimates for the different methods (videos analyses, reservoir modeling, acoustics, and extrapolations based on recovery volumes)? Show us the data!
Bayou St. Denis Well Capped
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged Bayou St. Denis, blowouts, Louisiana, oil spill, well control on August 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Per Nola.com, the Bayou St. Denis blowout has been capped.
“The Unified Command was able to accomplish this in less than a week due to the fantastic cooperation between the federal, state and local officials and efforts of the contractors,” Capt. John Arenstam, the Coast Guard Federal On Scene Coordinator, said in a news release.
The fact that this incident occurred at all is not so fantastic. The Coast Guard is investigating. We look forward to seeing the report.
Macondo Monday
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, dispersants, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on August 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
End game mysteries?: As BP prepares for the static kill operation, the well’s flow path is still not clear. While the consensus seems to be that the flow originates in the annulus outside the production casing, irregularities during the cementing and testing of that casing suggest the possibility of flow inside the casing. The condition of the well bore and casing strings is also uncertain. Perhaps of greatest importance will be the inspection of the BOPE after the well is plugged and the stack is pulled. This inspection process should be closely supervised by the regulators.
Press conference etiquette?: After admitting that they joined yesterday’s Unified Command press briefing late, two reporters asked questions that had been answered earlier. Perhaps they think their time is more important than Admiral Allen’s, or that of the other attendees, viewers, and listeners. One of these questioners asked when the static kill operation would begin. Admiral Allen, who answered the question politely and patiently, should have asked when it would be most convenient for the reporter. Surely, the Unified Command would want to accommodate the reporter’s busy schedule. 😉
Dispersants: As has been demonstrated at oil spill workshops and conferences for the past 30 years, you can always stir up passions by questioning the use of dispersants. Dispersants, unlike burning and skimmers, don’t remove oil from the water (at least not directly). The On-Scene Commander (OSC) must consider the tradeoffs and make the decisions that he or she thinks will minimize the net impact of the spill. Given the magnitude of location of the Macondo spill, I think the OSCs made the correct calls. Dispersants were also used (not without controversy of course) in responding to last year’s Montara blowout in the Timor Sea.
Bayou St. Denis Blowout is Disturbing
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged Bayou St. Denis, blowouts, collision, oil spill, safety, well control on August 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This incident isn’t receiving much attention, perhaps because the volumes being discharged are small by comparison to Macondo and there is no “supermajor” to criticize. I expect that there would be a tad more coverage if BP was the operator. In any event, we thank the folks at NOLA.com for tracking this one.
Despite the dearth of media attention, this is a very disturbing leak/discharge/blowout (you choose) from a safety and environmental management standpoint. The well was apparently no longer producing and was left without any downhole barriers that would prevent flow in the event of hurricane damage, a fire, or a vessel collision (what happened). While pollution spectaculars like Macondo deserve the notoriety, industry should be just as determined to address more systemic problems like this one.
Bacteria to the Rescue
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged blowouts, Gulf of Mexico, Jay Grimes, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, oil weathering, oil-eating bacteria on July 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »
oil-eating bacteria
ABC News reports: Undersea Plumes Nowhere to Be Found as Tests Show Seafood to Be Safe
“When a large amount of oil comes into the environment, then they quickly muster, if you will, and they can sometimes grow to 1,000-fold,” said Jay Grimes, a professor of microbiology at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 