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Posts Tagged ‘Chile’

Now that Chile, with the help of the international community (including two companies from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where the drilling industry began), has rescued the 33 miners, can we drill into the Australian government and rescue the Montara and Varanus Island reports?

While we are at it, can we learn more about these accidents?

Let’s learn from past accidents, so we don’t need dramatic rescues in the future.

The offshore safety record will be suspect until industry and governments have credible, internationally accepted programs and policies for ensuring that accidents are independently investigated and that investigation updates and reports are released in a timely manner.

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It’s nice to have a day of uplifting news for a change, and it’s drilling related!

Chi-chi-chi, le-le-le, viva Chile!

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve been saving  this interesting comment from the CEO of the company that drilled the successful rescue well. Now that the miners are being rescued and we can smile, I’ve pasted it below 🙂

The pressure really started to build. We’re not used to drilling for people. Andrew Schmitt, CEO, Layne Christensen Co.

Here is a little information on the rescue well:

The Layne-Geotec team worked carefully, starting with a 5-inch hole dug through 2,300 feet of the hard rock until they broke through. From there, they made another pass, this time expanding it to 12 inches. Finally, with a third pass, they increased the hole to the 26 inches needed for the rescue capsule, all the while concerned about a collapse. They finished the job in 33 days, well ahead of predictions.

Comment: In the past year, we have seen the tragic consequences of a drilling operation that went awry.  We have also seen the industry’s technical precision demonstrated in drilling the Macondo relief well and have watched drillers save lives in Chile. Regardless of how you feel about drilling, the intentions are good – to find and produce commodities that are in much demand (typically oil, gas, or freshwater) , and to make a return on your investment.  The challenge is to minimize the safety and environmental risks associated with these operations, and to do so consistently, effectively, and efficiently.

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