Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on January 26, 2011| 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 cuba, Florida, tagged cuba, drilling, Florida, offshore oil on January 23, 2011| 2 Comments »
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 Uncategorized, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, huckster, oil spill, well control on January 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »
A Detroit Lakes, Minn., man who fabricated a story last summer that he had invented the cap that fixed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is facing three unrelated felony theft charges.
You may recall the parade of snake oil salesmen and other hucksters who appeared on TV during the blowout. Apparently, this guy was one of them.
In July, several local news outlets, including KARE-TV and KSTP-TV, reported that Mastin had invented the cap that eventually plugged the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But the Pioneer Press found that BP had not bought the device from Mastin.
Posted in cuba, Florida, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Bahamas, cuba, drilling, Florida, offshore oil on January 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Super-geologist Paul Post is tracking Cuban and Bahamian activity and sent this map and update.
click on image to enlarge
Two thousand and eleven could be a key year for oil minnow Bahamas Petroleum Company. The AIM-quoted explorer has hired the Osprey Explorer seismic vessel, owned by Norway’s SeaBird Exploration, to shoot close-grid 2D over its four licences to the south of the Bahamas with a view to firming up a prospect for drilling in Q4. This would be the first well in Bahamian waters since 1986 and will be an acid test of BPC’s claim to be holding first mover advantage in waters that could be home to billions of barrels of oil. OilBarrel.com
Note that the area of interest is adjacent to Cuban waters, so the Cuban findings will be of great interest to the Bahamas. I don’t know if the two countries have an information sharing agreement. Perhaps the Scarabeo 9 semisubmersible will move to Bahamian waters after drilling one or more wells off Cuba.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control on January 17, 2011| 1 Comment »
One of the better paragraphs I have read since Macondo:
The Deepwater story shows the fight against complacency is a continuous struggle, not a single battle. An executive at another oil major told me the default setting for safety managers should be “chronic unease”. That’s easy to see if you’re a prison governor or lighthouse-keeper. But it should be part of any executive’s attitude. Constant vigilance against, say, new competition, supply chain disruption, or unforeseen technological change is a must for modern managers.
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, tagged Australia, bp, drilling, Great Australian Bight, Martin Ferguson, offshore oil on January 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Great Australian Bight
Our energy security will be greatly enhanced by opening up new geological frontiers and reducing our dependence on imports. Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control on January 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »
No government regulatory structure alone can guarantee safety in an industry that must constantly adapt new technology to natural variations in drilling sites and unexpected natural phenomena. Oversight must improve, as the Obama administration has made clear, but also every company involved in oil drilling – not just BP – must individually and in concert with others evaluate industry standards and safety research programs. And none should assume that BP’s mistakes could not occur elsewhere. Washington Post
Well said!
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on January 6, 2011| 2 Comments »
The explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, resulting in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, was caused by its operators’ decisions and not by general problems in the oil industry, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said Thursday.
But then seems to contradict that statement:
“It’s really up to the industry” to make sure regulation is strong and disasters like these don’t happen again, he said.
So, isn’t the second quote acknowledging a systemic problem?
Posted in accidents, UK, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Energy and Climate Change Committee, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, parliament, safety, UK, well control on January 6, 2011| 1 Comment »
The blowout in the Gulf of Mexico could have been prevented if the last-line of defence—the blind shear ram on the blowout preventer, located at the well head on the ocean floor—had activated and crushed the drill pipe. Given the importance of this equipment, and the evident dangers of relying on a single device, we urge the HSE to consider prescribing specifically that blowout preventers on the UK Continental Shelf should have two blind shear rams.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, National Commission, offshore oil, safety, well control on January 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 