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Posts Tagged ‘Minerals Management Service’

Leading Oil Spill Expert Retires

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on November 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

Cheryl Anderson

Cheryl Anderson, the world’s leading authority on offshore oil spill occurrence rates and causes, has retired from the US Department of the Interior after an exceptional career. Cheryl developed and maintained comprehensive oil spill data bases, and authored numerous reports on spill risks and occurrence rates.

Because of her meticulous attention to detail and unbiased analyses, both supporters and opponents of offshore oil and gas operations trusted Cheryl’s data.  Her reports have been widely referenced in energy policy documents, environmental reviews, and professional papers published in the US and around the world.  Lease sale areas were revised and operating regulations were updated as a result of Cheryl’s statistics and analyses.

In recent years, Cheryl’s leadership in improving the accuracy and credibility of hurricane spill statistics was particularly noteworthy. She developed a process for gathering information on the amount of stored oil that could have been lost when platforms were toppled and pipeline segments were damaged. Previously, only spills that appeared on the water surface were included, which meant that total hurricane spillage volumes were significantly understated.

Cheryl worked for the Minerals Management Service since its inception in 1982. Given the sensitivity of oil spill statistics, there was a tendency on the part of some officials to want to “spin” Cheryl’s statistics. Cheryl had the highest professional standards, and firmly resisted such attempts. Her only concern was the accuracy of the data and the credibility of the reports. For this she was greatly respected by all of her MMS colleagues. She received numerous honors, most notably the Distinguished Service Award, the Department of the Interior’s highest honor award.

Cheryl was universally admired by her MMS colleagues and was a great friend to all. She warmed hearts with the charming trinkets that she would distribute on holidays and helped everyone stay healthy with the wonderful apples that she would bring to the office (in great quantities) from the orchards west of the metropolitan Washington DC area.  BOE wishes Cheryl great success in her future endeavors. No matter what she chooses to do, we know she will do it with great integrity, commitment, and enthusiasm.

All the best to Cheryl!

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Macondo Blowout: Finger Pointing Guide

Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

The Washington Salute - "You Did It!"

Not surprisingly, the finger pointing in Washington is as out-of-control as the well that precipitated it.  This public spectacle is now more closely followed than the actual spill response.  As a result, perceptions become reality and reality is altered to support perceptions.

If you want to participate in the bash-fest and dare to compete with Washington’s best, here are some tips:

  1. Shoot high; go after the top dogs.  Blast President Obama, President Bush, and every other President going back to James Buchanan.  Why did Buchanan allow Colonel Drake to drill the first oil-well in Buchanan’s home state of Pennsylvania in 1859.  Why wasn’t he more visible when the well started to flow?  Where was his leadership?  Did you see the mess? No wonder they call it Oil Creek.
  2. Criticize every Secretary of the Interior starting with Albert Fall who in 1922 leased, without competitive bidding, the Teapot Dome fields to Harry Sinclair of Sinclair Oil. Talk about the culture of corruption which Fall fostered and the Department’s inability to clean house.
  3. Humiliate every employee of the MMS.  When you are pointing the finger, don’t worry about getting the bureau’s name right (90% of the critics don’t).  Feel free to call it the Minerals and Mining Service, Marine Minerals Survey, Mineral Management Service (which mineral?), Minerals Management Services (which services?) or any other name you can say with a snarl.  Be sure to make some juvenile comment about how the MMS is literally in bed with industry.  Don’t bother to read the investigation reports which show how few people were actually involved and are much less sensational than the media accounts.
  4. Take a cheap shot at the Coast Guard by shouting that the military needs to take over the spill response.  Sadly, even some retired military officers have made such comments.  They should know better.
  5. Take shots at whale lovers.  If it weren’t for them we could go back to burning whale oil.
  6. Criticize alternative energy proponents for the slow pace of renewable energy development.  Point out how Cape Wind has been dragging their feet on the Nantucket Sound project.  (BTW, it was the maligned employees of MMS who took the initiative, on their own, to draft the legislation that provided a framework for offshore renewable energy development.  Were it not for their leadership, renewable energy development would have been even further delayed.)
  7. Take a few swipes at BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and Cameron, but save your best shots for other oil industry targets.  BP et al are too easy for the real pros.  Talk about your vast experience in working with this industry.  If that’s too big of a stretch, even by Washington standards, talk about your friend or relative who worked in the industry.
  8. Point to past incidents regardless of their relevance.  Disregard historical data that contradict your position.
  9. Don’t criticize US energy consumption, at least not if you have any political ambitions.  Consumption is fine; production is the problem.
  10. Lastly, take your shots with great confidence.  Style is more important than substance.  Be loud and certain.

Remember Harry Truman’s sage advice:

“If you want a friend in Washington,” he once said, “get a dog.”

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