As we approach the 55th anniversary of the Santa Barbara blowout (more to follow), pioneering subsea engineer JL Daeschler reminds us of a lesser known, but very serious, drilling blowout that occurred the same year offshore Northern Australia.
As is the case with most historic incidents, the lessons learned are still pertinent today and should be studied by those involved with well operations. Training sessions should consider what went wrong then, how technology and practices have changed since, how similar incidents could still occur, and innovations and improved practices that could further mitigate well control risks.
While well control technology and procedures are much improved, the fundamental issues discussed in the attached video remain the same. Well control must always be considered a work in progress with continuous improvement being the objective.
(The Sedco 135G semisubmersible that drilled this well is of the same design as the Sedco 135B rig that sank offshore Borneo in 1965.)
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 