Tag: Deepwater Horizon

Investigation of the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill On May 11, 2010, shortly after the blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar asked the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct an independent and science-based investigation of the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.Today, the NAE-NRC released its final report on the blowout and lessons learned for improving offshore drilling safety."This independent, science-based analysis of what went wrong in the lead up to the blowout has helped to affirm the tremendous efforts we have made in the last 18 months to raise the bar for safety and oversight of offshore oil and gas operations. I appreciate the rigorous work the experts on the NAE and NRC team have undertaken to understand the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Their analysis compliments the body of work that has helped us take steps to strengthen our oversight, including reports by the Joint Investigation Team and the President's Oil Spill Commission," said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar."The work we have done to implement rigorous new offshore drilling and safety rules ...

Half a million tons of oil every year get into rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean On the bright yellow tundra outside this oil town near the Arctic Circle, a pitch-black pool of crude stretches toward the horizon. The source: a decommissioned well whose rusty screws ooze with oil, viscous like jam.This is the face of Russia's oil country, a sprawling, inhospitable zone that experts say represents the world's worst ecological oil catastrophe.Environmentalists estimate at least 1 percent of Russia's annual oil production, or 5 million tons, is spilled every year. That is equivalent to one Deepwater Horizon-scale leak about every two months. Crumbling infrastructure and a harsh climate combine to spell disaster in the world's largest oil producer, responsible for 13 percent of global output.Oil, stubbornly seeping through rusty pipelines and old wells, contaminates soil, kills all plants that grow on it and destroys habitats for mammals and birds. Half a million tons every year get into rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean, the government says, upsetting the delicate environmental balance in those waters.It's part of a legacy of environmental tragedy that has plagued Russia and the countries of its former Soviet empire for decades, from the ...

Recommendations designed to prevent a repeat of the Deepwater Horizon disaster In a 136-page report released today on the 2010 oil spill, the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council make a series of recommendations designed to prevent a repeat of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.Here are some of their conclusions about the lethal blowout of BP's Macondo well and their recommendations for the offshore drilling industry and the regulators who police it.Findings:The flow of hydrocarbons that led to the blowout of the Macondo well began when drilling mud was displaced by seawater during the temporary abandonment process.The decision to proceed to displacement of the drilling mud by sea water was made despite a failure to demonstrate the integrity of the cement job even after multiple negative pressure tests. This was but one of a series of questionable decisions in the days preceding the blowout that had the effect of reducing the margins of safety and that evidenced a lack of safety-driven decision making.The reservoir formation, encompassing multiple zones of varying pore pressure and fracture gradients, posed significant challenges to isolation using casing and cement. The approach chosen for well completion failed to provide adequate margins of safety and led ...

The first auction of offshore petroleum leases since the Deepwater Horizon disaster The federal government will move ahead with the first auction of offshore petroleum leases in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon disaster - despite a lawsuit challenging the sale.The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington claims that the federal government failed to take steps to avoid a repeat of BP's disastrous oil spill in 2010, which leaked more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.The suit was filed by Oceana, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.Attorney Catherine Wannamaker said the action is not intended to stop the sale, but the groups want the court to vacate an environmental analysis of the sale based on claims within the lawsuit. That could make the sale moot, although a judge eventually could toss the analysis but allow the sale to stand, she said.The Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement plans to auction 3,900 blocks off the Texas coast on Wednesday in New Orleans. The sale covers about 20.6 million acres.The tracts are far from the site of the BP ...

Court to deny Transocean Ltd's request to protect itself against civil penalties The U.S. Justice Department has asked a district court to deny offshore oil drilling contractor Transocean Ltd's request to protect itself against civil penalties stemming from last year's record oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.In November, Transocean said in a court filing that BP must indemnify it for damages arising from what it called BP's failure to contain the flow from its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, regardless of who was negligent or else at fault.Transocean had requested the court to issue a "partial summary judgement" in its favor.In a filing with the U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Transocean's motion seeks to resolve issues that must be analyzed based on evidence yet to be presented."At trial, the U.S. respectfully believes it will establish that Transocean's acts and omissions in this case amounted to willful misconduct that obviates the indemnity," DOJ said in the filing.The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig's April 20, 2010 explosion caused 11 deaths and led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.Transocean owned the rig, while BP owned a majority of the ...

Incidents of Non-Compliance The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)issued a second set of regulatory violations arising from operations conducted in connection with the Macondo well. The violations were issued as Incidents of Non-Compliance (INC). A total of five INCs were issued by faxed letter to BP; four of the INCs were violations of one regulation in different sections of the well."Our federal regulations exist to ensure safe and environmentally-responsible activities. We will continue to be vigilant in enforcing those regulations," said BSEE Director James Watson. "Further review of the evidence demonstrated additional regulatory violations by BP in its drilling and abandonment operations at the Macondo well."The following is a listing of the federal regulations and INCs issued today to BP:One violation of 30 CFR 250.427 - BP failed to conduct an accurate pressure integrity test at the 13-5/8" liner shoe.Four violations of 30 CFR 250.427(b) - BP failed to suspend drilling operations at the Macondo well when the safe drilling margin identified in the approved application for permit to drill was not maintained.BSEE's regulations governing the issuance of regulatory violations provides for a 60-day appeal period. Once the appeal period has ended, BSEE will consider the imposition of ...

BP said Halliburton had 'intentionally' destroyed test results Oil giant BP has accused oilfields services firm Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence relating to last year's oil well blast in the Gulf of Mexico in which 11 people were killed.At a hearing in a New Orleans' court, BP said Halliburton had "intentionally" destroyed test results on its cement product used at the Macondo well.Halliburton denied this, saying the claims were "without merit".Cement was a key factor in causing America's worst offshore oil spill.The blast that followed at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April led to the release of 780m litres (206m gallons) of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico.BP and Halliburton are locked in a legal battle ahead of a trial on damages early next year.Through their lawyers, the former partners in the venture are seeking maximum pre-trial advantage, the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington reports.Trading allegationsBP made its accusations in a court filing on Monday.It said that after reviewing the test results, Halliburton "destroyed records of the testing as well as the physical cement samples used in the testing".The company also said that Halliburton had failed to produce computer modelling evidence, which showed how the cement performed.In its ...

IMO honored numerous mariners at Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea presentation Chief Engineer Anthony Gervasio and Qualified Member of the Engineering Department Louis Longlois of the Damon B. Bankston received certificates as part of the International Maritime Organization's Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2011 presentation.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) honored numerous mariners on Nov. 21 when it presented its Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2011 to Capt. Seog Hae-gyun, master of a chemical tanker, who protected his ship and crew when pirates captured it in the Indian Ocean. IMO gave certificates to several other nominees, including Chief Engineer Anthony Gervasio and Qualified Member of the Engineering Department Louis Longlois of the offshore supply boat Damon B. Bankston for their heroism in rescuing survivors after a devastating explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010.Gervasio and Longlois "directly saved 23 lives, locating people in the water amidst flames and debris raining down. They went on to assist in the rescue of another 92 people from the rig's lifeboats," according to IMO.Seog accepted the award in person from IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos during a ceremony held at IMO headquarters in London. A Korean who was master ...

IT summarizes the investigative findings related to areas of BSEE responsibility On April 20, 2010, while the crew of the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon (DWH) was finishing work after drilling the Macondo well, an undetected influx of hydrocarbons escalated to a blowout. Shortly after the blowout, hydrocarbons that had flowed onto the rig floor ignited in two separate explosions.The flowing hydrocarbons fueled a fire on the rig that continued to burn until the rig sank on April 22, 2010. These events resulted in the tragic loss of eleven lives and multiple injuries. Due to the valiant efforts of the crews on the Damon Bankston and Ramblin Wreck, 115 survivors were able to evacuate the DWH and be immediately rescued.Crews of several other vessels in the area were first responders to the scene and also provided assistance to those in need. Over a period of 87 days, almost 5 million barrels1 of oil were discharged from the Macondo well into the Gulf of Mexico resulting in the largest oil spill in U.S. history and affecting offshore and coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico.Because of the severity of the accident, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and ...

The nation must make commitment to spill prevention and response preparedness Last week the Department of the Interior released its proposed program for offshore oil and gas leasing from 2012 to 2017. The proposed program calls for potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico as well as in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas north and west of Alaska. This is an important time to examine the lessons we are still learning from the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The nation must make a genuine commitment to spill prevention and response preparedness, which was not the case when the BP oil blowout occurred.If the United States is truly committed to protecting our ocean and the people who depend on ocean ecosystems, then we need to take action on six key lessons: Establishing baseline science before the federal government commits to offshore leases allows for better decisions about whether, where, when and how to drill. The necessary information includes identification of Important Ecological Areas and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas specified in the federal government's "blueprint" for responding to oil spills and other hazardous substance releases. Spill prevention and response preparedness must be integrated into oil and gas leasing ...