Report: Oil rig blowout preventer problems weren't fixed

[kpete]

Source: McClatchy

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/05/93600/2003-oil-industry-report-warned.html


* Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Report: Oil rig blowout preventer problems weren't fixed

By Les Blumenthal | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — As offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere boomed, a 2003 report warned that the industry wasn't taking time to find and fix the problems that commonly plagued blowout preventers — the failsafe mechanisms designed to stop oil spills such as the one now threatening the gulf coast.

The report, delivered at an industry conference seven years ago and uncovered by the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was co-authored by the then-director of technology development for Transocean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig that caught fire on April 20 and sank two days later.

Though the accident's cause remains unknown, an apparent malfunction of the blowout preventer, which sat on the wellhead beneath 5,000 feet of water, has allowed more than 200,000 gallons of oil to escape daily, creating a massive spill.

"There is clear evidence that the oil industry has been well aware for years of the risk that blowout preventers on offshore rigs could fail," said Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee's oceans, atmosphere, fisheries and Coast Guard subcommittee.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/05/93600/2003-oil-industry-report-warned.html#ixzz0n6g9qn60


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/05/93600/2003-oil-industry-report-warned.html

[tridim]

1. I bet the bolts pulled out of the Halliburton brand cement.

Worried, Dick?

[BrklynLiberal]

5. If he actually had a human heart, it might even be pumping a bit faster lately....

[roseBudd]

2. The party of Drill Baby Drill is also the party of Deregulate Baby Deregulate

[DCBob]

3. It was also very curious that BP officials were downplaying the possiblity of success of the BOP..

even before they attempted to shut it off.. almost as if they knew it wouldnt work. An investigation is certainly called for.

[Strelnikov_]

7. Because if it was still functional, it would have closed the well and the fire would have went out

From the information now leaking out, they do not appear to be dependable.

And the acoustic switch, that it lacked, would have made no difference.

All the switches in the world are useless if what they are connected to does not work 50% of the time.

[DCBob]

10. I wonder if BP knew this BOP was defective even before the accident...

and decided not to fix it since it would be too costly.

[Strelnikov_]

11. Reading some of these reports coming out, including the one addressed by the OP

seems very possible.

Close to end of drilling, bi-weekly test indicates a failure . .

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Ot was BP who fought against REQUIRING an acoustic switch to automatically

set the blowout preventer into action.

BP has been doing as little as possible for safety and as much as possible to maximize profits...PERIOD. END OF STORY.


And there is virtually no possibility that Halliburton negligence was not a part of this as well.
I know, I know..a double negative.

[Psephos]

6. An acoustic switch would not have made any difference.

It's a mostly-obsolete way of triggering an older-style BOP. The unit that failed on the BP well has six different triggers with considerably more sophisticated sensors. Even after direct manipulation by robots after the blowout, none of these triggers could shut the well down. The problem was not due to triggers, it was due to mechanical failure of the annular chokes and shearing rams. That the redundant systems all failed simultaneously suggests a massively energetic shockwave, perhaps involving harmonic hammering (think of the noise that water pipes make if the air cushion stack becomes waterlogged...then multiply by a million).

It's time to move on from the acoustic trigger red herring. It does not enhance one's credibility.

Those interested in how BOPs work will find this page useful. The accumulator at the bottom of the page is similar to what was deployed on the BP well.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/drilling/wellcontrol_bop.html

[Strelnikov_]

8. "It does not enhance one's credibility."

Classy.

[Psephos]

9. All are welcome to post an opinion.

When evaluated by the accuracy of their assertions, some opinions prove to be more credible than others.

Without differences of opinion, by definition there's no need for discussion.


on edit: interesting that both posters above changed the content of their postings after my replies. Guys, this isn't about you. It's about understanding what happened.