FIRE ON ENI/BP's PLATFORM OFFSHORE EGYPT!

e-mail | 08-17-04 | ME

[TexasCowboy]

I think AGIP was the operator.
BP would be in safety meetings for the next five years over something like this.

AGIP, on the other hand, will just wave their arms and shout for awhile, and go on with the job at hand.

[Living Stone]

Looks like a heck of a cigarette lighter. Will they be able to rebuild or is it a total loss? Could this have been prevented or do these things just happen?

[TexasCowboy]

"The BP commercials on TV have a girl saying she's glad to be buying US gasoline......"

Like all major oil companies, BP is an international company.
Their allegiance does not belong to the US anymore than it does to Japan or China.

[TexasCowboy]

"Will they be able to rebuild or is it a total loss? Could this have been prevented or do these things just happen?"

The rig and the platform are a total loss.
There are subsurface valves which shut in the wells going to the platform when the pressure falls, as would happen if a ship ran into the platform.
In this case, the valves shut when the wellheads on the platform lost pressure. That's the reason the gas volume is diminishing.
The platform will be rebuilt from the surface up and all the wells tied back in.

Things like this are not supposed to happen.
Before we start drilling a well we investigate all the surrounding data, and we put together a well plan.
Almost certainly in this plan, some pressure considerations were overlooked or purposely ignored to save costs.
We all take chances everyday in this business, but we do so after putting all of our experience into the planning and deciding that the risk is worth the savings.
In this case, with the operating costs probably running over two hundred thousand dollars a day, someone decided to save a few hours of "waiting on cement" time, and they got bit.

[Deguello]

"It's a dangerous job"

A Blow-out is rare unless that is your job, to put one out.

Most close calls and "accidents" are from negligence, not knowing the job or intentional towards another party. A recent incident last winter in Wise County, Texas was a death. A hand (worker) was hooked to his belt and run up the derrick by way of the cathead. This was their version of hazing a new guy.

[Living Stone]

In this case, with the operating costs probably running over two hundred thousand dollars a day, someone decided to save a few hours of "waiting on cement" time, and they got bit.

That sounds to me like a case of penny wise and pound foolish. I am sure the underwriters are not amused.

[Dog Gone]

Nevertheless, it's indisputable that it is dangerous work. Careful planning for every operation reduces that risk, but it can't eliminate it even in the most safety-minded companies.

Mistakes, unexpected conditions, and failure of equipment can all lead to sudden dangerous situations. Blowouts are probably one of the more rare ways to die in the oil business. Traffic accidents are the biggest killer, but we lose too many in helicopter flights out to the platforms and rigs. Divers are at risk for many threats. Workers are killed in lifting operations. Heavy trucks with large loads often misjudge the height of power lines.

The ways to die in the oilfield are almost limitless.

[Dog Gone]

I am sure the underwriters are not amused.

Very unlikely that underwriters are involved. Most oil companies valued at more than a couple billion dollars are self-insured.

[Grimas]

Uhh - where did the jackup go? It's in the first photo and missing in the rest... I assume it's sitting in the mud...

This is why I log my wells via computer in the office!

[TexasCowboy]

"A hand (worker) was hooked to his belt and run up the derrick by way of the cathead."

I used to tie a loop in the chain on the end of the catline, stick my foot in it and get someone to lift me with the cathead to where I needed to go, but that was forty years ago.
I wouldn't trust any hand I have to know how to operate a cathead today.
They're going the way of the spinning chain.

[mingusthecat]

Maybe it was set in honor of Red Adair's funeral? Wasn't he buried on the 11th of August?

[TexasCowboy]

The jackup collapsed and sank.
With a fire that size the derrick probably collapsed in a matter of a few minutes, and, with the weight sitting on the legs, they weren't far behind.

[Living Stone]

...and my education continues here on FR. Thanks.

[TexasCowboy]

Red spent a lot of years fighting fires like this.
He wouldn't consider it an honor.

[bert]

BP is an international company....

Yes but it is not as it implies an American Company and producer. The old Amaco produses part of its product but the BP is part essentially foreign oil.

[humblegunner]

I used to tie a loop in the chain on the end of the catline, stick my foot in it and get someone to lift me with the cathead to where I needed to go

Collective groan from the safety people of today.

Man-baskets were not much better.. but fun as hell.

Especially if the crane op had a sense of humor.

[TexasCowboy]

"Blowouts are probably one of the more rare ways to die in the oil business."

That's very true.

In my whole career I've seen several people killed - none in blowouts.

[TexasCowboy]

On drilling rigs we have what we call a "Geronimo" line.
It's simply a "T" bar attached to a cable with rollers.
You straddle the "T" and ride it down from the board using a lever to pinch the cable and slow down the descent.
I used to ride that thing everytime we rigged up on a new location to make sure it worked if I needed it, and, besides, it was a lot of fun.
There's not one hand in a thousand today that has ever ridden one, even though if the well blows out, that's their only way out of the derrick.

[TexasCowboy]

As a future roughneck, you might be interested in this.