Congressional Testimony and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Best summary yet - Technicals )

The Oil Drum ^ | May 13, 2010 - 10:55am | Heading Out

[dusttoyou]

This is a very good piece. Explains a lot for those with some knowledge of the OilPatch.

Climbing harnesses are manditory if you work more than head-high.

This thing sure sounds like T/O cut a few corners and tried to save a buck or two. BP Inspectors should have stopped T/O as BP probably didn’t get any discount.

I know a Safety Eng, with T/O, haven’t talked with him, but will bet your booty they are doing a whole lot of review and revision of Safety Procedures and probably wholesale replacements of rig and Safety management.

[Ready4Freddy]

Helluva 2-wheeler they got, huh?

[Paladin2]

Did you know there are mountains named after you?

>http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Bridger_Mountains_%28Montana%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacajawea_Peak

[Sacajaweau]

If I look in the mirror...we’re not talking Everest....

[Paladin2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridger_Mountains_%28Montana%29

[Paladin2]

I don’t know, the view from the top looks pretty good to me.

[Hojczyk]

Factoid: If you assume that there is over 5,000 psi of downhole pressure at the BOP—and everything I have heard indicates it is probably substantially higher than that—then a 1/4 inch diameter hole is large enough to “leak” 5,000 barrels a day. That “leak” would probably cut off your arm if you passed it in front of it.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6444 This has been posted some where..great article...Looks like the BOP may have closed except for a small leak..if it did not close oil would becoming out the drillhole? they we have the riser that bent to the sea floor? Let the engineers figure it out!!! Way beyond me...

[Marine_Uncle]

Looks like no engineering or very little of it had gone into this whole operation. Design wise and operational supervision.
They put in place a system that was designed to fail.
Heads should roll on this one.

[Marine_Uncle]

I’m going to hit the rack. 3:30AM will be upon me shortly for early work schedule. Have a great upcoming day.

[spunkets]

"There are a class of problems where I wish more of us engineers would get more assertive with these clowns. We should start some of these discussions with this: “Do you have an engineering degree? Do you have a PE license? If you have neither of these things, your greatest contribution can be made if you would please go over in that corner and STFU. Thank you.” "

Yeah, yeah... It was the certified pros that made the mess in the first place.

[Ready4Freddy]

This thing sure sounds like T/O cut a few corners and tried to save a buck or two. BP Inspectors should have stopped T/O as BP probably didn’t get any discount.

My gut says it's going to turn out that BP was the one in a hurry wanting to take shortcuts.

Abbreviated cement set time, no CSL logs done (tests setting of cement), questionable negative pressure tests, displacing the riser before setting the top cap. All of those take time (=money), and BP is the one paying.

Contactors like Halliburton and Transocean had no (financial, at least) incentive to forego the procedures that apparently were not done.

[dusttoyou]

You are likely right. When I worked for KerrMcGee out there, KM was terrible about well safety. When Camille came along 1/2 our wells didn’t have storm chokes because KM didn’t want them and we did get some broken well heads and leaks.

[NVDave]

OK. Here’s the test then:

Let’s get a bunch of post-modernist lit crit types out of your choice of Ivy League university.

Let’s see how quickly they solve the problem.

[Mack the knife]

There are a class of problems where I wish more of us engineers would get more assertive with these clowns. We should start some of these discussions with this:

“Do you have an engineering degree? Do you have a PE license? If you have neither of these things, your greatest contribution can be made if you would please go over in that corner and STFU. Thank you.”

---

That is exactly what happened to the former head of NASA.

When the Obama transition team person (a previous associate administrator for PR) began to argue with the head of NASA about the safety of Ares I, he said something like: Do you have an engineering degree? If not, you don’t have a right to an opinion.”

Needless to say, the day Obama took office, he was out.