BP Oil Disaster

[d_lafleur]

d_lefleur,
You mention stop work authority. I know what it means, but does it really mean that? How much authority is actually given to an individual? There was obviously a disagreement on board the Deepwater Horizon, it sounds like Transocean personell tried to impart stop work authority, maybe the BP "company man" tried with his superior, I don't know but if he did everyone on that ship lost the argument. My suspicion is that someone on shore made the decision to move forward. After this incident stop work authority will become more than just a buzz word. Maybe it will actually mean something. I agree with you, this is not typical of BP culture, I don't think it is typical of any major oil company. I don't give BP a free pass either.

I have stopped individuals from minor things (lack of PPE) to process (simultaneous ops) due to no full time detection. I work for a company that believes in "Safety is Not Negotiable".

The fact that hours of discussion took place leads me to believe someone exercised the Stop Work. I would love to see the process that was put in place to solve the issues. The statement "thats what we got the "pinchers" for" bothers me. If the BOP was part of the contingency in a risky operation, then why didnt someone verify it was fully functional???? Records indicate they new they had failed seals, and a non functioning pod.

I just cannot believe with the level of risk, that all of this was so blatently ignored or overlooked. Regardless of what some suit in Houston, London, or Washington had to say, the men in control on the Deepwater Horizon were not ignorant of the situation. What was the "gun to the head" that drove these guys to do this???

The industry is getting a black eye over something that the industry didnt do, but because of the size and what appears to be total disregard for process, the industry is and will pay the price.

 

[dmoore19]

I have stopped individuals from minor things (lack of PPE) to process (simultaneous ops) due to no full time detection. I work for a company that believes in "Safety is Not Negotiable".

The fact that hours of discussion took place leads me to believe someone exercised the Stop Work. I would love to see the process that was put in place to solve the issues. The statement "thats what we got the "pinchers" for" bothers me. If the BOP was part of the contingency in a risky operation, then why didnt someone verify it was fully functional???? Records indicate they new they had failed seals, and a non functioning pod.

I just cannot believe with the level of risk, that all of this was so blatently ignored or overlooked. Regardless of what some suit in Houston, London, or Washington had to say, the men in control on the Deepwater Horizon were not ignorant of the situation. What was the "gun to the head" that drove these guys to do this???

The industry is getting a black eye over something that the industry didnt do, but because of the size and what appears to be total disregard for process, the industry is and will pay the price.

These things are what stop work authority should be all about. But the question for me at what level does stop work authority get over ridden, as it sounds like it did in this case. I have seen stop work authority used on several occasions for much more than just PPE violations. In theory Stop Work Authority should have worked but didn't.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

I just cannot believe with the level of risk, that all of this was so blatently ignored or overlooked. Regardless of what some suit in Houston, London, or Washington had to say, the men in control on the Deepwater Horizon were not ignorant of the situation. What was the "gun to the head" that drove these guys to do this???

The industry is getting a black eye over something that the industry didnt do, but because of the size and what appears to be total disregard for process, the industry is and will pay the price.

I hope we find out the answers to those questions......

 

[drbill]

I'm slowly realizing that, in hindsight, our generation will come to look on this event as "life changing" much in the same way our world was changed by 9/11. As kindred souls to the sea, it affects us even more so, but (if we have even an ounce of sense left in our collective mind) this must be an impetus for change. I know we can't all go out and buy solar cars tomorrow; but it'd be nice to look back thirty years from now and say "yeah, that really sucked, but at least it finally got the ball rolling."

Too bad we didn't use the 1979 example of the Ixtoc I spill (31 years ago) to effect the changes.

I appreciate the contributions in this thread by folks with direct knowledge of the drilling procedures and industry in general. It is good to balance what the media says with information from those who have intimate knowledge of the procedures involved.

Of course we are all to blame for this incident in some ways. We have not demanded more focus on alternate energies and have in general refrained from practices such as conservation that might reduce the need for more and more oil, especially from countries who are not our friends.

 

[Teamcasa]

.. I just cannot believe with the level of risk, that all of this was so blatently ignored or overlooked....
The industry is getting a black eye over something that the industry didnt do, but because of the size and what appears to be total disregard for process, the industry is and will pay the price.

Industry never pays the price, they just pass it along to the consumer. Being in the auto industry, I see this all the time.

I want to thank you for your insight and willingness to clear up some of the mis-conceptions and directly answering my questions revolving around the BOP and why it failed.

Of course we are all to blame for this incident in some ways. We have not demanded more focus on alternate energies and have in general refrained from practices such as conservation that might reduce the need for more and more oil, especially from countries who are not our friends.

Bill, almost every facet of living today requires oil - lots of oil. Simple conservation methods make a great sound bite but will do nothing to curb the need for oil anytime soon.

Alternate energy sources do exist but the cost considerably outweighs the benefits. However, I do feel we need to turn up the gas on research and development in this arena.
Imagine a world that can render radioactive metals completely inert in seconds with zero residual radiation? How about room-temperature superconductivity? Lightweight, powerful batteries made from safe to handle, recyclable materials? Super ceramic cubes that can heat a home for months on a single heat charge?

If these ever make it to market the need for ocean drilling will diminish but until then, we need to make the drilling operations significantly safer with clear line of accountability, not eliminate them.