Experts To Cite Cement, Human Error At Senate Hearing On Gulf Oil Spill

[IScreamSundays]

Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--An oil-drilling expert will tell a Senate panel Tuesday that human error may explain a deadly oil-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that for weeks has been leaking thousands of barrels of oil a day into the sea.

F.E. Beck, a petroleum-engineering professor at Texas A & M University, will tell the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that in spite of multiple safety measures used in offshore drilling, "there remains the potential for human error to create conditions by which barriers are subjected to loads for which they were not designed."

The testimony was reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires.

BP Plc (BP) was leasing the oil rig from Transocean Ltd. (RIG) when the rig exploded on April 20. The explosion came shortly after Halliburton Corp. (HAL) had finished cementing a pipe into place.

Bud Danenberger, the former chief of the offshore regulatory program at the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, will tell the panel that from 1992 through 2006, 18 of 39 blowouts--in which gas rushes up through the pipelines--involved cementing operations. Without offering any conclusions about the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, he will say that an industry standard should be developed to address cementing problems, how they occur and what action should be taken when they do occur.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100510-718663.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

[happygoluckytoyou]

1. HUMAN ERROR NUMBER 1...... drilling where no man has gone before

[Angry Dragon]

2. Where do they dig up these people

An expert says "Hey, maybe some people made a mistake". Which people?? The ones that cut costs?? or the ones that did not get enough information to do the job correctly??

Former head of MMS says there should be regulations. Funny how come he did not push for regulations when he was in charge??

[happygoluckytoyou]

3. If they can't build an oil rig that won't 'splode, why would i think they could stop a leak?

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"!

[ShamelessHussy]

4. Ah, so the company wasn't to blame, phew... How bout the clean up plan.. Who's responsible for that?

from the cheap seats, it looks like they ain't got one... which human is responsible for that error, i wonder?

[defendandprotect]

5. How can Halliburton possibly defend itself with 90% of their wells exploding???

Quite a record!!

[Thor_MN]

6. JFC on a pogo stick!!! Could they have maybe TESTED???

Here's a hint, if your Blowout Preventer needs to sever or crimp a pipe, maybe you should test it with the pipe that you are using. If you need to use stronger pipe due to the depth, you also need stronger Blowout Preventers. I think we should replace the brakepads on the vehicles of BP's executive with bicycle barke pads. Should save them some more money...

Likewise, how about testing your concrete at depth? Wouldn't make sense to see how long it takes to cure at that pressure and temperature? Naw, just roll the dice, what's the worst that could happen? We have insurance policies to cover us up to our liability limits, so we've done all we need to...