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BP's Gulf Spill Report Shows String of Failures
eldavojohn writes "News is out of
BP's report on the gulf spill that shifts some of the blame on to other companies like Transocean that worked with BP in erecting the Deepwater Horizon rig. If you were affected by the spill, you might find the video, executive summary and 193-page report an interesting read. The summary outlines six or seven major failures in safety and engineering that all built up to the deaths of eleven workers and widespread contamination of the gulf. From incorrectly using seawater instead of drilling fluid to misinterpreting pressure test results, this report is just BP's side of the story as the blowout preventer has been pulled up and is still on its way to NASA where it will be analyzed by government investigators who will be able to compile their own report."
The link points directly to an error page. I mean, it actually points to securityerrorpageredirect.jsp!
Wargarbl!!! REGULATION IS TO BLAME!!!! Wargarbl!!! GOVERNMENT IS EVIL!!!! Wargarbl!!! Corporations love us and want to protect us!!!! WARGAARBLE!!!! Who is John Galt!?!?!?!
It is the same with aviation accidents. Sometimes it's just an individual screwing up, but that's the exception. Usually there are multiple causes as well as contributing factors. Unfortunately that doesn't mix well with the mainstream media, which wants a three-word expanation so that they can print in big letters on page one. I have learnt that if I want to know something about a mishap in a complex environment, either I read the whole 196-page document, or it's better if I don't learn anything at all.
Of course it was a string of failures. I don't care if it's an oil rig or a software bug, it usually takes more than one failure before a problem actually surfaces. It's usually a combination of physical defects, human error, and process failures ... but it takes the entire sequence to fail before something goes wrong.
The longer it takes for a problem to be discovered, the more failures probably exist in the chain. Honestly, I'd be more scared if only a couple things went wrong.
There is nothing surprising about an entity shifting the blame onto others to try and save their own asses, human nature. "From incorrectly using seawater instead of drilling fluid" I can't even imagine how dumb one must be to substitute one fluid for the other. That would be like a mechanic using gasoline instead of wiper fluid, something that you just don't do or think about, period. Even if heads roll, are oil companies going to change?
Tired of my customary (Score:1)
You know, the sex and other perks that bought off the regulators?
Or the part where they pencilled in the report forms on behalf of the inspectors, who would then trace them over in pen?
I can see how that would slip their minds.
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Who died in an oil spill because of BP
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Only upside for BP for going forward. All the partners have refused to take any responsibility and I think BP will only gain as more evidence points towards other than just at themeselves.
No surprise, Transocean finds fault with the report, as does Halliburton.
:)
If you were affected by the spill
Or in other words, if you live on the planet earth....
"From incorrectly using seawater instead of drilling fluid" I can't even imagine how dumb one must be to substitute one fluid for the other. That would be like a mechanic using gasoline instead of wiper fluid, something that you just don't do or think about, period. Even if heads roll, are oil companies going to change?
I'm no drilling expert. I read the articles (but not the whole report) and, as the submitter, I guess I failed to explain that the articles seem to imply that at some point it's okay to switch from drilling fluid to seawater when the rig is recognized as very stable. You take readings and measurements to determine when this is safe. Apparently there were a lot of misjudgments from both Transocean and BP. You would think they would be a lot better at this by now. Sure you can outline all the pressures both companies had to make this thing that was behind schedule run flawlessly but personally I'm happy that six or seven things had to go wrong to lead to this ... I'm unhappy that it seems to be companies just pushing the process further by ignoring/misreading warning signs. Do they switch to seawater to save money?
According to the article, if they had stuck with drilling fluid instead of switching to the lighter seawater, a blowout would have been prevented. Instead they made history. Perhaps next time their gamble will be in favor of their worker's lives and the environment?
My work here is dung.
"But Ma, everybody did it."
BP, you're still getting a spanking. you're supposed to set an example, not lead a gang.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Just to prove how NASA mission has gone astray... Why does NASA have not only the desire, expertise, or the capability to test a BOP? Since when has ocean drilling even a part of space exploration? Or any drilling for that matter? And why the FUCK is NASA the only expert around to be able to help the stranded miners? They spend all their money on everything but space exploration lately, it's no wonder their shit breaks when out in space. They spend all their money trying to be a jack of all trades.
The guy who said, "Drill right here."
Clearly, he picked a pretty good spot.
It's company policy to forgo safety for increased profits. History is full of this. They took a gamble and got beat by a pair of deuces. But they have accountants to take care of it all. The main issue hasn't changed, and we'll be speculating on the the next disaster soon enough.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
The report can be found here:
http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9034902&contentId=7064891
The link in the article, http://www.bp.com/securityerrorpageredirect.jsp, is an error page.
See that "Preview" button?
My comment is hindsight, but does anyone think the damage done would have been less if we utilized a tactical nuke at the site of the spill?
had a leading role in this disaster, along with BP.
They've refused (so far) to contribute to the disaster relief effort and let BP carry the can. No doubt their lawyers have advised them to do this, in the US its the easiest thing in the world to offload the blame onto Johnny Foreigner, by denying all culpability from the get-go.
Now we're waiting for a US Government report on failed equipment provided by one of their major contractors. Do you think the US report is going to call "Stinking Fish" on their own people? No, given the Presidential posturing during the crisis, I can see where the official finger of sole blame will point...
Until people go to jail for the deaths what point or purpose does any of this mean? Wealth clearly puts a person above the law and above manslaughter charges. It's that simple. Arguing the fingerpointing is wasted energy since, regardless of the fault, no one will be held accountable. The government will take a bribe in the form of a penalty\fine and all the PEOPLE who lead to the deaths will walk free. The only time the wealthy suffer consequences is when they harm other wealthy people.
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
"They" aren't that smart. The only real conspiracy is the conspiracy to get people to believe that somewhere out there, there are human beings smart enough to pull off a real conspiracy. It makes people feel better to think that someone, even someone evil, has a grasp on things and is in control. Ego likes to feel that it is possible for Ego to be in control. It is not possible.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
The Times-Picayune published a story on this subject a few days ago. Key quote: "Despite the well's orneriness, the engineers repeatedly chose to take quicker, cheaper and ultimately more dangerous actions, compared with available options. Even when they acknowledged limited risks, they seemed to consider each danger in a vacuum, never thinking the combination of bad choices would add up to a total well blowout."
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/5_key_human_errors_colossal_me.html
Who did what which led up to the leak is not the major issue in most people's minds, I think. Accidents can and will happen. This same type of accident will happen again sooner or later. Whether anyone involved was negligent in the construction or if it was unknown factors leading up to the explosion and leak is immaterial.
What is upsetting about the issue is that the responsibility of the response (or lack thereof) falls into the laps of both BP and the Obama administration. Here is the list of problems I see:
* The rig operator (BP?) is supposed to have rapid response plans and technology in place should an event occur
* BP execs sat with their thumbs up their asses trying to save money by serializing plugging attempts, instead of readying the efforts in parallel so in the event that one attempt fails the next could be engaged within hours rather than weeks
* BP was allowed to use dispersants which take 50,000 years to break down, just to minimize the appearance of the leak. BP took advantage and released tens of thousands more gallons per day than allowed, and refused to cut back even after the EPA told them to cut back. If they had not used dispersants, the oil would have been more likely to form tarballs sooner, and bacteria/fungus that feeds on hyrocarbon compounds would have started to break it down more quickly. They ought to have let nature take its course rather than allow it to disperse and spread much faster. Now the fish in that region are going to be contaminated and who the hell knows what that will do to offspring - and children who eat that fish.
* They fought against press coverage tooth and nail, even though photographic and video footage would help to ascertain the extent of the damage and assist in planning the next response action
* the United States government turned it into a total clusterfuck by refusing help from the Netherlands (who have extensive experience responding rapidly to this sort of thing), refused to proactively clean the spill before it reached shore, and actively blocked the state of Louisiana from taking action. They also did much to shield BP and Haliburton by enforcing no-fly zones and restricting access by boats and to contaminated shoreline
Now, people love to slam Bush for not letting the fed jump in when Katrina hit - what they refuse to accept is that Federal law prohibits the federal government from interfering in such cases unless assistance is first requested and a state of emergency is declared, or the local government becomes incapacitated. Where Louisiana (New Orleans in particular) refused assistance, the Bush administration could hardly be blamed for not interfering. Eventually commons sense overruled the red tape and the feds stepped in even as the mayor and governor insisting they could handle it (uh, right. They blew it.). And yet, Bush is slammed for "hating black people" even though he was paralyzed by federal law and could not legally act even though the fed was mobilized to do so.
The Obama administration had jurisdiction to handle anything offshore and could have taken many steps to protect the shoreline: accept help from European nations, immediately order BP to commission more ships, at BP cost, to deploy booms and to hire skimmers, and to allow the Louisiana government to act since they were prepared to mobilize to protect their own interests. They failed at every turn and it was not a case of nonfeasance, or failing to act as the law requires, but malfeasance. The Fed went out of its way to slow down response, seemingly to protect BP and Haliburton, which greatly increased contamination. The Obama administration actively blocked action at every turn, and yet is praised for how it handled/is handling the situation? Had we accepted help from European nations, and had we allowed Louisiana to act locally, much of the shallow water marine life would have been spared this contamination.
I don't take issue with the accident, although if it is due to negligence I believe
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
His name is Harry T uttle!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Clearly its time to revoke BPs corporate charter!!
of a big hand point blame to someone else.
Personally I am waiting for Halibuton and Transocean's reports to see how many pages they can draw point fingers on.
Whichever one is longest wins.
Suppose you need some lumber cut on a construction project. If you hire "Lefty" as the sawman because he's slightly cheaper, stand behind him yelling faster, faster the whole time and "suggest" that sawmen who remain employed by you remove the guards to make things move faster, whose fault is it when there's an accident on the site?
People outside the US would be more sympathetic to the hounding of BP as corporately responsible, rather than the US contractors actually running the rig, if the US had handled the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal equally strictly, instead of shielding from extradition the US corporate leadership responsible (who fled the country breaking bail). After all the 4,000 killed at Bhopal were foreigners, and no American livelihoods were endangered....
Hurt some US sensibilities, have we?
Tsk.