The oilmen were drilling deep below the Gulf of Mexico when a rise of pressure from natural gas blew out the wellhead. A safety device intended to seal the well failed, and tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day began to shoot up into the Gulf waters. Engineers tried stopping the flow with mud and junk and lowering a cap over the leak. They spent months digging relief wells to plug the hole. Eventually they stanched the flow, but it took the better part of a year and contaminated the waters with millions of barrels of crude. Fisheries had to close, birds and other wildlife perished, and vast lengths of coastline were soiled.
That catastrophe happened in 1979, when the Ixtoc 1 drilling rig sank. The parallels between its demise and the Deepwater Horizon disaster that began in April are chilling. We do not know how the ongoing story will end, and we may never be certain what happened in the ocean depths. That two events 30 years apart have followed nearly the same script shows we—not just the oil industry but the entire nation—have failed to address the underlying reasons for these debacles.
In the intervening decades, the oil industry has made huge technological advances. Sophisticated imaging and steerable drills let drillers extract a larger fraction of the available oil at far greater depths and leave less of a footprint on the surface than ever before [see “Squeezing More Oil from the Ground,” by Leonardo Maugeri; Scientific American, October 2009]. Based on these innovations, oil companies have made the case for opening up more coastal areas and the Arctic wilderness to drilling, and they have gotten a sympathetic hearing in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, the less sexy human side of the equation has not gotten the same attention. The number of snafus that led to the latest calamity is breathtaking: time-stressed managers who cut corners, regulators who were literally in bed with the industry, politicians who hurried along an ideological agenda of deregulation.
How does an industry organize itself into teams of engineers and technicians across thousands of rigs and dozens of companies, to reach oil trapped in increasingly forlorn places, in a way that is robust enough to tolerate human error? It is not easy, but it can be done. High-tech, high-risk enterprises as diverse as nuclear power stations and U.S. Navy aircraft carriers have learned to keep accident rates remarkably low. Accidents may be inevitable, but the chance of catastrophe should be nearly zero.
The first step is to make realistic assessments of risk at the outset. That may seem obvious, yet it is not routinely done for deepwater drilling. In documents BP submitted to its regulators at the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the company downplayed the risk, says Robert Bea, a petroleum engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, who spent decades as an engineer in the oil industry, including a stint at BP. “We went into this with our eyes partly closed,” he says. “We’ve excluded from our thinking these nightmares, and we haven’t honored the Boy Scout’s motto: be prepared.”
Second, government oversight needs an overhaul. The Minerals Management Service has been chronically underfunded and has systematically ignored the advice of its own scientists, let alone independent researchers. Even before the Deepwater Horizon sank, the Obama administration had planned a reorganization of the agency. It is not the regulator’s role to keep BP from betting the company on a single well but to make sure it does not bet the entire Gulf of Mexico along with it.
Finally, if we expect oil companies to manage risk better, then society as a whole needs to do the same. The market forces that encouraged BP to take ill-considered risks are largely of our own creation, as stockholders, consumers and citizens. The hodgepodge of subsidies that masquerades as our current national energy policy invites disaster; it fails to grapple with the urgent need to stop wasting energy and start encouraging clean sources. Every day we still need 85 million barrels of oil—the equivalent of more than 25 Ixtoc spills—to keep the wheels of our society turning. President Barack Obama is entirely correct to speak of the giant slick now oozing around Florida as another reason for a comprehensive energy policy.
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17 Comments
Add CommentIMO, the specific failure of the Deepwater Horizon was directly caused by a design failure of its blowout preventer (BOP).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs I understand, the BOP valves were completely dependent on the availability of hydraulic pressure supplied by topside equipment on the oil rig, while I think that BOP sensors were completely dependent on the availability of electrical power supplied by topside equipment on the oil rig.
Since the topside methane explosion requiring activation of the BOP disabled the operation of topside rig systems, including hydraulics and power supplies required by the BOP, the BOP could not safeguard the well, gulf or public as it was designed and intended to do.
If this is a correct assessment, oil well BOPs should be designed to operate in an emergency with local power and hydraulic supplies.
By the way, the Deepwater Horizon incident was not an accidental 'oil spill': it was an oil well equipment failure.
Including the Ixtoc 1 and Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez disasters, human induced "crude oil pollution" across the globe is 1/3 of the total, the remainder is "cold seeps" "tar pits", and the huge "asphalt volcano", etc. natural leaks. These natural leaks are caused by the incredibly high pressure deposits of oil and gas deep in the earth.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOn land, reaching one of these oil deposits with drilling equipment resulted in "a gusher" in years now in the distant past. Once production continues for a long period and the energy is harvested, then the pressure decreases dramatically to the point of the deposit being no longer economically viable. It goes without saying that reducing the extreme pressures of oil/gas deposits dramatically reduces the 'natural' pollution from that source. So, more oil out = less pollution.
Due to the incredibly negative press an energy company gets from the disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon, it stands to reason that ALL energy companies are being much more cautious and safe in their operations. The stoppage the Obama administration is attempting, and "comprehensive energy policy" will virtually crush productive American Industry. Then, production of food, materials, chemicals, and any industry that depends on cheap energy will be made in other countries. Those countries are typically without the devastating restraints of Labor, Healthcare, taxation, OSHA, EPA, etc. Those same countries typically are associated with human rights issues, socialist/communist
structures. Yeah. That ought to fix the problems.
Regarding CO2 as plant food vs. 'pollution', suggested reading is "Global Warming for Dim Wits", by James R. Barrante, Ph.D. Here, actual data and the scientific method is explained and used, rather than being an emotional tirade based on guilt, innuendo, and victimization.
Plugging deep oil wells is easy as we know exactly where the spill is occurring.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDeep mining has demonstrated that roof collapse frequently occurs , affecting large areas. The underground collapses slowly work their way up to the surface, where widesread subsidence occurs. If this is happening with hydrocarbon deposits, it would be very difficult to locate the many leaks of oil and gas. Geologists use the term 'relaxation' which occurs anywhere where there are underground extraction sites.
Only time will tell if this will occur at undersea hydrocarbon fields.
eco-steve - I suspect your assessment is essentially correct and guess that any presence of (methane) gas in the reservoir exacerbates conditions, increasing risks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFool me once, shame on you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me three times and you must be an oil company.
@JTDwyer -
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSaying that Deepwater Horizon incident was not an accidental 'oil spill': it was an oil well equipment failure - is not accurate, IMO.
Standard procedures were not followed.
Alarms were turned off.
Poor quality mud and cement was used.
Maintenance and tests were delayed or skipped.
Executives over-ruled engineers and continued to drill when there were obvious signs to stop (gaskets failing). Corners were cut to save a small (in comparison) amount of money.
In these ways it is just like Ixtoc.
These actions caused the catastrophic failure (and death of 11 men), then equipment that was supposed to prevent a major blow out failed, causing the spill.
BOP's should have TWO rams and deepwater wells should be shut down if mandated tests and maintenance are not performed.
candide - Yes and no: IMO saying that it was an 'oil spill' is often interpreted by the public to have been an unavoidable accident that could have happened to anyone. BP just needs 'no fault' insurance...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree that the event would not have occurred if BP management had not cut corners to haul in a big profit. By the way, I don't know about your neighborhood, but all of the corner gas stations had changes brands to become BP representatives in the past 3 years or so. I suspect these methods were symptomatic of BP's business practices...
I agree that all of the operations management issues created the conditions that produced the initial explosion and tragic loss of life.
IMO, the release of oil would have been avoided if the BOP had performed its intended function. By the way, it's my impression that the BOP had 3 shutoff valves, none of which could be operated because their topside hydraulic and electrical lines had been severed by the explosion. Local hydraulic supplies could automatically close the BOP in the event that power of hydraulic lines are broken.
@JTDwyer -
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe public often perceives events in "interesting" ways... ;)
Local hydraulic supplies would certainly have helped, but if the single RAM was frozen, or if it happened to be at a pipe joint it may not have made a difference.
BOP's need to be redesigned with multiple levels of redundancy so they CANNOT FAIL, as opposed to having only "one way to work" that depends on many single points of failure.
The "Cheney doctrine" needs to be applied here: if there is even a remote chance of a catastrophic failure actions must be taken to prevent it.
candide - Yep, even using two BOPs installed serially wouldn't be too much (although both could still freeze, etc.). BOPs can't function without adequate hydraulic pressure, though.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy not design the BOP's so that they require power and hydraulic pressure to remain open instead of requiring power and hydraulic pressure to close. Then if you lose hydraulic pressure, the well shuts down. When the power and pressure are restored, the well starts back up. i.e. Use the well's own oil pressure to close them instead.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBillR - Sounds like a good suggestion to me. Based on my experiences, I suspect the rig operators would prefer to have positive control over BOP activation, but that works only when they're in control of rig operations. Your thought seem s like a good compromise, giving them control of the BOP when they're in control of the well. Thanks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisstew6302 - You could be right, although I haven't seen any indication of earlier BOP failure: I haven't conducted any thorough investigation. They may have been racing for bonuses - most will do anything for money.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs I understand though, the BOP was supplied by topside equipment and could not have operated without hydraulic and electrical pipes to supply equipment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne has to add the too thin piping used which meant most anything done was likely to rupture it. Facts are BP had many times more violations than all the others combined. The fact that no oil company had any real plan to take care of such a spill and lied about it.
The real problem is also we subsidize oil and coal while both destroy land, air, water plus increase our health care, cause 10k deaths/yr and 150k hospital stays, mostly from coal but many from oil, especially diesel.
Next is Persian Gulf military plus the oil wars, Iraq and Afganistan, most terrorism and the $400B/yr we pay for overseas oil. That makes our taxes. health care costs debt to the tune of $1.5T/yr at least. That is enough not just balance the budget but pay it off by becoming energy independent.. With these subsidies in oil, coal would make our country become energy independent in 5 yrs and make us great again without oil wars, other damages fossil fuels cause.
There is no shortage of energy, just big energy has us addicted to them rather than spread it among the many other forms like solar, wind, hydro, tidal/river biomass, eff , conservation, ect. The machines are rather simple and most cost under $2k/kw which is in home sizes, at parity with coal in price in most places.
I drive my EV's every day at 25% of the cost of a similar ICE and using 70's composite, forklift EV tech can be made for less than ICE's are and far less to run in total costs.
This is not a technical problem, but a political one. Time to vote in a congress that will solve it unlike the mostly repubs and some oil, coal state dems that keep us on oil, coal and subsidizing them. We have less than 30 yrs of affordable oil and it takes 20 yrs to change our fleets so we need to do it now.
I and many others already do these things though many of us had to make our own equipment.
BillR, great idea! Numbers of industrial processes are designed for fail-safe operation, down to the "E-STOP" buttons on virtually all electrical equipment. The switches are all in series, in the "normally closed" (conducting) state. If a wire breaks, if any button is pushed, or if instrument power is lost, the process shuts down.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe've got more natural crude oil reserves than any country in the world. Lots more than 100 year's worth.
As for any industry, we need to study the safety record, and the trend for safety in the Energy Industry. Let's look at the environment record in the 30's versus today. There were black belching smokestacks, diesel trucks smoking up hills, the consistent black smear on EVERY trailer, noxious choking vapors in every city of any size, remember Baltimore, Maryland before the 60's?
Remember the energy industry cleaning up sulfur emmisions? Yeah, I know, some trace mercury, but, mercury in fish is the same or less than it was in the few museum samples from hundreds of years ago. We can just measure it now, with the recent fantastic advances in chemical test sensitivity.
Sure, I pay the extra 10% premium for 100% renewable electricity. I have the first 'approved' photovoltaic system in my big county, I'm buying hardware for a WVO generating system, and I even sharpen my mower blade on an angle at the tips, so I can mow the lawn at engine idle speed, and suggest a 75% savings on fuel from doing this.
But let's get real. The natural increase in crude oil cost should have the price at the upper 30's per barrel. A price which would not provide the fantastic income to supply the war machines 'over there' in some oil supply countries. Those countries whose attitude and aspirations have not changed for a thousand years....They've just got the money now.
Do you believe that BP would have moved the original location for Deepwater Horizons in 500 feet of water, where state approvals were already granted, without the promise of the Feds of a 75 million liability cap? Would you? Of course maybe you're of the mind that we should be killing whales for lamp oil, I don't know. We need to revert back to REAL science, not political science, in our Congress and our laws. Please read "Global Warming for Dim Wits".
We need to understand the parable of "The Ant and The Grasshopper". We need to earn money before we have the right to spend it. We need to make goods for people to have them to consume. Emotions are the reward for good decisions based on rational logic. Emotions do NOT justify decisions.
excellent comments....thanks...its good to see the amount of people concern with what's happened and how to prevent it from happening again....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIts like being a drug addict and asking how to avoid drug-overdose. The only sure way is to get rid of your addiction. Unless you do that, you will always run the risk.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBigger and worse oil spills are coming. We have run out of the easy oil. What is left will take more engineering (something Americans are not very good at).
'Addiction' is not really a good analogy for something which has so improved the condition for global humanity. To someone not cognizant of the extreme benefits to medicines and medical care, quality of housing and cheapness and availability of good food in countries with 'sustainable' populations due to cheap energy, though, perhaps it could be so considered. You'll note the tremendous increases in populations in countries receiving medical care and food from 'the West'. Populations of most all will grow just a little more than can be supported to by the available food, unless local people become educated and make their own rational decisions re family size. And no, you can't say people are addicted to food....it's a necessity of life, as is energy in many forms. Heroin is not necessary for life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegarding American Engineers and Scientists, it's not easy to be able to claim to be the most affluent, generous, tolerant, multi-ethnic country in the World, but these individuals have been a big part of it. Man on the Moon, etc.
People who don't like it here, or who can't conform to our society can simply leave. We're not the USSR.
Any yes, there is still a lot of 'easy' oil here, if we decide to take advantage of it. Since 'we' are saying we can't use what we have, then yes, it's no longer easy oil.
The US has more in the ground than any other country. Our record of energy safety has 2 marks in 50+ years....The industry has been accused of a lifetime of hazardous safety practice, but yet 'accidents' are seemingly and suddenly increasing at an alarming rate. It's enough to make a thinking person think about it.
So, I agree, if we stop new drilling and cap off all existing productive wells, seal off all coal mines and 'get back to the basics', we'll have less opportunity for point type oil spills, and allow the 'natural' cold seeps, etc. to continue on. We can go totally windmill and nuclear and sneak in a few more fish safe hydro plants, and a lot of us will be OK. Forget A/C, though. Forget living outside the walls of 'the city'. Cold baths will be OK for a few hearty soles. We can follow the French tradition of old....just wear perfume. Only eat locally available food. Riding a mule can't be government controlled. They can't take food from your garden to give to someone else, either. Or, maybe they can.....