[...] The process is tricky. A 2007 study by the U.S. Minerals Management Service found that cementing was the single most-important factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. – Halliburton in spotlight in gulf spill probe – Investigators look at the company’s role in cementing the deepwater drill hole in the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean and BP also face questioning.
In Sean Hannity’s fervor to call BP’s oil catastrophe “Obama’s Katrina,” a waft of desperation floated into the ether as he squealed on wingnut radio. Maybe that’s because the rules that might have stopped the Gulf disaster were rendered under former oil man and Pres. George W. Bush.
“There was a big debate under the Bush administration whether or not to require additional oil drilling safeguards but [federal regulators] decided not to require any additional mandatory safeguards, believing the industry would be motivated to do it themselves,” Carl Pope, Chairman of the Sierra Club told ABC News. – BP Fought Safety Measures at Deepwater Oil Rigs – Owner of Louisiana Oil Well Objected to System That Would Have Shut Off Spill
It follows a Republican pattern that businesses will regulate themselves. Reagan thought the same thing and look where that got us.
I’ve known or come into contact with some truly great oil men in my life. But BP’s Lamar McKay doesn’t appear to be one of them. In fact, he’s the type of guy that gives good oil men a very bad name, a shadow of what an energy man with the dual responsibility to watch over the earth’s ecosystem acts like.
As an example, BP has been ordered to stop circulating settlement offers (via Memorandum) to coastal Alabamans in exchange for an agreement not to sue.
BP had distributed a contract to fishermen it was hiring that waived their right to sue BP and required confidentiality and other items, sparking protests in Louisiana and elsewhere.
I know it’s silly to expect, but instead of hustling residents likely decimated by BP’s unpreparedness for what drilling 5,000 ft down into the ocean bed might cause, as a veteran oil expert with whom I was trading emails on BP’s colossal catastrophe in the Gulf mentioned first, where’s the prostrate apology from BP? I know, can’t reveal culpability, even in the face of naked guilt. Instead they’re playing let’s make a deal with coastal residents, coupled with a cover your ass mentality that is immoral.
Where’s the contrite nature that should come with going into someone’s home and trashing the place? Instead, as Politifact ran it down after Mr. McKay, BP’s chairman and president of BP America, was on “The Week,” all we got was malarkey. Here’s a snippet of the back and forth, with Politifact going after McKay, finding everything he said “barely true.”
“Just a few months ago, a BP executive protested proposed new safety regulations for oil rigs, writing to the government that quote, ‘while BP is supportive of companies having a system in place to reduce risks, accidents, injuries and spills, we are not supportive of extensive proscriptive regulations.’ Will BP continue to fight and lobby against safety regulations?” Tapper asked.
“Well, I would characterize the letter you’re talking about slightly differently,” McKay said. “That letter was in response to the government’s request for input on safety regulations that the MMS was looking at. The rest of the letter actually recommends improvements and specific recommendations around safety regulations should they choose to change them. So we’re not fighting anything about safety. Safety is the number one priority. We’re going to figure out what happened here, and that is going to help the MMS and help ourselves and help the industry get safer, so we’re not fighting anything about safety.”
The new rules imposed by the Minerals Management Service in June of 2009 were specific. Bottom line is that BP didn’t like them, thinking self-regulation would be better… for BP.
Politifact eviscerates McKay’s talking points, making him someone no one should trust.
We compared BP’s suggestions for changes to the MMS regulations. Some of the suggestions are for language changes or technical fixes. But we found that in many cases, BP was suggesting changes that would give the company fewer responsibilities or more flexibility under the proposed rules.
Here are a few examples:
On Hazards Analysis, BP suggested language to make it clear that BP doesn’t have to develop procedures for third-party companies. It also said it shouldn’t have to develop analyses for property damage if the damage doesn’t affect worker safety or the environment.
For Operating Procedures, BP suggested language so that all employees would not have access to all safety procedures, but only to documentation that specifically apply to their jobs.
On Mechanical Integrity, BP objected to language that required equipment to meet manufacturer’s recommendations or specifications. A company’s own specifications should be sufficient, the letter said. “Many of our inspection and testing requirements, while meeting regulations, are risk based in approach,” the letter said.
On regular safety audits, BP said that audits should occur based on “performance and risk rather than a prescribed schedule.”
Overall, the ideas in BP’s letter point toward limiting the impact of new rules and making them apply to more narrow circumstances.
McKay told Tapper that, “The rest of the letter actually recommends improvements and specific recommendations around safety regulations should they choose to change them.” This gives the impression that BP was trying to work with regulators to make the safety regulations better, to make conditions safer. But most of what the letter suggests are ways to make the regulations less of a burden for BP. Certainly this is an “improvement” from BP’s perspective, but we don’t see how it makes safety “the number one priority.” So we rate his statement Barely True.
The very sad truth is that nothing BP does now can repair the damage done to the Gulf coastal region, especially where the environment is concerned. The economic loss to residents will be untold.
Unfortunately, from the “drill, baby, drill” Sarah Palin pack to Pres. Obama’s wait now, drill later, no one has come close to offering corporate assurances that will mitigate the dangers of another catastrophic oil disaster, if oil companies are allowed to drill at depths of 5,000 ft.
Pres. Obama’s support for drilling offshore is predicated upon America’s dependence on fossil fuel, which will last into the next generation.
That’s because the United States hasn’t the fortitude, the discipline, or the foresight to move beyond 20th century answers to a long-term challenge that no leader today wants to tackle.
Pres. Obama is just another politician with no answers, offering visits to destroyed areas of America, because another corporation screwed up. From mining disasters to oil spills, Obama hasn’t any more of a clue on energy as the last Republican.
It’s on days like these that I think of Al Gore, and just what this country lost when the Supreme Court handed the presidency to Bush.
Ocean life impact pictures via Huffington Post.
TM Note: This essay has been updated to include information on Haliburton, via LA Times.
“That’s because the United States hasn’t the fortitude, the discipline, or the foresight to move beyond 20th century answers to a long-term challenge that no leader today wants to tackle.” —
And until the petroleum industry gives its permission, the U.S. government won’t move beyond the 20th century, regardless of who is in the WH and Congress. By which time, I’d guess, the same handful of very powerful people will be firmly in control of whatever alternative source(s) they’ve decided is the next big thing.
I woke up even more cynical than usual this morning …
The time has come to nationalize the oil industry. Peace
Sounds very good to me, but I can’t imagine this actually happening. I’d guess the process will be as it almost always is — eventually the immediate crisis will be “solved,” clean-up will occur, all accompanied by “we’re doing everything possible and won’t rest until we can assure everyone that such an accident will never happen again,” from both industry and government. A few, mostly cosmetic changes. And we’ll be back to drilling new wells, with the Halliburtons, BPs and Elites (elected and otherwise) confidently moving on just as they planned.
Appreciate the information in your post, Taylor, and in your comments, Imhotep.
“There Will Be Blood”….Everybody is all up in BP’s grill about the ecological diaster taking place in the Gulf of Mexico. But, BP is only the ‘bag man’ in this deal. BP leased (rented) the oil platform that exploded from Transocean. Transocean Sedco Forex is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and is run by CEO Steven Newman (information about this actor is hard to find) and is a combination of offshore drilling companies, including Sonat Offshore Drilling of Birmingham, Alabama, which consolidated their operations begining in 2000. Then we have Halliburton (everybody remembers this as the company run by Dick Cheney before he became the vice president) which completed the final cementing of the oil well and pipe just 20 hours before the explosion. Dick Cheney’s Hilliburton also made billions of dollars by helping the United States run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. BP might be the public face of this ecological diaster, but Transocean and Halliburton were directly responsible for this catastrophe. Halliburton’s CEO David Lesar acknowledged as much in his letter to Representative Henry Waxman on friday last. Peace
BP might be the public face of this ecological diaster…
BP’s the lead on this well, but you’re absolutely correct to put in the spotlight others involved. I’ve added a link to the essay above.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/01/nation/la-na-oil-spill-investigation-20100501
As for Halliburton, they’re due to testify May 12.
Their statement:
http://www.halliburton.com/public/news/pubsdata/press_release/2010/corpnws_043010.html
HALLIBURTON PROVIDES CEMENTING FACTS REGARDING RIG INCIDENT
HOUSTON – Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) confirmed today its continued support of, and cooperation with, the ongoing investigations into the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig incident in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month. Halliburton extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families, friends and our industry colleagues of the 11 people lost and those injured in the tragedy.
As one of several service providers on the rig, Halliburton can confirm the following:
* Halliburton performed a variety of services on the rig, including cementing, and had four employees stationed on the rig at the time of the accident. Halliburton’s employees returned to shore safely, due, in part, to the brave rescue efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard and other organizations.
* Halliburton had completed the cementing of the final production casing string in accordance with the well design approximately 20 hours prior to the incident. The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications.
* In accordance with accepted industry practice approved by our customers, tests demonstrating the integrity of the production casing string were completed.
* At the time of the incident, well operations had not yet reached the point requiring the placement of the final cement plug which would enable the planned temporary abandonment of the well, consistent with normal oilfield practice.
* We are assisting with planning and engineering support for a wide range of options designed to secure the well, including a potential relief well.
Halliburton continues to assist in efforts to identify the factors that may have lead up to the disaster, but it is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any specific causal issues.
Halliburton originated oilfield cementing and leads the world in effective, efficient delivery of zonal isolation and engineering for the life of the well, conducting thousands of successful well cementing jobs each year. The company views safety as critical to its success and is committed to continuously improve performance.
As an aside, it was the Zapata Offshore Oil Company which was one of the first to be involved in deep water drilling. That company was founded by George W. Bush the Elder after WWII. It has been well documented that Zapata played an important role as a front operation for the CIA in the 50′s and 60′s. According to one Col. Fletcher Prouty, who acted as a liaison between the Pentagon and the CIA during the Bay of Pigs invasion, that operation was code-named “Zapata.” This all goes much, much deeper than any of us realizes. Peace
I keep waiting for the American people to wake up and rise up. Wishful thinking I know.The photos of wildlife break my heart. Dosen’t that whale have an accusing look in it’s eye?
I have no words that can really describe my feelings on this disaster. I’m with Imhotep on this one. There are a host of companies responsible for this – they should be held accountable for the next decade of results to come from this catastrophe, not just in the present time. Man’s greed will destroy man eventually. When will we learn??? The public should rise up, IMO.
bush v gore haunts us every day. we really fell when we lost the duly elected al gore to scotus’ ruling. i knew then we may never recover. gore would have transformed this nation into agreen one, expanded medicare with the surplus as he campaigned on, and reshaped the court into a liberal one. it breaks my heart. im still raw over it. congress failed on its duty to challeneg fl slat of electors depsite pleas from the black caucus. congress not court in the consitution is arbitor of electoral disputes. yet the good ole senate didnt challenge. in 08 i badly wanted gore to run- hell i prayed. didnt happen. and here we are.