...Week 2 – Discussion Lou Stout University of Saint Mary March 7, 2013 Wow! To sum this tragedy up in 250 words will be hard. Stevenson (2012) tells us that a Type II error is “concluding a process is in control when it is not” (p. 429). To categorize the decisions made on that fateful day would be to say a ‘series of errors occurred’. When reading, Deepwater: Report to the President, one can easily tell that numerous mistakes lead to the events, and that BP was aware of several maintenance issues. “A September 2009 BP safety audit had produced a 30-page list of 390 items requiring 3,545 man-hours of work” (OilSpillCommission, 2011, p.6). It is apparent to this researcher that several ‘signs’ were missed when the crews were performing the negative-pressure test. They ran the test approximately three times on the main drill pipe, all of which failed; then they ran the test on the kill line, it passed, but the main drill pipe was still holding pressure, which actually means a failure (OilSpillCommission, 2011, p.107). In reading further, this was ‘put off’ as a bladder effect, when in reality; it was mounting signs of a ‘kick’. If one continues to read the Commission’s report, it is evident that numerous errors and misses directly influenced the events of April 20, 2010. The Commission goes on to say, “What nobody appears to have noticed during those six minutes (perhaps as a result of all of the activity) was that drill-pipe pressure was increasing again (OilSpillCommission,...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...Deepwater in Deep Trouble When all is said and done, which may not be for many years, it's likely to be one of the worst environmental disasters, if not the worst, in US history.61 When British Petroleum's (BP) Deepwater Horizon off-shore rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in a ball of flames on April 20, 2010, killing 11 employees, it set in motion frantic efforts to stop the flow of oil and to initiate the long and arduous cleanup process. Although the impacts of the explosion and oil spill were felt most intensely by businesses and residents along the coast and by coastal wildlife, those of us inland who watched the disaster unfold were also stunned and dismayed by what we saw happening. What led to this disaster and what can BP do to ensure that the likelihood of it ever happening again is minimized? One thing that has come to light in the disaster investigation is that it's no surprise that something like this happened. After Hurricane Dennis blew through in July 2005, a passing ship was shocked to see BP's new massive $1 billion Thunder Horse oil platform “listing precariously to one side, looking for all the world as if it were about to sink.” Thunder Horse “was meant to be the company's crowning glory, the embodiment of its bold gamble to outpace its competitors in finding and exploiting the vast reserves of oil beneath the waters of the gulf.” But the problems with this rig soon became evident. A valve installed backwards caused it to flood during the hurricane even...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...Task 1 – Organization Strategic Info Deliverables Included in this task: 1. Organization’s strategic plan 2. Organization’s strategic capacity plan The organization under discussion for our team project is Transocean Deepwater Inc., the world's largest offshore drilling contractor by equity market capitalization, This public company is traded in the New York Stock Exchange and specializes in constructing oil and natural gas wells in the deep waters and harsh environments of the seas and oceans all over the world. It is the undisputed world market leader, and has a long history of pioneer technological innovations that started with the launch of the offshore drilling industries first jack up drilling rig in 1954. Their customer base includes global energy firms, national petroleum companies and independent operators in offshore drilling markets: U.S. Gulf of Mexico and eastern Canada, Brazil, the U.K. and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, West Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East (including Saudi Arabia), India, and the Mediterranean. ➢ Transocean’s strategic plan, as per their Stated Corporate Vision, is based on obtaining universal recognition from its peers and market base for innovation and excellence. One of their core values is Technical Leadership, as management recognizes that their competitive advantage, today as in 1954, is based on continually improving their processes and finding innovative solutions to technical challenges. ...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...and immediately following the blow out and explosions on the Deepwater Horizon. Answer: My first thoughts after I read both incident chronology’s, to compare and contrast the way Transocean and BP describe the incidents, is that BP or Transocean do not take ownership of the incident nor do either want to not acknowledge wrongdoing of any aspect of event. Transocean points the finger at BP and BP’s chronology seems to minimize their part. Transocean chronology begins on 4/14/2013, and ends 4/20/2013, while BP’s chronology begins on 10/6/2009, and ends 5/5/2013. The obvious differences in the incident chronologies are the BP incident chronology is longer, but does not have as much finger pointing and is not as interesting as Transocean’s. BP makes up for this in their “Accident Analysis” sections, but their chronology sticks to logs and facts compared to Transocean’s more narrative approach. BP uses bullet points at the beginning of their chronology and a dressed up spreadsheet with short descriptions of each timeline event. Transocean chronology is more descriptive and colorful. They use their incident chronology as a sounding board for all of BP’s shortcomings during the entire project. The use this section to minimize their involvement in the project. They use the chronology express “BP’s direction” and “BP’s poor decisions” during their involvement with them during the project. The Deepwater Horizon, which was owned and operated by Transocean and had...
Words: 2228 - Pages: 9
...Proyecto de Investigación y Acción. Introducción. El 20 de abril de 2010, se dio uno de los accidentes que desató uno de los desastres naturales más grandes registrados en la historia. Un día como cualquiera en las aguas del golfo de México, una plataforma petrolera estadounidense explotó y posteriormente se hundió en medio del golfo, provocando un derrame de crudo de más 1000 kilómetros cuadrados. Este ha sido registrado como uno de los desastres naturales más grandes, y con consecuencias naturales sin precedentes, ya que el golfo de México es considerado uno de los ecosistemas más productivos en el planeta ()por su gran diversidad en especies marinas y sus cantidades de arrecifes que mantienen un equilibrio en el ecosistema marino de la zona. El accidente se dio el yacimiento Macondo, propiedad de una de las petroleras más grandes y reconocidas en todo el mundo, la British Petroleum (BP). Esta empresa es dueña de reconocidas marcas como Castrol y tiene oficinas en muchos países del mundo incluyendo una sucursal en Colombia. Las causas del accidente en la plataforma se le atribuye a una falla hidráulica en uno de los componentes más importantes de la estructura, lo que provocó la explosión, el posterior incendio y finalmente el hundimiento que aparte de iniciar el derrame de crudo cobró la vida de más de diez trabajadores que se encontraban en la plataforma. Más allá de las causas o fallas técnicas y de los posibles errores humanos que provocaron el derrame del...
Words: 2503 - Pages: 11
...BP & Deepwater Horizon C. Nelson BP & Deepwater Horizon Every business, in some way, is affected by public and private criticism. One industry that is never too far away from criticism is the oil and gas industry. Over the course of this essay, we will explore BP, its stakeholders, some of their criticisms, and BP’s response to those criticisms. BP, formerly British Petroleum, is the fourth largest oil and gas companies in the world in terms of revenue and sixth based on production. (Statista, 2015) (Forbes, 2015) Although BP doesn’t have an official mission statement, the company does have a few statements entitled “Our Values”, “Clear Priorities”, and “Our strategy and sustainability”. BP (2015) states, “We have five values that express our shared understanding of what we believe, how we aim to behave and what we aspire to be as an organization.” Those five values include safety, respect, excellence, courage, and one team. “Clear Priorities” (2015) details three main topics that top the company’s interests including: safe, reliable and compliant operations; disciplined financial choices; and competitive project execution. Thirdly, BP has a commitment to sustainability and states (2015), “We believe that the best way for BP to achieve sustainable success is by acting in the long-term interests of our shareholders, our partners and society.” The three pillars augment the lack of a mission statement and express BP’s commitments and responsibilities....
Words: 1293 - Pages: 6
...After conducting research, I concluded that, the key causes of the Deepwater oil disaster are; first and foremost, bad management, whenever shortcuts are taken for the sole purpose of completing a job, the chances of having a disaster is multiplied. When, the well started to blow out, the decisions by management concerning how to handle that material, also lead to the disaster. Nonetheless, BP was not prepared for the disaster, and when it transpired a series of wrong decisions followed. The Deepwater oil spill, could have been avoided. Although in order for that to happen, management needed to focus more on safety and faulty materials, rather than attempting to cut corners, to meet a deadline. Secondly, faulty material was an equal key cause, material which included, the cement, negative-pressure test, the design of the well, and the shut-off valves....
Words: 477 - Pages: 2
...BP bears brunt of blame for the deepwater horizon catastrophe for Report says oil company is 'ultimately responsible' for oil spill but rig contractors also implicated in some areas BP’s share prices rose almost 5% but fell back after report was published Photograph: Molly Riley/REUTERS A key US federal report has focused the blame for the worst offshore oil spill in US history on BP, but criticised its contractors sufficiently for the markets to push BP's share price up. Amid a string of failures, BP's "cost or time-saving decisions… were contributing causes of the blowout," the report concluded. Assigning ultimate responsibility for the disaster – and the billions of dollars of clean-up and compensation costs – will take years of legal action, but Wednesday's investigation report was seen as a significant indicator as it was conducted by the regulator responsible for offshore activities. The blowout at the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 killed 11 people and led to almost 5 million barrels of oil being spilt into the ocean. BP's share price rose almost 5% in London on rumours the report would help avert the company being found grossly negligent in future, which would increase its financial liabilities hugely. But it fell back after the report was published, finishing the day up 3.5% at 395.1p. The investigation, jointly conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (Boemre) and the US Coast Guard, stated that a...
Words: 848 - Pages: 4
...1. What types of control – feedforward, concurrent, or feed back – do you think would have been most useful in this situation? Explain your choices. All these types of controls are useful in this situation. They are ways of communication before, during and after and audit is done. One was actually used before the explosion happened and that was feedback. In the article it describes where an audit was done and there was feed back given to BP in regards to some matters that required immediate attention from the managers. Equipment readings suggested that there was “gas bubbling into the well, a potential sign of an impending blowout” (Coultor, Robbins, 2014). This was feedback given and could have been used to prevent the situation, had management taken it seriously. As for concurrent, this could be used to explain to higher management where the team assigned to the task, is currently standing in regards to the results of the readings. Or simply follow up with the crew and send the results over to higher management, once everything was done to make sure no negative reading occur again. Feedforward would be the results expected before getting feed back. When there is and actual outcome to be expected and letting the team know what they should be aiming for; which should have been to clear what ever negative readings were given to BP’s staff. The situation should have been manages as follows: Negative feedback was given after an audit. Solutions are also given on how...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...Deepwater Oil Spills Deepwater oil drilling has been an issue that continually bothers a great deal of people. Environmentalists are truly concerned with the effects that oil spills cause to the environment and species that live within the seas. There have been many spills throughout the years, but especially since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the Gulf Coast in 2010 that has gotten many concerned. Not only was the event in the news continually, but it was considered to be one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States history. Previously, the Exxon Valdez Oil spill was the worst catastrophic event regarding oil drilling, and I have paid much attention to that over the years, boycotting Exxon and recently learning that some of the original defendants in the lawsuit had died, waiting for a resolution of that incident over 20 years ago. The recent oil spill has been catastrophic, it killed eleven people due to the explosion, but the damage to many of the resident’s lives were unbelievable. In this paper, I will discuss the oil spills within the past few years, especially the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the environmental effects to the species of the sea, and the need for continual vigilance regarding this industry and whether or not it should even exist in this country. In 2011, there were four incidents of oil spills including off the coast of Brazil. In one incident, there was an oil leak, roughly 350 square miles, slowly making its way down the...
Words: 1629 - Pages: 7
...in their “Accident Analysis” sections, but their chronology sticks to logs and facts compared to Transocean’s more narrative approach. BP uses bullet points at the beginning of their chronology and a dressed up spreadsheet with short descriptions of each timeline event. Transocean chronology is more descriptive and colorful. They use their incident chronology as a sounding board for all of BP’s shortcomings during the entire project. The use this section to minimize their involvement in the project. They use the chronology express “BP’s direction” and “BP’s poor decisions” during their involvement with them during the project. The Deepwater Horizon, which was owned and operated by Transocean and had been under contract to BP, proves they were in this together, yet both want to distance themselves from the catastrophe. BP’s Deepwater Horizon Accident Report seems to get want to get others involved in the blame, but they are careful not to day they are not at fault. I observed this is both reports, but you can see this more with BP. Then discuss why you think these two companies describe these events differently. Both companies obviously describe the incidents from a...
Words: 2195 - Pages: 9
...Running head: OIL DISASTER Deepwater Horizon Explosion Deepwater Horizon Explosion There was a major offshore oil spill that occurred on April 20, 2010 due to the Deepwater Horizon explosion. This has ultimately lead to the largest offshore oil spill in United States History. There have been many efforts made to try and stop the leak and on July 15, 2010 the oil leak was capped. There are now millions of gallons of oil that has leaked into the ocean and is now affecting the Gulf Coast. The biggest problem we are facing right now is finding a way to clean up the ocean and the shores along the Gulf and how it has affected the Gulf Coast. On the night of April 20, 2010 during the final phases of drilling an exploratory well a geyser of seawater erupted from a marine riser onto the rig. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy material. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and ignited into a series of explosions and then into a firestorm. An attempt was made to activate the blowout preventer, but it failed. At the time of the explosion there were 126 crew on board, sadly eleven workers were presumed killed in the initial explosion. The rig was evacuated and support ships sprayed the rig with water to cool it and help prevent it from capsizing. However, after approximately 36 hours of burning, Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010 ("Deepwater Horizon," 2010). Huge blowouts where oil is being drilled is fairly...
Words: 1717 - Pages: 7
...Case Study-Deepwater Zhuljeta Mujollari Post University What type of control do you think would have been most useful in this situation? Explain your choice. Feedforward control would have been very useful in this situation, especially when BP has a serious of accidents before the worst oil spill in the U.S. history happens. According to Doris Burke (2011) “each time its CEO vowed to avoid a future disaster and it failed”. Back in 2005 a high-profile explosion at Texas City kills 15 workers and injures 180. A year later another leak happens in Alaska, to be repeated again in 2009. Implying Feedforward control would have been just simple common sense. With a history of accidents, BP should have been on top of the game. Safety should have been the number one priority but BP was far away from it. Employees were ignoring the red lights for waiting-to-happen accidents and possibly because the operating personnel might have been untrained properly on the safety procedures. Using Exhibit 10-2, explain what BP could have done better. We all know BP could have done way better performance wise. They just failed to measure the actual performance by ignoring the past. They might have known what went wrong, but this is not the same as knowing how to fix it. According to Lisa Hershman (2010) BP just “lost focus on safety”. The same article says that “BP decided to trade safety for efficiency”. The company should’ve invested in its safety infrastructure, which would’ve...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...Thunder Horse của BP trị giá 1 tỉ $ nghiên sang cả một bên, như thể nó đang nhìn thế giới lần cuối trước khi chìm dần.Thunder Horse đáng lẽ ra là niềm tự hào của BP,một con át chủ bài để cạnh tranh với những đối tượng khác về mặt khai thác dầu dưới đáy vịnh.Nhưng những sai sót của giàn khoan này dần trở thành bằng chứng.Một van bị lắp đặt ngược khiến nước chảy ngược vào gây ngập giàn khoan trong cơn bão Dennis,trước khi nó có thể khai thác bất kì lít dầu nào .Một số vấn đề như công việc hàn thì cẩu thả dẫn đến những ống nước dưới đáy biển nhiều lỗ hỏng. ”Sự việc ở giàn khoan Thunder Horse không phải là một tai nạn,đó chính là điềm báo về BP khi mà họ chấp nhận quá nhiều rủi ro,rút ngắn giai đoạn để kiếm lời.” Sau đó dẫn đến bị kịch Deepwater Horizon,trước khi gián khoan nổ đã có những dấu hiệu sẽ có một chuyện không hay sẽ xảy ra với giếng dầu.Giua những lá cờ đỏ đã có những dụng cụ cho thấy khí gas đang được bơm vào giếng dầu một khả năng có thể gây ra vụ nở lớn.Những cảnh báo đó đã bị lờ đi.Những quyết định khác thực hiện trong 24h trước vụ nổ bao gồm một quyết định quan trọng thay thế bùn trong ống nước dưới áp lực nước tăng lên từ đáy biển bằng nước biển,một lần nữa làm gia tăng nguy cơ phát nổ.Tài liệu nội bộ của BP cũng đưa ra những bằng chứng cho thấy những sai lầm nghiêm ngọng cũng như quy định về an toàn .Những vấn đề đó liên quan đến giếng cao su và thiết bị ngăn chặn cháy nổ.Một kỹ sư về giàn khoan đã cảnh báo:”Đây sẽ là một “ Ban hội thẩm liên bang kết tội...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...exposed area where Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was located. Impact of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Bioavailable Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons gave information on The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Which is the largest marine oil spill in United States history. It estimated the amount of oil spilled into the ocean the Federal government accepted estimate of 4.1 million barrels of oil and 7 million was supported by independent researchers. Furthermore, an estimated 2.1 million gallons of dispersants were applied at the ocean surface and the wellhead. This study demonstrated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to temporary increases in the bioavailable concentration of PAHs. Additionally, the data provide measures of potential exposures to PAHs in ecologically sensitive coastal areas, accessed by large human populations, which can be incorporated into ongoing studies in a variety of fields. Oil Impacts on Coastal Wetlands: Implications for the Mississippi River Delta Ecosystem after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill summarized the general knowledge of oil spill impacts on coastal marshes. Relative to the chemistry of oil and its related toxicity; the capacity of microbial processes to degrade oil and reduce toxicity; the responses of wetland vegetation, benthic biota, and marsh-dependent fishery resources to oil; and impacts on ecosystem services on which humans rely. Ecological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill:...
Words: 1533 - Pages: 7
