[BITList] bp cost cutting

Fri Apr 30 23:55:27 BST 2010

ct
Seem to remember there is a point when one starts to drill where the rig 
is particularly vunerable this is when the hole is first spudded in and 
there is no BOP at this stage only a hydrill ( a rubber and steel bag 
which is inflated to seal off between the drill pipe the riser) and a 
diverter rigged under the rig floor incase surface gas is encountered 
the hole being drilled with only a temporary guide base into which the 
riser is latched the next step is to run casing onto which the BOP and 
ball joint is then mounted from what I have read so far I think this 
must be at the stage they were at as it is only after the BOP is mounted 
on this casing that it is cemented in place and  pressure tested and the 
chance for channelling to take place around the casing is there 
requiring more cementing, so closing the BOP doesn't solve the situation 
as the gas/crude is coming up around the outside of the casing and 
bypassing the BOP mind you Im talking many years ago and the mind grows 
fuzzy on detail but with no hydrostatic head to contain any encountered 
pressure the rig is always more vulnerable at this stage
frank

On 5/1/2010 1:17 AM, s14engine wrote:
> high
> what a mess................................but if it was going to 
> happen, it would happen to BP. in the US their safety record can only 
> be described as abysmal. mentioned below is the  2005 explosion at a 
> BP PLC refinery in Texas City that killed 15 people and injured more 
> than 170 - now this......................
> incidentally, did you know that British Petroleum bill them selves in 
> the USA as Beyond Petroleum and not British Petroleum?
> additionally, they seem to go to extraordinary lengths on line and in 
> print [financial statements, etc.] to only call them selves just BP - 
> nothing else, just BP!
> as mentioned below - BP seem to sub-contract everything and I do mean 
> everything; I was involved in a $5*_ billion_* offshore oil project 
> for BP, I was told there were only 3 BP salaried staff involved..... I 
> only met one of them - an American. he had apparently been involved in 
> other large BP projects but as far as I was concerned he was a real 
> awkward bastard who didn't know his arse from his elbow - 
> spectacularly unimpressive.
> as to the BOP [see below], as far as I can make out - it didn't work 
> as it should, but the whole question of the cause is of the explosion 
> and subsequent mess is shrouded in mystery at the moment. I guess 
> everyone is being tight-lipped about it.
> I have an email in to a rig manager of my acquaintance concerning a 
> possible cause, but so far no response.
> I never had any interest in the offshore [or on-shore for that matter] 
> oil industry, it appeared to me to be run by a bunch of yee-haw cowboy 
> types form the southern states whose only way of working and solving 
> was of the sledge hammer to the walnut variety, and whose sole 
> interest was killing bambi. to them beethoven was a st. bernard dog, 
> waylon / shooter jennings and ricky scaggs are cultural icons and the 
> grand ole oprey is heavenly bliss...........
> ct
>
>
>     Gulf Oil Spill: Cost-cutting to Blame?
>
> April 30, 2010 - 11:27 AM | by: Greg Palkot 
> <http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/author/gpalkot/>
>
> LONDON Critics of British Petroleum have told Fox News past 
> cost-cutting by the London-based oil giant helped to contribute to the 
> rig explosion and oil spill disaster now unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.
>
> Tom Bower, author of the 2009 book "The Squeeze, Oil, Money and Greed 
> in the 21^st Century," told Fox, British Petroleum's economizing led 
> to a lack of engineers, an overdependence on out-sourcing, and even a 
> lack of supervisors to keep an eye on the sub-contractors.
>
> The explosion which led to the oil spill in Gulf while occurring on an 
> oil rig operating for BP was run by another company, Transocean. BP 
> has said while it assumes responsibility for the incident, it is still 
> waiting for an investigation to show Transocean's role .
>
> Critics say if there was at least a supervisor on the rig, BP would 
> already have a better understanding of the incident
>
> It is also charged a voluntary remote control cut-off switch might 
> have headed off the oil spill. When Fox put that to BP spokesman 
> Robert Wine, he told us that was Transocean's responsibility.
>
> As to the broader charge that BP has stripped its engineering ranks, 
> spokesman Wine told Fox News those numbers are being built back up and 
> that subcontractors are actually bringing "expertise to the operation."
>
> BP's Wine DID admit to Fox News, in the wake of a series of other 
> safety-related incidents involving BP including the deadly fire at a 
> Texas City refinery in 2005, the company is in the midst of a 
> "renewal" of "procedures" aiming at improved safety and a reduction of 
> oil spills.
>
> While the exact dimensions of the spill are still being assessed, its 
> already taking its financial toll on the BP oil giant.
>
> Nick McGregor, oil analyst for London-based Red Mayne Bentley told Fox 
> News that 20 billion dollars has been written off the market value of 
> the company. He said thats four to five times the total cost of the 
> devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.
>
> "People are uncertain how this is going to go," McGregor told us, 
> "they don't know how bad it's going to get."
>
> As to the charge that engineering cut-backs at BP might have 
> contributed to the disaster, McGregor said that only during the 
> "post-mortem" stage of the probe would it be clear where the exact 
> fault lies.
>
>
> *From:* HUGH <mailto:chakdara at btinternet.com>
> *Sent:* Friday, April 30, 2010 7:24 AM
> *To:* bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com 
> <mailto:bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [BITList] Gulf Rig fire pictures and text
>
> Colin,
> Some of the pictures remind me of the Iceland volcano.  Given the 
> multiplicity of red buttons enabling the BOP to shut off at the sea 
> bottom, one wonders why at least one of them wasn't pushed - at all, 
> never mind in time.  Or, if one was pushed, what else was wrong?  Not 
> much point in having a BOP if it doesn't P when required to.
> Hugh.
>
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