The Deepwater Horizon
Essay Preview: The Deepwater Horizon
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Case Recap
The Deepwater Horizon accident happened on the evening of April 20, 2010, forty miles southeast of the Louisiana coast (BP). Gas was released and subsequently followed by a deadly explosion killing 11 people out of the 126 who were on board (The Daily Telegraph). The Deepwater Horizon rig was owned by the Swiss company, Transocean, and operated at that time by BP. The accident was named to be the largest and the most challenged environmental disaster the industry had faced in history. Millions of gallons of oil was poured into the Gulf of Mexico; the drill was the worlds deepest oil and gas well at 5,000 feet in depth with oil leakage of 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the gulf (Hoch, M). It took BP and engineers 87 days to recap the problem (The Daily Telegraph).
The main cause of the blowout was the failure of the blowout preventer (BOP). The system of valves intended to prevent the uncontrolled release of oil and gas, to contain hydrocarbon pressures in the well. BP tried many ways to solve the disaster and stop the well leakage, starting with first remotely operated underwater vehicles to close the blowout preventer valves on the well head. The second attempt was by placing a 125-ton containment dome over the largest leak and piping the oil to a storage vessel on the surface. The third attempt was to close the well by pumping heavy drilling fluids into the blowout preventer to restrict the flow of oil before sealing it permanently with cement (“top kill”). Finally, on July 15, the leak was stopped by cutting the pipe and putting a cap on it (Wikipedia). As a result of the investigations by Congressional hearings and the National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill found that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean were liable for the spill by neglecting safety to cut costs. As estimations Penalties that BP may be required to pay have reached as high as $90 billion (The Huffington Post). In addition, EPA announced that BP will be temporarily banned from seeking new contracts with the US government (The Guardian).
I will be analyzing the case from the media and engineers perspective. The media was very active to collect enough information to the public, they were interviewing as many personal to explain the incident and it was one of the sources for BPs top management to communicate and apologize for the people. The engineers perspective is more important because the incident happened due to the failure of technical issues as well as engineers bad decision making.
Stakeholders
Primary
The deepwater Horizon disaster included many stakeholders and affected even more. To name some of those who were affected primary: BP company (the companys health is in danger facing many fines that must be paid with a bad reputation), management (as was mentioned in the documentary, the president was replaced later on, this is a very good example of how each of BP mangers position is in danger of losing it or at least losing the great incentives ), and BPs employees ( Those 11 workers who lost their lives and many of those who have lost their jobs, as well as some engineers were sued and held responsible for some inappropriate actions). BP has also lost its market value and dropped to be the fourth largest major oil company in 2013.
Transocean (rig operator owner), Halliburton (cement contractor), and Cameron International (Blowout preventer manufacture) were all charged with fines and holding of a bad reputation. The United States Government, Many of the local businesses, restaurants and hotels, had to be shut down, losing many of their customers and employees locally and across the states. Also, due the closing of local businesses, many jobs were lost and more families were struggling to live.
The marine and wildlife habitat were affected directly and greatly, many marine species died. Scientists of the University of South Florida released preliminary results on the toxicity of microscopic drops of oil in the undersea plumes, finding that they may be more toxic than previously thought. The researchers say the dispersed oil appears to be negatively affecting bacteria and phytoplankton – the microscopic plants that make up the basis of the Gulfs food web (Chachere, V). Fishermen rely completely on the gulf, its their living and thats all they know how to do. Without fishing there is no income, no food in the house, many unhappy people that are struggling. Fish were noted with oozing sores and lesions, and 50% of shrimp were found lacking eyes and eye sockets (Jamail, D).
Secondary
The coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida states have been secondary impacted. The U.S. Travel Association estimated that the economic impact of the oil spill on tourism across the Gulf Coast over a three-year period could exceed approximately $23 billion, in a region that supports over 400,000 travel industry jobs generating $34 billion in revenue annually (Wikipedia) . Louisiana state was impacted the most, the state coastal communities as the oil industry employ 17% of Louisiana resident (Sasser, B), in addition to the closing of 36% of the Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico has caused the commercial fishing industry $2.5 billion (Walsh, B).
The southeastern community, especially Louisianas residents, health was and still is at risk Many of the Louisiana residents were sick from exposure to toxic chemicals, contributing to their increased risk of mental disorders and stress related health problems (Fox News).
The government (NOAA, DOE, USGS,EPA, etc.) was responsible for finding a solution to clean the mess off the shore as soon as possible and to ensure security to its nation of any health or economy problems. The government has been working hard investigating the causes. Families of those workers who died have been affected due to the loss of their beloved ones, as well as a main household income. The American nation was affected through the high rise of the Gas prices as well as seafood and other products.
Technical analysis
Tech. problem
Transocean deepwater horizon has had problems with both cement seals and blowout preventers in 2005 & 2006. As of March 2010, the deepwater horizon rig experienced problems that included drilling mud falling into the undersea oil formation, sudden gas releases, a pipe falling into the well, and at least three occasions of the blowout preventer leaking fluid. The rigs mechanic stated that the well had problems for months and that the drill repeatedly kicked due to high gas pressure providing resistance.
The giant rig was connected to the