In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion of April 20th, 2010, eyes are focusing on the safety mechanism that failed to cap the well leading to thousands of gallons of crude oil escaping into the Gulf every hour. This device, known as a ‘blowout preventer’ or ‘BOP’, is a massive 50-foot-tall, 500,000-pound structure fitted with rams that, when triggered, punch through the pipeline effectively sealing the well and preventing any unintended release of oil.
These devices, while commonly used in the industry, have come under scrutiny in the past for common problems that are going unaddressed. In 2003, a report warned that the oil production industry as a whole was not taking the time to properly inspect for and repair problems typically associated with BOP’s. In addition, the report warned that with the increase in the strength and durability of modern drill pipes, many of the rams are now unable to break through and stop the flow as intended.
Ironically, the report was co-authored by Earl Shanks, an individual who just happened to be Transocean’s director of technology development at the time, Transocean LTD owned the Deepwater Horizon and was leasing it to BP when it blew.
Though the actual cause of the Transocean/BP rig explosion is still under investigation, early indicators point to a blowout preventer malfunction leading to the release of a conservatively-estimated 5,000 barrels of crude directly into the Gulf of Mexico per day.
The 2003 report, released to industry insiders at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston that same year, indicated that an industry-wide focus on uninterrupted drilling had resulted in companies being eager to pay higher maintenance costs in order to avoid any downtime. Unfortunately, it is during this downtime that drilling equipment is able to be thoroughly inspected for problems that are known to manifest with use. The report even noted that downtime caused by low BOP reliability is quite a common occurrence, with each incident costing upwards of $1 million. These dependability issues were the result of oil production companies failing to provide adequate design specifications to the BOP manufacturers. This caused BOP designers to create devices that did not necessarily meet the exact needs of each particular drilling operation. In fact, the devices tended to be hastily placed on the market without proper testing and when one failed, the pressure to continue drilling meant that the devices were rarely studied to determine why they had malfunctioned.
While BOP’s are fitted with two completely separate control mechanisms, one hydraulic and one electrical, most problems in the field tend to involve the hydraulic components. These problems require that the entire top portion of the BOP be raised to the surface for repairs. This difficult and costly task is one that most oil companies would rather not perform.
Workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20th claimed to have activated the BOP from the rig’s deck before evacuating. Further, the BOP also has sensors that should have initiated a shutdown in the event that the preventer is not manually triggered. Another available safety device, required on rigs operating in Brazil and Norway but not in the U.S., would have triggered the BOP with the use of an acoustic signal.
If you or a loved one were injured in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, contact the experienced Transocean Explosion Lawyers at FZ today for a free, no-obligation consultation at 1-800-993-4887.
