Ingenieria

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
By Derek Park | Oil & Gas IQ

MACONDO:

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN

What is perhaps less well known is that in August 2009 there was a blowout in the Montara field off Western Australia involving the jack up rig West Atlas. Thankfully no one died, but the similarities between this incident and the Deepwater Horizon tragedy are striking and rather chilling, not only fromthe technical viewpoint but also in the way that the people involved reacted - or some would say failed to react. The main players in these dramas are well known and do not need to be named here, but nobody will argue that, fundamentally, both operators and contractors failed to heed George Santyana’s warning that: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

On the eveningof 6th July 1988, Piper Alpha exploded and 167 people lost their lives. The subsequent Cullen enquiry was seen as a watershed for UK offshore safety and integrity. In April 2010, Deepwater Horizon suffered a blowout and eleven people died, unleashing an oil slick of up to 4.9 million barrels over an area of 68,000 square miles. Both these tragedies made headlines around the world and have becomeetched into our industry brains. The reaction from governments and public was ‘never again’ but can government or industry say with any certainty that these tragedies will not be repeated?

It has to be said that governments were equally at fault in the Macondo incident. The US government, particularly stinging in its criticisms after Deepwater Horizon, must also bear responsibility for failing tolearn the lessons of history, particularly regarding its responsibility to regulate the industry. So, 21 months on from Macondo, has the industry actually learned the lessons this time? The UK certainly learned from Piper Alpha but have we become smug? Deepwater Horizon surely couldn’t happen here, could it? We have learned and applied all the lessons, surely? But this year has seen incidentssuch as the Gannet leak, Chevron’s Nigerian rig fire and Scotland on Sunday, recently reported under the headline ‘UK oil spill exercise proves less than slick,’ that ‘a

1

Never Say Never Again | Oil & Gas IQ

major exercise to test Britain’s handling of a Deepwater Horizonstyle disaster has exposed a catalogue of failures…’ We need to have our house in order. It is true that the findings ofmany past incidents have pointed fingers at governments as well as operators, but we all know who will feel the boot when the political knee jerks. The European Union is hovering in the wings and a huge consultation exercise is underway. A few clicks around the internet reveal official documents expressing concern that ‘there are no EU laws specifically for the offshore industry’ followed by alist of directives which could be developed or indeed which exist already and just need to be applied. Be afraid, be very afraid. To avoid being overwhelmed with new regulation, the industry needs to be sure of the highest integrity, not just on paper or in press releases but deep and wide across all operations. I decided to go back through the history of offshore disasters to look for common themesand ask some questions. Have we really learned? Have we really changed? And how exactly would we know if we have? We can look at statistics and audit reports and kid ourselves that all is fine and dandy but what is the reality? For me, the real answer can only come from those working on the front line.

How does it look and feel working at the sharp end of the industry today? Are staff listenedto when they have a concern or is it true, as most of the media would have it, that cash is king and safety and integrity are kicking about the alms house?

Derek Park Oil & Gas IQ 2012

2

Never Say Never Again | Oil & Gas IQ

Looking Back: Disasters In Context
Sea Gem
Forty six years on, the technical reasons for the disaster are less important than the other lessons learned. In...