Gulf Oil Blowout Preventer Had A Leak, Rep. Waxman Says

WASHINGTON — Rep. Henry Waxman says that his committee's investigation into the Gulf oil spill reveals that a key safety device, the blowout preventer, had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system.

The California Democrat said in a hearing Wednesday that the investigation also discovered that the well had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion.

He cited BP documents received by the Energy and Commerce Committee that showed there was a breach in the well integrity that allowed methane gas and possibly other hydrocarbons to enter the well.

Comments

[qzulix]

11:53 PM on 05/12/2010

The well Failed bore negative pressure test hours before explosion. Negative pressure between the rig and the BOP kill and choke lines was 1400psi at the rig and 0 psi at the BOP kill/choke lines where there are censors. All present executives said this was not good: the pressure at both points should have been the same. Indicated a leak.

Two minutes before blow-out a pressure spike was graphed and transmitted to BP onshore. It showed a rise from 500psi to 3500psi in those 2 minutes. All executives present agreed this meant the crap was ready to hit the fan, but were unspecific about what alarms (sirens, strobes, etc.) would have gone off in the rig's control room beyond a gauge in an instrument panel.

[qzulix]

11:56 PM on 05/12/2010

The BOP had been modified - a bore-choke ram had been switched with a useless test ram, schematics used to guide the ROVs were not the same as the BOP's configuration causing lots of lost hours. Control panel mislabeled/confusing, caused by modification.

BOP had hydraulic leak and 1 fitting not threaded down. 1 of 2 BOP batteries dead. BP America's VP admits they need to begin research into "sub-sea intervention capabilities." I LOVE it! Better late than never.

Deadman switch only triggers when all 3 lines, communications, hydraulic and power are cut from the rig. It's believed the hydraulic line may not have been severed.

Reps Stupak and Waxman were on top of it. Rep Barton of Tx was a protective, platitude-spewing nuisance and embarrassment, mentioning 9/11 and the Dec of Independence in his smarmy opening statement. His queries were met with baffled silence from the oil execs.

Rep Markey summed it up by comparing BP's containment efforts like junk-shots, hair and nylons as oil absorbers as closer to "Project Runway" than the Apollo Project.

From today's congressional testimony

[Bama Girl]

03:56 PM on 05/13/2010

Basically because BP was greedy they are now Murderers........

[applescruff]

10:16 PM on 05/12/2010

Force all guilty and negligent parties not only pay for clean up but contribute at least an amount equal to 25% of final total fines and costs to Alernative Energy Research.

[Renifer]

03:12 AM on 05/13/2010

Excellent idea. Fanned.

[themutt]

07:24 PM on 05/12/2010

More evidence that Transocean operated the drilling rig in a negligent way. Hopefully, this gets the regulations tightened on drilling, and causes the major oil and gas companies to operate their own rigs, so we don't see the constant passing of blame that we're seeing in the hearings.

[jabailo]

05:25 PM on 05/12/2010

Clearly invisible water dinosaurs live in the Gulf of Mexico. Because they are constantly dieing and being converted to oil This explains how even though there is Peak Oil, the pressure is high enough to coat the coast of Louisiana.

The science is settled!

[droog1]

06:40 PM on 05/12/2010

Oil doesn't come from dinosaurs. US oil production peaked in the 1970's, that's just a fact...can't really dispute it. What you lack in your understanding of hydrocarbons you make up for with your lack of sanity.

[ScapeGoat]

11:41 PM on 05/12/2010

Did god put the oil there when he created the universe in 6 days?

[Hoken]

03:29 PM on 05/12/2010

I have never seen anything from the media prior to this incident that suggested the technology demanded by deepwater drilling is as advanced as it is. As an engineer, I'll say freely that the more I learn about it, the more impressed I am by what drilling engineers have achieved in being able to drill these very complex wells. But as someone who holds a common stake in the future of our environment and prosperity - including the prosperity of our fisheries - I am appalled that they are allowed to routinely pursue such a potentially catastrophic venture at the very edge of their technological ability. There are sixty deepwater wells in the Gulf. Had we launched fifty-nine more frozen shuttles, maybe we would be able to dismiss the catastrophic seal failure on the Challenger as an unfortunate anomaly. But launching them would have been reckless and foolish, and we instead declared the SRB seals a failed technology. There have already been thirty-nine blowouts in deepwater wells, and eighteen of them due to cement seal failures - the same cement seals that are still in use. What's it going to take to overcome the recklessness and foolishness and recognize the obvious conclusion that current drilling technology is not up to the demands of the task?

[jan4insight]

03:33 PM on 05/12/2010

Excellent post! Thank you for your insight and perspective, from both an engineering and environmentally prudent stanspoint. Fanned and faved!

[droog1]

03:41 PM on 05/12/2010

Interesting point, but I would respond that if we don't keep pushing the technological boundaries, we will not have technological advances. 70 years ago, it was considered to be at the very edge of our technological ability to drill wells anywhere offshore, even in a few feet of water. The technology advanced as the industry pushed the boundaries of conventional wisdom and huge fields were discovered in the offshore areas that allowed the U.S. to continue replacing more reserves than it consumed up until the 1970's. So while I agree that this is a tragic incident and the cause or causes should be thoroughly investigated, I don't agree that we should stop pushing the boundaries of the technology. We don't advance technologically without taking some risks; I just think we should think more about how to manage the risk and what role government regulatory bodies should play in the process.

[Marioth]

03:55 PM on 05/12/2010

Risks which foul entire coastlines of entire states are never worth taking. It is clear that this is not cutting edge, but bleeding edge technology. The complete absence of contingency planning says it all, and this will be defined as gross negligence when it gets to court.

If we want to push technology, it must be of the renewable non-polluting type.

[audeo03]

04:01 PM on 05/12/2010

How about engineering green technology!?

The public needs to get behind the movement, but people are still driving SUVs! WHY???

[jabailo]

03:13 PM on 05/12/2010

Blow out? High Pressure?

I thought all North American oil beds were running dry?

A gusher? Doesn't happen in Peak Oil....right?

[UncleHomer]

03:17 PM on 05/12/2010

Two different things. The deeper the well the higher the pressure is going to be. And yes since production at this depth in the Gulf of Mexico is fairly new this does represent new production there but not enough to offset the oil reserves we've already depleted.

Peak oil means the greatest amount we can hope to produce. By the 1970's the amount of oil yet to be discovered and produced could not make up for the reserves we had already depleted.

[jabailo]

03:22 PM on 05/12/2010

Listen to what the man says. Don't believe your eyes.

[ihateliars]

03:39 PM on 05/12/2010

Uncle Homer: time for your stupid question of the day: ICBM worked to destroy their counterparts by causing a minor earthquake next to the hardened silos, causing them to collapse. Is there a way explosives could be similarly used to diminish the flow until the relief wells can be completed?

[Marioth]

03:52 PM on 05/12/2010

Study some geology and get back to us.

[droog1]

06:26 PM on 05/12/2010

I would suggest you do the same.

[TXfemmom]

02:49 PM on 05/12/2010

Thi should be enough to nail BP on, as they continued the process without having this crucial piece of equipment working. They should never, ever have attempted to cap the well without that piece being in fully operational capability.

[UncleHomer]

02:59 PM on 05/12/2010

You're absolutely right. The pressure tests would have been performed by Hallibuton and the rig crew. The results would have been reported to the BP supervisor and then it would have been on his orders they proceed even though the tests indicated the well was not cemented and could blow out on them.

[jabailo]

03:14 PM on 05/12/2010

There can't be any high pressure because according to Peak Oil all our reservoirs are running dry. This is because oil comes from dinosaurs and there aren't any of those so the pressure could not be high and there could not be a blow out and there is no oil slick on the Gulf. The science is settled and the theory says so...so don't believe your eyes.

[ihateliars]

03:27 PM on 05/12/2010

Thanks for the info- these points need to be made/clarified by the media, as it is something most of us do not know.
Fanned.

[Elderlady]

02:48 PM on 05/12/2010

Unfortunately, what you have to hope is that the information now being given to the media, isn't reflective of how many campaign dollars.... are contributed to what member of Congress.... by which company was involved in this disaster.

If I sound cynical........ it's only because I am.... and I'm also realistic....

[Eric4969]

02:27 PM on 05/12/2010

Stop Crying Corporate America OWNS the American People and we sit on our couches and Cry poor me. LOL Get off the Couch and do something or stop Whinning...

[devondx]

02:04 PM on 05/12/2010

...you can't stop progress over a leak...what could go wrong...?

[lastams]

02:02 PM on 05/12/2010

Here's what we know about the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon:

Employees from Halliburton were involved in a procedure just moments before the blowout which resulted in an explosion and fire that sent this unit to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
The explosion in all probability would have been prevented if BP had installed a secondary cut-off valve, a so-called "acoustic switch" on the blowout preventer.

BP uses the Acoustic Switch on all their wells off shore in the United Kingdom. The reason that the Deepwater Horizon was not fitted with the device was because of new deregulations devised by Dick Cheney during his secret meetings with the oil industry at the beginning of Bush's first term.

Funny how the Congress and the Media can't seem to come up with this one simple fact.
The Deepwater Horizon blew because a necessary safety device had been removed by an administration more interested in profits than protecting the public good.

[droog1]

02:08 PM on 05/12/2010

An acoustic communication device to the blowout preventer would have made no difference. Adding another switch to a broken light doesn't make it turn on.

[SShaw490]

02:33 PM on 05/12/2010

I thought that too, but apparently the current theory is that the BOPs didn't operate when the rig sent the command because of damage to the rig from the initial explosion. If that's the case, then an acoustic command could have been sent from a supply ship to shut in the well. It probably wouldn't have mattered, BP has been pushing the actual buttons and the BOP stack won't work, so maybe nothing would have helped except better decision-making. You can't fix s.t.up.id.

[Renifer]

03:45 AM on 05/13/2010

We do know that acoustic shutoff valves work because the Norwegians use them, and they manage to drill in deep water without creating oil volcanoes. They have safety laws that require them and they follow safety protocols.
BP has killed 15 other workers in a separate explosion in a refinery in Texas. BP has been fined millions, and their safety record is horrific. Why we ever gave them a permit to drill in the Gulf is beyond me.

[UncleHomer]

03:04 PM on 05/12/2010

While I agree BP, Transocean and Halliburton are criminally negligent, it really doesn't have anything to do with the acoustic switch. The Blow Out Preventers failed to close and seal off the well. The same result would have happened no matter how they tried to activate them.

So the real question is why did the BOP's fail when there hasn't been an excuse for that for the past 100 years.

[Philllip Finley]

02:00 PM on 05/12/2010

charge all three 50 trilion dollar for the clean up of mother earth.

[KHAAANNN]

02:00 PM on 05/12/2010

How did this all happen?
Money talks, Bull$hit walks.
Welcome to the new Oligarchy.

[emmanuel goldstein]

03:18 PM on 05/12/2010

Plutocraxy

[platypterus]

01:59 PM on 05/12/2010

Hum

[pasko]

01:48 PM on 05/12/2010

Seems a little silly to have hearings before an investigation to determine how this explosion happened. I guess this is what they call political theater.

[UncleHomer]

01:58 PM on 05/12/2010

Not really. I have to admit I was very impressed with what Henry Waxman came up with today. He's at least on the right track and is directing the responsibility to where it belongs which is squarely with British Petroleum.

[vjlawn66]

02:04 PM on 05/12/2010

What are your thoughts Uncle Homer on the new plan, the "top hat". Do you think it has a chance to work?

[SShaw490]

02:20 PM on 05/12/2010

Just from what Waxman dug up, if this is theater, it's Theater Of The Absurd. Unbelievable that so many people apparently made so many bad decisions.

This is going to turn out to be like Chernobyl - several bad decisions made by several people that conspired to cause a catastrophe. And the biggest of the bad decisions was to drill in water that's too deep to cap a wild well like you'd do if it was a diver-accessible depth. That is something the whole exploration industry will answer for.