Is GOM drilling moratorium hurting or helping rig safety?

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) is urging its members to contact federal lawmakers to convey IADC’s dismay regarding the blanket suspension of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

IADC Chairman Louis A. Raspino said uncertainty from Washington, DC, regarding deepwater drilling threatens the future of the US offshore drilling industry. Raspino, chief executive officer and president of Pride International Inc., spoke during an IADC town hall meeting in Houston on July 7.

The Interior Department imposed a 6-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the gulf following an Apr. 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible drilling rig, which was working for BP PLC and partners on the Macondo well in 5,000 ft of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 252.

“Just about every rig sitting in the gulf right now is trying to find a way out of the gulf,” Raspino said. A federal judge in New Orleans issued a temporary injunction that effectively blocks the drilling moratorium, but the federal government is appealing that ruling to the appeals court.

Raspino and others speaking at the meeting all emphasized the importance of rig safety, but they also suggested that the motivation behind the moratorium was more about anti-drilling politics than it was about rig safety.

The moratorium is more likely to reduce safety than to improve safety, said Tom E. Williams, a member of a team of scientists advising Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Williams is managing director of Nautilus International LLC.

Several others at the town hall meeting emphasized that the US has higher environmental standards and drilling safety regulations than do many other countries.

“The national security issue is not even being discussed,” in Washington, Raspino said regarding the likelihood that a decrease in US drilling will contribute to higher US dependence upon imported oil.

API reaffirms oil and gas industry commitment to safety

While the US Coast Guard searched for workers missing after an explosion and fire on a semisubmersible rig off Louisiana, American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard told reporters in Houston that safety is the oil and gas industry’s top priority.

“Every time an incident happens, we ask ourselves what we can do better,” Gerard said. “We’re working for a zero-injury, zero-fatality effort.” Industry considers workers to be its “most sacred” asset, he added.

April has been marred by accidents, both upstream and downstream. An Apr. 2 explosion in a naphtha hydrotreater within Tesoro Corp.’s 120,000-b/d refinery at Anacortes, Wash., killed six employees. The hydrotreater was undergoing maintenance at the time (OGJ Online, Apr. 5, 2010).

On Apr. 12, the United Steelworkers issued a news release saying the refinery industry fails to learn from past disasters. The union called on refiners to develop and implement policies requiring full safety reviews before all process start-ups and scheduled shutdowns.

Gerard said API devotes much of its staff’s attention to safety, adding that API’s activities involve research, standards development and reviews as well as training efforts and information transfers.

On Apr. 20-21, Gerard was in Houston to speak to the local API chapter and to brief reporters. He told reporters that his thoughts were with the families of 11 missing workers.

An explosion and fire rocked the Transocean Ltd. Deepwater Horizon rig at about 10 p.m. CDT Apr. 20. The semi was drilling for BP Exploration & Production Inc. on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 about 41 miles off Louisiana.

Marathon refinery to deploy wi-fi safety system

Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC plans to deploy a wireless gas detection system from Accenture at two units within Marathon’s 192,000-b/d refinery in Robinson, Ill.

Jerry C. Welch, senior vice-president of Marathon Petroleum, said the system will alert workers within the refinery of any gas incidents and will help colleagues outside the plant to find refinery workers.

“The refining industry has not been able to use wireless networks to remotely detect hazards or locate workers,” Welch said. He believes the system “has the potential to transform onsite safety in our industry and should be relevant to many other sectors.”

The dense amount of steel used in refineries and chemical plants makes it difficult to use wireless systems, Accenture said. The system uses a lapel-based wireless four-gas detector and wi-fi tags.

Colin Fulton, director of Accenture Plant and Automation Solutions, said several technologies from various companies were combined to create the Accenture Life Safety Solution system, which allows remote monitoring of incidents and provides continuous gas monitoring.

ASSE recognizes oil and gas practice specialty

The oil and gas safety community has established its own practice specialty within the American Society of Safety Engineers.

The process took a couple years, starting out with a meeting of four people over dinner. This resulted in the formation of an oil and gas branch that was sponsored by ASSE’s transportation practice specialty.

The oil and gas branch actively recruited members and sustained steady growth despite the distractions of active hurricane seasons that brought Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustave, and Ike to the Gulf of Mexico.

The ASSE Council of Practice Specialties gave its blessing to an oil and gas practice specialty after the oil and gas branch had grown to more than 500 members by Oct. 31, 2008.

In June 2009, the oil and gas practice specialty scheduled an organizational meeting during the ASSE safety conference in San Antonio. Organizers say the practice specialty covers a large, diverse group of businesses including:
--Drilling, exploration, and development
--Gathering
--LNG production, storage, transportation, and distribution
--LPG operations
--Offshore operations
--Oil and gas equipment and services
--Oil and gas pipelines
--Refining and marketing

Houston life days after Ike

Hurricane Ike raged around my southwest Houston home for what seemed like a long time. The storm ripped off some shingles but left the tar paper intact. Ike destroyed a couple of trees, but otherwise my household fared well.

The storm also uprooted an energy infrastructure that most Americans take for granted. My biggest concerns today—beyond weekly magazine deadlines—are when I might find some gasoline and when my house might get electricity restored.

A local public relations spokeswoman compares hurricane-recovery life to the Twilight Zone. My response is that there are some Mad Max moments, particularly in the car.

At the Oil & Gas Journal office, everything appears normal. But safety logistics of the commute home quickly remind me that normal routine remains suspended. It’s tricky crossing busy intersections without working traffic lights.

Motorists face long waits at the limited number of gas stations having electricity with which to run their pumps. Sometimes, police officers are there to direct traffic. When you do get to an open pump, typically cash is required, and you are limited in how much gasoline you can purchase.

Like Houston Mayor Bill White says, this is called a disaster area for a reason. I can only imagine what it must be like for oil companies trying to restore operations while checking on the welfare of all their employees.