Macondo : the Gulf oil disaster : Chief Counsel's report / National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

United States. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010.

Oil spills--Mexico, Gulf of.

Oil spills.

Offshore oil well drilling--Mexico, Gulf of--Management.

Offshore oil well drilling.

BP (Firm).

United States. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

United States.

Other Title:

Macondo

Place of Publication:

Washington: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling,

Summary:

From the Back Cover: On April 20, 2010, the Macondo well blew out, costing the lives of 11 men and beginning a catastrophe that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and spilled over 4 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill disrupted an entire region's economy, damaged fisheries and critical habitats, and brought vividly to light the risks of deepwater drilling for oil and gas-the latest frontier in the national energy supply. Soon after, President Barack Obama appointed a seven-member Commission to investigate the disaster, analyze its causes and effects, and recommend the actions necessary to minimize such risks in the future. The Commission's report, supplemented by this Chief Counsel's Report, offers the American public and policymakers alike the fullest account available of what happened in the Gulf and why, and proposes actions-changes in company behavior, reform of government oversight, and investments in research and technology-required as industry moves forward to meet the nation's energy needs. Complementary reports, staff background paper, hearing records, and other materials produced by the Commission are available at www.oilspillcommission.gov.

Contents:

Foreword

Executive summary of findings

Technical findings

Management findings

Regulatory findings

Chapter 1: Scope Of Investigation And Methodology

Nature of report

Scope of investigation and report

Investigation methodology

Structure of the report

Chapter 2: Drilling For Oil In Deepwater

Oil and gas in deepwater

How to drill a deepwater well

Chapter 3: Background On The Macondo Well, The Deepwater Horizon, And The Companies Involved

Macondo well

Deepwater Horizon

Companies and individuals involved in the Macondo Blowout

Chapter 4: Technical Findings

Underlying technical causes

Underlying management causes

Chapter 4-1: Flow Path

Potential flow paths

Forensic evidence suggests that hydrocarbons did not flow up the annulus and through the seal assembly

Hydrocarbons appear to have flowed into and up the production casing

Chapter 4-2: Well Design

Deepwater well design

Macondo well design

Drilling the Macondo well

Chapter 4-3: Cement

Well cementing

Preparing for the Macondo cement job

Designing the Macondo cement job

Planning for and installing centralizers at Macondo

Float collar installation and conversion at Macondo

Pre-cementing wellbore conditioning at Macondo

Cementing process at Macondo

Float check at Macondo

Cement evaluation at Macondo

Chapter 4-4: Foamed Cement Stability

Foamed cement

Foamed cement at Macondo

Chapter 4-5: Temporary Abandonment

Temporary abandonment

Temporary abandonment at Macondo

Chapter 4-6: Negative Pressure Test

Well integrity tests

Negative pressure test at Macondo

Chapter 4-7: Kick Detection

Well monitoring and kick detection

Well monitoring at Macondo

Chapter 4-8: Kick Response

Well control equipment

Kick response at Macondo

Chapter 4-9: Blowout Preventer

Blind shear rams

Blind shear ram activation at Macondo

ROV hot stab activation at Macondo

Automatic blind shear ram activation at Macondo

Potential reasons the blind shear ram failed to seal

BOP recertification

Chapter 4-10: Maintenance

Transocean's rig management system

Competing interests between drilling and maintenance

Lack of onshore maintenance

Maintenance audits and inspections

Maintenance findings

Chapter 5: Overarching Failures Of Management

Leadership

Communication

Procedures

Employees

Contractors

Technology

Risk

Closing

Chapter 6: Regulatory Observations

MMS background

MMS regulations did not address many key risk factors for the blowout

Ethical considerations

Endnotes

Appendix A: Blowout investigation team

Appendix B: Commission staff

Appendix C: Acronyms

Appendix D: Chevron laboratory report cover letter

Appendix E: Nile and Kaskida

Schedule when the Deepwater Horizon arrived at Macondo request to suspend operations at Kaskida.

Other Format:

United States. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Macondo