Transocean accuses Coast Guard of “overt errors” in spill report
(POSTING ENTIRE ARTICLE WITH COMMENTS from FUELFIX.COM BLOG…)
Transocean accuses Coast Guard of “overt errors” in spill report
Published on June 8th, 2011
Written by: Brett Clanton
Citing what it called “overt error” and “rank speculation,” Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean today asked the Coast Guard to revise a draft report that appeared to put some of the blame for last year’s Gulf of Mexico disaster on Transocean.
In a 216-page response, the Swiss-based driller called for more than 230 corrections to the report and even suggested the joint Coast Guard-Interior Department board investigating the accident ignored evidence in pursuit of a political agenda.
Transocean focused on what it called four key factual errors in the report. Its responses:
*Poorly maintained equipment on the rig was not responsible for igniting the cloud of gas escaping from BP’s Macondo well. Transocean blamed BP’s “risky, cost-saving decisions” for leading to a blowout that allowed such large volumes of flammable gas to escape from the deep-water well that it made ignition “inevitable from any one of hundreds of properly functioning, well-maintained electrical devices.”
*The huge blowout preventer on sea floor was properly maintained. Transocean says crews performed routine maintenance of the critical well-control equipment according to established industry standards, government regulations and the manufacturer’s guidelines. Any suggestion to the contrary “is not supported by the evidence,” the company said.
*The engines on the rig did not “fail” to shut down upon detection of gas. The engines were not designed to shut down automatically when gas entered the engine room, and Transocean said it knows of no such systems on the type of rig in question.
*The rig’s general alarm did not “fail” to operate automatically. Transocean said the general alarm was on the “manual” setting, a common practice that prevents repeated false alarms upon activation of gas or smoke detectors. But it was not “inhibited,” as the report suggests. When dangerous amounts of gas were detected, crews correctly activated the general alarm, which helped 115 workers survive the accident.
Transocean also directly criticizes the joint Coast Guard-Interior Department investigation board for ignoring important evidence presented in several rounds of public hearings and frequently relying on speculation rather than fact in assembling its report.
“When a report of this import purports to reach conclusions and makes ‘findings’ so at odds with the evidence, questions must be raised about the fact-finding process and whether an agenda, rather than evidence, served as the report’s foundation,” said the brief, filed today with the Department of Homeland Security and Interior Department.
Lt. Sue Kerver, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, declined comment on the substance of the Transocean brief because she had not yet seen it. But she said the brief would be considered, alongside other input submitted by parties of interest, as investigators compiled a final investigation report, due by July 27.
The 348-page Coast Guard document grew out of a joint investigation launched by the Coast Guard and the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement after the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, which killed 11 workers and launched the nation’s worst oil spill.
The draft report, which the panel calls Volume One, will be part of a larger report that the joint panel plans to issue by July.
Transocean is also expected to release its internal investigation report later this month.
RESPONSES
MoneyMoney
June 8, 2011 - 9:13 pmReply
I have predicted this outcome.
BP had paid all Senators/Congressmen, especially Texas and Louisiana. One of their cronie set the tone last year (June 17, 2010), GOP Rep. Joe Barton of Texas ‘APOLOGIZED’ to BP (Barton has received more than $1.5 million in campaign donations from the oil industry).
Even though it is BP fault (Drilling start with the Operator and end with the Operator, that is the rule), they will try to nail Transocean on this one.
Too many crooks in our Government.
Just The Facts
June 8, 2011 - 8:13 pmReply
Read the report and draw your own conclusions. No amount of information will change some peoples minds but for those who are rational and not interested in just throwing out insults, you may find it interesting. You may find yourself rethinking your position. Here’s the link:http://www.deepwater.com Look on the right side of the page and its under USCG Response Brief. Here is one example of what you will see:
USCG DRAFT REPORT -“Although gas detectors installed in the ventilation inlets and other critical locations were set to activate alarms on the bridge, they were not set to automatically activate the emergency shutdown (ESD) system for the engines or to stop the flow of outside air into the engine rooms.”
TRANSOCEAN RESPONSE – The suggestion that gas detectors “were not set to automatically activate the [ESD]” reflects a misunderstanding of dynamically positioned vessels (“DPVs”) such as the DWH. DPVs hold themselves in place above the well solely by their thrusters/engines. By design, and not as an operational “setting,” ventilation to the engine rooms would not automatically be halted simply upon detection of combustible gas. Instead, a key priority for any DPV is to maintain location over the well to prevent damage to the riser, lower marine riser package, and wellhead, damage to any of which could cause needless environmental damage. As a result, and consistent with applicable international standards, the DWH’s engines were properly set to remain in operation until deliberately shut off.
A lot of what is in the report confirms what most people concluded on their own and that is that the ones investigating (Governtment and USCG) know nothing about drilling operations.
J
June 8, 2011 - 7:29 pmReply
“Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean today asked the Coast Guard to revise a draft report that appeared to put some of the blame for last year’s Gulf of Mexico disaster on Transocean.” They are fully to blame for this disaster. Trust me I have work on Horizon several times along with several other Transocean vessel and all other “major” operators worldwide. When the client (BP) wants to do something that is not to Transocean safety standards or when Transocean management has questionable doubt not only do the have the right to stop the job but the RESPONSIBILITY. This is a working practice hammered into peoples head day after day on offshore vessels. THought my career on numerous occasions clients have made people watch a safety video called, “I could have saved a life today” and just like in the poem they “chose to look the other way”. When Transocean had questions about wether or not the negative test was ok they should have shut the job down. When Transocean was asked by BP to displace the riser straight to the boat they should have shut the job down. When Transocean first had questions about gains they should have shut the well in and monitored it. Well Control School 101! I have worked many years with BP and they do a lot of things safe and just like any company they are also capable of making unsafe and bad decision even if they do not realize it at that time but that is why Transocean is there to make sure that ALL operations abroad their vessel is done in a safe and environmentally friendly way. After all the Captain of the rig has FULL control of that vessel NOT BP! (it is a DP vessel so has a captain)
Georgegervis2
June 8, 2011 - 7:27 pmReply
Looks like we have some of Transocean’s employees posting here today.
I mean after all, Bob and Chris, what did Obama have to do with the well blowing up? What did Obama (or any other person who didn’t work for BP, Transocean or Haliburton) have to do with all the oil leaking from the well?
Looks like if you work for Transocean you must have to have a single-digit IQ when it comes to safety, greed (so you can get mad when your safety bonus gets taken away) and lots of hutzpah to post your drivel here.
Mark
June 8, 2011 - 5:58 pmReply
Maybe not having several of it’s key employee’s refusing to testify in front of the panel may have caused part of the scathing report. If they had explained it back then they wouldn’t be complaining now.
Ntangle
June 8, 2011 - 5:29 pmReply
Did their response address why the flow wasn’t diverted overboard, instead of to the separator?
Or did they clarify conversations regarding the interpretation of the negative pressure test.
Facetime
June 8, 2011 - 4:49 pmReply
This is simple deflection. No matter how you slice it, Transocean is responsible for the worst oil spill in the history of humankind.
Sltone
June 8, 2011 - 4:12 pmReply
These men did not escape because they heard an alarm. Most of them did not ever hear an alarm. They escaped because they experienced an explosion. If they had heard an alarm, perhaps many of them would not have the harrowing stories of running through fallen hallways and staircases.
Transocean continues to point their fingers at everyone else except for themselves. They are at fault for not protecting the men that were loyal to this company.
Tex
June 8, 2011 - 4:11 pmReply
Trans Ocean should not forget that the drilling crew on duty failed to recognize that the well was flowing in spite of very clear indicators that something was wrong. The one person responsible for monitoring the well and shutting in and securing the well is always the driller and nobody else.