[QUOTE=Earl Boebert;54543]Took me a while to get around to this.
From the Chief Counsel’s report, pages 177-178:
"In retrospect, it does not appear there were (or would have been) any signs of a kick prior to about 9 p.m. Nevertheless, between 8 and 9 p.m., rig personnel did not adequately account for whether and to what extent certain simultaneous operations, such as emptying the trip tanks, may have confounded their ability to monitor the well.
Cheers,
Earl[/QUOTE]
I’m interested to see why the counsel’s report came to this conclusion when they know the well became unbalanced prior to this time. Three paragraphs earlier they wrote:
[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2][B]Transocean’s[/B]
[LEFT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2][B]post-explosion analysis estimates that the well became underbalanced at[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][/LEFT]
[LEFT][SIZE=2][FONT=Georgia][B]8:50 p.m.[/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/LEFT]
[LEFT][B][FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=1]125 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2]BP‘s [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2]post-explosion modeling estimates that the time was 8:52 p.m.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=1]126 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2]Given the[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[SIZE=2][FONT=Georgia][B]failed bottomhole cement job, hydrocarbons would have begun flowing into the well at this time.[/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/LEFT]
[LEFT][SIZE=2][FONT=Georgia]And I’m not sure that either of these models take into account that large volumes of hydrocarbons entered the well during the negative test, meaning that the well would have become underbalanced even earlier while displacing to SW.
The comments on ‘erratic flow’ from the well due to crane movements is really quite erroneous and misleading. Most Floaters have to deal with erratic flow from the well due to weather alone, heave, pitch and roll. And, the crane movement affects this paddle too. Essentially, it has more use on a stable platform where flow out is constant, and if changes are seen, then shut in the well. But, it is a very late indicator of the well flowing on a Floater. The best indicators are volume changes or pressure changes.
Naturally, a flow check is always a good thing to do…for at least 10 mins according to industry standards, not by using a camera for less than a minute! The whole culture was flawed on this vessel.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]The counsel’s report ranges from being extremely informative to drawing back from unsavourable conclusions, and therefore, shying away from the hard and hurtful truth. Nevertheless, it is largely a fair assessment with excellent illustrations. [/LEFT]
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