[QUOTE=pumpjack hand;34396]Are you sure they did it thata way? When BP signed the rig contract were they promised a rig in good working condition? If T.O. has to shut down to do rig maintenance does BP pay for that time? I’m thinking T.O. eats the downtime. But look, I see what look like mistakes BP made operationally, but I doubt they knew the engines, the bop, or anything else had unsafe modifications. Yes, it looks like some BP decisions led to the need for the safety features to function, but it was Transocean that was given the rig safety award, not BP, BP thought the rig’s safety features were operational.
Do I know that? No. Why is it my gut feeling? 35 years ago I was rough necking on a triple standard and we had just gotten out with 24,000’ of D.P. in time for shift change when a rotten egg smell started to come at us from a rig a mile away and we could see the cloud, we did a double because the roads were blocked and the relief crew turned around, so we had to get in with as much pipe as possible before we had to evacuate because of poison gas, that operator had tried to reach T.D. without mudding up to save money. Operator error.
Now, I own my own rigs and operate my own wells, and once in awhile I deal with a bizarre ingrained attitude, in that no matter how much I stress taking time and doing things the safe way, and doing proper maintenance, a rare hand will think I’m just talking and that what I really want is to do it quickest and cheapest, and my theory is that attitude comes from a previous ingrained work experience under a previous employer. So yeah, it is complicated, and it is interwoven, but in my role as rig owner unless that guy can relearn and do it my way, it’s the highway. In my role as well operator I’m expected to implement safe procedures. True, I’m not talking about anywhere near the costs BP and TO work with, but I’m not talking about anywhere near the profit either.
I think those crews should demand a backup surface bop, from everything I’ve read so far they would have had had the two minutes to get it closed, they should have a 4 way blooey so they can choose a downwind direction. I’m thinking Reading and Bates designed it to TO specs, did they wrongly think they’d never have an issue with a company man and gas would never get into a 5,000’ riser that the 500 psi diverter couldn’t handle? And as Monday morning quarterbacks we can say TO had the right to stop work.
It all seems very clear to you, but this for me is more complicated. There is no innocent bystanders.[/QUOTE]
I understand your points completely & I cannot make an arguement to defend Transocean’s actions or inactions overall, but when you have an operator giving bonuses for time saved because they are not only paying for a rig they are payin for a buttload of service crews, there is a very high probability that these types of corners will be cut. I am not excusing TO’s people, but waving money in front of a guy trying to save a donwpayment for a new house or buy a new car he couldn’t otherwise afford to skip proper procedure, to me is evil. You could also hang the MMS on the ESDs because it is their job to witness the use of those systems I believe every quarter. The main point of my argument is all of these things went on right in front of BP’s noses & being in those guys shoes I can just about guarantee you they not only informed those guys, they more than likely had an in house sales/tech./ engineer caling on the BP drilling staff 5 days a week 8 hours a day to let them know what was happening on location.