Somewhat Similar To The O-Ring Crap We Heard About In The Challenger Catastrophe?

[ABM]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101028/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_cement

WASHINGTON – Tests performed before the deadly blowout of BP's oil well in the Gulf of Mexico should have raised doubts about the cement used to seal the well, but the company and its cementing contractor used it anyway, investigators with the president's oil spill commission said Thursday.

It's the first finding from the commission looking into the causes of the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. And it appears to conflict with statements made by Halliburton Co., which has said its tests showed the cement mix was stable. The company instead has said BP's well design and operations are responsible for the disaster.

The cement mix's failure to prevent oil and gas from entering the well has been identified by BP and others as one of the causes of the accident.

BP and Halliburton decided to use a foam slurry created by injecting nitrogen into cement to secure the bottom of the well, a decision outside experts have criticized.

The panel says that of four tests done in February and April by Halliburton, only one — the last — showed the mix would hold. But the results of that single successful test were not shared with BP, and may not have reached Halliburton, before the cement was pumped, according to a letter sent to commissioners Thursday by chief investigative counsel Fred H. Bartlit, Jr.

BP had in hand at the time of the blowout the results of only one of the tests — a February analysis sent to BP by Halliburton in a March 8 e-mail that indicated the cement could fail. The slurry tested in that case was a slightly different blend, and assumed a slightly different well design, but there is no indication that Halliburton flagged the problem for BP, or that BP had concerns, the letter says.

"Halliburton (and perhaps BP) should have considered redesigning the foam slurry before pumping it at the Macondo well," Bartlit writes.

Independent tests conducted for the commission by Chevron on a nearly identical mixture were also released Thursday. The results conclude the cement mix was unstable, raising questions about the validity of Halliburton's final test.

BP, as part of its internal investigation, also conducted tests that showed the cement mix was flawed, but its analysis was criticized by Halliburton, which said it was not the correct formula. The company also said the testing Halliburton did on the cement was incomplete.

By contrast, the commission obtained proprietary additives from Halliburton as well as a recipe to recreate the slurry that was used on the well.

A spokeswoman for Halliburton said the company was reviewing the findings and would have a response later Thursday...............

 

[maxiep]

For the record, the "O-Ring Crap" as you put it was conclusively proven by Richard Feynman, and the overarching cause of the Shuttle disaster was "Go Fever" (in the parlance of NASA).



One of my neighbors works in the oil industry and he and I have had a number of conversations about the spill. According to him BP (who don't own the well, but oversaw its construction and development) took a TON of shortcuts. Like the mortgage crisis, I think blame for the spill has blame to spread to all parties--BP, Halliburton, Transocean and the US Government.

 

[ABM]

For the record, the "O-Ring Crap" as you put it.....

BTW, in saying "crap", I effectively meant it as you had described it.....forsaking prudence.

 

[barfo]

BTW, in saying "crap", I effectively meant it as you had described it.....forsaking prudence.

I just want to say that "forsaking prudence" is a nice turn of phrase. Well, nicer than "crap" anyway.

barfo

 

[tlongII]

I would never forsake Prudence. I think she's nice.

 

[ABM]

I would never forsake Prudence. I think she's nice.

Is she in the Craigslist directory?

 

[BrianFromWA]

QA is important stuff.

 

[crandc]

Regulation is really really bad. Vote to end regulation of business! Let the free market work. Government oversight of business is Marxinazislam!

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Government oversight of business is Marxinazislam!

It is? I don't think so.

 

[crandc]

It is? I don't think so.

Sarcasm, Prophet.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Sarcasm, Prophet.

Oh.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Taxpayer-funded government oversight of the rig and drilling plans said it was ok to drill. Potentially because...

“We have found that the industry has distorted and impeded effective rule making and prevented rules from being made.” Reilly said at the recent Deepwater Horizon hearings in Louisiana.

Reilly added, “Shocking records with respect to fatalities” of OCS injuries show a substantial jump since 2006.

“The regulatory and inspection process has been subject to political and industry pressure. The industry has successfully sought congressional intervention to prevent implementation of mms rule making.”