New Report Reiterates Inherent Dangers of Drilling - Oceana USA
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September 15, 2011

New Report Reiterates Inherent Dangers of Drilling

A new federal report into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has found that BP took multiple serious shortcuts in exploratory drilling and that the operation was behind schedule and over budget. This conclusion echoes the results of previous investigations, including the January report by national commission on the oil spill.

The report also reiterated concerns about the use of blowout preventers, which are meant to be a final defense against oil rig disasters. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon spill, the blowout preventer mechanism was weakened by a failure in the drill pipe, which connects the surface rig to the well. This pipe, which spanned 5,000 feet, possibly buckled because it was simply too heavy to support itself.

Oceana has released a response calling for an end to new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the new report.

“This report confirms that bad decisions and improper, risky actions were at the root of the accident,” said senior campaign director Jackie Savitz. “All deepwater drilling activities would, by their nature, also have thousands of feet of drill pipe, and could be vulnerable to the same danger.”

Other fatal shortcuts cited in the report include cement failure at the base of the well, last-minute changes in drilling plans, insufficient emergency planning, and numerous violations of federal regulations governing oil well management.

The BOEMRE/Coast Guard report is available online.