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Vol. 231 No.6 |
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| PRAMOD KULKARNI, EDITOR |
Tragic situation, heroic response
I would have preferred the title of this column to read “Tragic situation, heroic recovery,” but I’m afraid we still face dozens of congressional inquiries, hundreds of lawsuits, thousands of regulations and millions of barrels of lost production from the Gulf of Mexico before we’ll be able to even think about recovering from the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the oil leakage from the Macondo well.
While the congressional hearings are underway in Washington D.C. and joint Coast Guard-MMS hearings in Louisiana, it is important to remember the 11 rig workers who are lost and the heroism of the men and women who went beyond the call of duty during the initial rescue effort as well as the ongoing well capping and oil recovery efforts.
NPR correspondent Joseph Shapiro has provided a firsthand account of what happened during the last few hours aboard the burning semisubmersible in an interview with rig hand Christopher Choy. The 125 survivors owe their life to the frantic but effective actions of the rig hands to lower the lifeboat capsule into the water and launch the capsule away from the collapsing rig.
I live in the neighborhood of BP’s Westlake complex, where I’ve seen lights burning bright through the night in search of technical solutions to cap the well. After attempts with two types of coffer dams that became clogged with hydrates, it took a third operation to successfully install an insertion tube into the leaking riser and begin siphoning away some of the leaking crude oil and gas. Hopefully, BP engineers, with the support of specialists from other operators and service companies, will soon be able to “top kill” the well by pouring cement into the blowout preventer. Meanwhile, BP is continuing to drill relief wells to completely seal off the original well.
While recovery efforts are continuing, a basic outline is emerging of the steps the Obama administration and the US Congress will take in their efforts to avert future such incidents.
Separating leasing and enforcement. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced proposals to split the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into three separate and independent agencies. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will focus on five-year planning, leasing and renewable energy. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement will be responsible for creating standards, conducting inspections and enforcement. The Natural Resources Revenue Service would perform the existing MMS revenue management functions.
The Obama administration will propose to Congress $29 million of additional funding that will include $20 million for increased platform inspections, engineering studies and enforcement of safety regulations, another $7 million for more comprehensive evaluations of policies, procedures and actions in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon incident, and $2 million for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Geological Survey for general environmental studies.
Drilling moratorium. The Department of the Interior has indefinitely extended its initial 30-day moratorium on any new offshore drilling permits pending completion of a safety review. Some lawmakers, such as Sen. Joseph Lieberman, are on record stating that the government should not permit any new deepwater drilling until questions related to the current oil spill are answered. This moratorium has already affected ExxonMobil’s plans to begin drilling for its Hadrian project in the deepwater Gulf.
Immediate inspections. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, MMS ordered inspections of all deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. These rig inspections found “incidents of non-compliance” on two rigs, which were corrected. Inspections of deepwater production platforms are continuing.
Increasing liability cap. Congressional efforts are underway to increase the liability cap per company per incident from the current $75 million to $10 billion. Republican senators have twice blocked Democratic efforts to force a Senate vote on a bill to increase the cap. New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, one of the bill’s sponsors, now says talks are underway to press for legislation that would remove all limits on liability.
Independent investigations. The oil spill will be subjected to a host of investigations. The first inquiry was the joint investigation launched by the US Coast Guard and MMS. At the request of the Obama administration, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) will conduct a technical investigation into the root causes and will recommend corrective steps to address the mechanical failures.
Furthermore, Obama is planning to set up a blue-ribbon panel along the lines of the panel that investigated the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. Various Senate and House committees have already begun their own hearings.
Extending exploration plan review. The Obama administration is proposing to extend the 30-day congressionally mandated deadline for MMS to act on oil company exploration plans to 90 days. This delay is intended for more extensive environmental and safety reviews.
New oversight board. A new Outer Continental Shelf Oversight Board will be set up with top Interior Department officials as its members to review offshore regulations and enforcement operations.
On May 27, President Obama announced the extension of the moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits for another six months while the presidential commission investigates the incident. While this extension will have a devastating effect on deepwater operations, it is gratifying that at least shallow water drilling will be allowed to resume.
The Deepwater Horizon incident has provided history-creating roles for President Obama and Secretary Salazar. The decisions they make will affect the course of the offshore oil and gas industry.
President Obama will consider himself successful if he minimizes political damage to himself and his party and veers the country toward alternative energy sources. Secretary Salazar will consider himself successful if he emerges as an efficient manager who led the agency that cleaned up the spill and installed a strict enforcement regime on oil and gas companies operating under his authority. At least everyone involved in this tragedy has one goal in common: Cap the well and clean up the Gulf Coast as soon as possible. 
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