Explosion – Deep Water Horizon Drilling Rig in GOM, USA

[Scott Beveridge]

Off topic here but I can’t control myself….

Thx Lucas for the link! And to the guys who finally got the leak stopped (esp. to those of you whom I know). BTW – not putting your efforts down at all in any fashion or form… The media and they’re lack of research is the one(s) I’m hitting on.

After reading a few comments in the above post and picking my jaw off the floor. I have to add this…

4th comment – loads of ancillary equip on the market that has / can be modified "on the fly"

5th comment – huh??? Maybe if the guys in the GOM work 250 ++ days per year offshore they earn that amount (before tax)

6th comment – If it’s so hard and takes so long to "break in" new pilots then Why T F _ _ _ is the pay going friggin’ down (office staff getting same or more?) ???

Sod it, we are apparently now allowed to speak, so:

4 – Damn near all of the gear used was built or modified on the fly, a lot of it via back of fag packet drawings from the ROV teams – but when you say aluminium, one meter long, and what you get is 4 meters long made of steel ( thanks Houston) then you start to wonder WTF are the BP ROV "experts" on?

5 – 125K US PA. I’m led to believe OI US pay different rates to their pilots and their techs, and their techs get paid a damn sight more than their pilots, for obvious reasons – and work more days, again for obvious reasons. I’d suspect the numbers refer to techs rather than pilots, but I could be wrong.

6 – See 5

Cheers

Monkey

Monkey,

Thanks for your comment on my reply of #4 – sounds all too familiar…

As to the pilot OR tech rates in your reply to #5…. ummmmm they should be one in the same. If you fly it you’d better be able to fix it!!!! Especially some of the piloting I’ve seen from computer games, X-box, and PSP cowboys!!!! Ergo, if the pilot "breaks it" he’s gonna fix it – and fast. There should be no difference between the 2 that’s why many companies require and ask for Pilot / Techs. Re: rates – a good pilot/tech can make US$ 125K – $135K for a 180 day year in some parts of the world – notice the 180 day year part….. One more point is that IF and I say IF there are 2 ROV systems onboard and only one crew per shift to tend to them, there should be a system tech looking after the second system with the third guy from the on-tower shift to assist for any live electrical or hydraulic maintenance to perform including deck checks.

and your reply to #6 – training and the ROV schools need a hard looking at… they can not persist churning ROV personnel out with just their piece of paper in hand and expect to be fully trained in a short time. It DOES take a few years to mentor a good pilot/tech. NOTE: mentoring has been and is a much better way to go. Apprenticeships in the UK and commonwealth countries was a great idea (why for the life of me it was canceled is beyond me…) as it taught work ethics. Never had it in my country except for "private" schools.

[Mark DuPriest]

"scotbeve wrote:
Off topic here but I can’t control myself…. "

…do as I say not as I do huh?
ADAM 12 …..thread hijacking

[Scott Beveridge]

"scotbeve wrote:
Off topic here but I can’t control myself…. "

…do as I say not as I do huh?
ADAM 12 …..thread hijacking

Yes, yes – sorry once again. I’m guilty this time!

[R2D2]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100830/us_nm/us_oil_spill_probe

[Rons_ROV_Links]

Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center: BP has successfully completed the relief well by intersecting and cementing the well nearly 18,000 feet below the surface.

[Nathaniel Essex]

OI in the gulf pays 16-18 hr for techs, 18-21 for Sr. techs. Supervisors start at a little more than that.

[Andy Shiers]

I heard on the news today that Haliburton admit they did not put some fail safes in 😯
It’s all coming out in the wash……………. maybe 😕
Anybody else here of anything ?

[iROV]

One of Eight key findings related to the causes of the accident.

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/incident_response/STAGING/local_assets/downloads_pdfs/Deepwater_Horizon_Accident_Investigation_Report_Executive_summary.pdf

[James McLauchlan]

I note that, after all the ‘British Petroleum’ rhetoric coming out of the white house during the incident, the operation was being run by BP Exploration & Production Inc. an American registered company by all accounts.

[Andy Shiers]

So……………….
The cement was the wrong mixture , The MGS system was overwelmed and the personnel charged with operating the BOP did not recognise any implacation of failure before it was too late 😯
Transocean is American owned . Haliburton is American owned.
Is Cameron British then ?
Maybe there were British BP reps on board ?

[Anonymous]

Who cares , this is old news now move on

[James McLauchlan]

Old news or not it’s on topic, so it’s fine to discuss.

[Craig Thorngren]

BP, err uh, British Petroleum, ordered a change to the cement mixture just before the accident.

Now their catching hell because when they (British Petroleum) ordered all of the oil containment boom removed they told the contractors to not worry about all the anchors used to hold them in place. The anchors were between 22 and 750 lbs. More than adequate to entangle a fishing boats nets and ruin their gear. Not only that but it’s considered illegal dumping. Did I mention that by their own estimates they bought and deployed somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 anchors… and so far have recovered less than 300.

Do we want to keep the slagfest going back and forth or should we just say it was a screw up by all parties and they should all have to pay for it…you decide.

Chief

[Andy Shiers]

Yes …………….I’m all for everyone concerned who f@#cked up pay for it but I would like to see the blame ( And as we know it is All on BP at the mo and due to all the flak and anti "British" crap swinging in our general direction) would like to see justice where it is deserved 👿
Working offshore on Semi’s ,Jack-ups , Ships and platforms I know where a lot of blame comes from but unfortuantely most of the general public ……………….. Does not ! ( only what they see on shite newspapers and politicians wide mouth Gobs 😯
Safety and all plus accountants numbers……….. still does not change the fact that well established offshore companies were involved in this drilling programme with THEIR OWN safety standards and procedures which they would have HAD to follow protocol ! Whether a certain "Client Rep" on board was experienced or not still does not change the fact that the Drilling company has lot of say in ……… How they drill and what procedures they will follow in order to get the Contract in the first place !
The client rep is just that…………….. A representitive of the client who sends in his daily progress report and signs off the contractors DPR………………. the following day 😯
Unless of course it is in the country being exploited and the said country says ……. ‘Yes you can have a percentage but you have to use one of our own drilling companies to safeguard jobs’ , not necessarily because they are price reasonable or ………… the best 😕
Since this is an open forum and being an honest work abiding person
( Shat upon from a company in the past due to following my own code of practice which was also the "protocol" followed by the Subcontractor which I was gainfully employed :?) I see no reason to stop enquiring as to how this fiasco happened in the way that I am doing as I could very well be on a semi doing MY job correctly in the future and STILL be in danger because "certain" parties are not willing to take the blame where it is due 👿
Call it it what you will….slagfest maybe but someone needs to be shown the whole pie not just the crumbles 😯
Especially when they think their shit does’nt stink !

[tc1]

Gents,
All of us in this industry are aware of the methods used by companies to cut costs and record safety issues.

I think its fair to say that these methods are sometimes used for making at a safer place to work however I think the vast majority are made for cost cutting.Sometimes these methods are at least questionable and at worst fatal.

I see no reason for anyone picking on purely one company for the deeds of all.

These companies are international and even though they may originate from one country,you will always find responsibility from countries outside the origins of the lead company.

In the case of this latest disaster I’m sure we should all agree that multiple companies were involved in this operation and I believe every one of them involved were responsible by degree for what has happened as they will all have been involved in cost cutting for their own ends and as a result we ended up with this clusterf**k.

I think it was irresponsible for the us gov. to lay the blame solely on the UK firm whilst ignoring their own in country companies failures,however that is the way of politics and we who work offshore are not politicians so therefore rather than us apportioning blame at each other we should stand together and blame the collective companies for yet again killing our people at the sharp end by their unsafe cost cutting methods.

At the end of the day all of this will come down to cost cutting and they will never be able to put their finger on exactly who was responsible but may in fact do what they usually do and create a scapegoat and get back to business.

As offshore operatives lets not fight between ourselves,lets try to make these cost cutters more responsible.

[Author]

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