BP Used Riskier Method to Seal Oil Well Before Blast

[IScreamSundays]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — Several days before the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, BP officials chose, partly for financial reasons, to use a type of casing for the well that the company knew was the riskier of two options, according to a BP document.

The Deepwater Horizon ablaze on April 21, the day after the oil rig exploded.

If the cement around the casing pipe — used to line the well — did not seal properly, gases could leak all the way to the wellhead, where only a single seal would serve as a barrier.

Using a different type of casing would provide two barriers, according to the document, which was provided to The New York Times by a Congressional investigator.

Workers from the rig and company officials have said that hours before the explosion, gases were leaking through the cement, which had been set in place by the oil services contractor, Halliburton. Investigators have said these leaks were the likely cause of the explosion.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/us/27rig.html

[HCE SuiGeneris]

1. K & R

[charlesg]

2. "BP officials chose for financial reasons"

I guess BP was so strapped for cash.

[JoeyT]

3. Never! BP was doing their level best to plug that hole!

You just wanted Obama to put on a superman outfit and plug the hole with a cork!
:sarcasm:

[Celefin]

4. 'Macondo-well was very unusual' - Norwegian Petroleumboard (Ptil)

Ptil states that everything points to a faulty well casing, apart from the malfunctioning blowout preventer.
The well construction used on the Macondo-field was very unusual, according to Ptil, with very low steel content compared to the conventional way of constructing oil wells.
A lot of liner-pipes were used instead, but most of these were not connected back to the well head according to drilling and well-construction specialist Kjell Marius Auflem.
If this led to the accident is unclear but will have to be looked into. In an interview with petro.no he made clear that this well construction type has never been used on the Norwegian shelf.

Source: http://www.petro.no/modules/module_123/proxy.asp?I=14063&C=29&D=2&mid=20
(in Norwegian)

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Looks like BP was testing a new well-construction method. With no plan B.