PROPUBLICA - BP emails show decisions pre-blast to save "lots of time" (3 days) and money

[nashville_brook]

http://www.propublica.org/ion/blog/item/emails-show-bp-making-decisions-with-its-well-to-save-lots-of-time-and-mill


BP E-mails Show Decisions Pre-Blast to Save ‘Lots of Time’ and Money

by Marian Wang, ProPublica - June 15, 2010 1:50 pm EDT


The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in an effort to press BP on its cost-cutting and time-saving decisions that led to the Gulf disaster, has released a series of documents that seem to show BP cutting corners on what it knew was a “nightmare well.” We’ve put many of them in our document viewer—linked below—so you can check them out.

One e-mail, for instance, noted that BP’s chosen well design “saves lots of time ... at least 3 days.”



According to the House committee’s letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward, BP chose this more risky option despite the fact that in April a review of the plan recommended against it. Another option being considered “would have cost $7 to $10 million more and taken longer,” according to the committee.

As we’ve noted, Halliburton, the cementing contractor, warned BP that its well could have a gas flow problem if it didn’t it install more centering devices to make sure the pipe was centered before the cement job was performed. BP didn’t fully adopt that recommendation, installing only six of the 21 recommended devices. “A straight piece of pipe even in tension will not seek the perfect center of the hole unless it has something to centralize it,” one BP employee wrote. “But, who cares, it’s done, end of story, will probably be fine and we’ll get a good cement job.”

Another e-mail from a BP engineer noted that “this has been a nightmare well which has everyone all over the place.”

(snip)

[Mimosa]

1. "will probably be fine..."

Probably...

Makes me sick to read it yet I must.

[nashville_brook]

3. 3 whole days of time saved -- how's that working out for them, i wonder.

makes me sick too.

[WillyT]

2. Big K & R !!!

:mad:

:kick:

[nashville_brook]

4. good to see you WT!

:hi:

[WillyT]

6. You Too, nb !!!

:bounce::hi::bounce:

[nashville_brook]

5. damn -- dupe.

:hi:

[TexasObserver]

7. THIS is BP. Shaving costs, in spite of increased safety risks.

[nashville_brook]

8. it's not like they were the only bad apple -- just damn near the worst one.

[TexasObserver]

9. Yes, it is like they're the only bad apple.

There is simply no comparison between BP and the other majors, all of whom are paragons of virtue compared to BP, the world leader in safety violations in the oil and gas business.

There's no "damn near." BP is the worst, and it's not close. It's an order of magnitude.

[Octafish]

10. About 4 1/2 hours' profit for BP.

The Math.

Thank you for the heads-up on these unctuous greedheads, nashville_brooke.

[nashville_brook]

12. trying to stay on top of it while i have the stomach for it!

[glitch]

11. Anybody else getting the suspicion they're all on meth?

Not just these guys, but all the way up to the top of BP?

edit: and the more I think about it, this would explain the GOP leadership actions as well.

[nashville_brook]

14. high on Corexit.

[DirkGently]

13. Sickeningly unsuprising

Good find, Nashville.

[nashville_brook]

15. Three Days filled with tears and sorrow yesterday today and tomorrow

Three days I dread to see arrive three days I hate to be alive
Three days filled with tears and sorrow yesterday today and tomorrow

There are three days I know that I'll be blue
Three days that I'll always dream of you
And it does no good to wish these days would end
Cause the same three days start over again

Three days that I dread be alive three days that I hate to see arrive
Three days filled with tears and sorrow yesterday today and tomorrow

There are three days...
Three days that I dread to see arrive...
Three days three days

[chill_wind]

16. Makes me ill. All over again. n/t