More about that Schlumberger rumor + a great article

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Best description of this mess ever: Katrina(geographically)+Chernobyl(institutionally)+Challenger(techically)
Credit to Correntewire. Now read the article that puts it all together.

http://www.correntewire.com/oil_fail_did_bp_fail_run_test_would_have_shown_well_was_faulty_why
Oil FAIL: Did BP fail to run the test that would have shown the well was faulty? Why?
Fri, 05/21/2010 - 8:25am — lambert

skip

NOTE * Now, this disaster is not only like Katrina (geographically) and Chernobyl (institutionally), but like the Challenger disaster: technically. If this report is correct, the well failed because the seals between casing segments were faulty, just as the Challenger blew up because the seals between its booster rocket stages were faulty:

This post is from May, but I'm still catching up on my reading and missed this until now. It's just a great article, PLUS it addresses that intriguing Schlumberger oildrum.com rumor about how they were on the rig and had to call their own helicopter to get them the hell out of Dodge before it blew.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6464#comment-623420
AlanfromBigEasy on May 14, 2010 - 3:06pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Story circulating in New Orleans

With appropriate caveats:

BP contracted Schlumberger (SLB) to run the Cement Bond Log (CBL) test that was the final test on the plug that was skipped. The people testifying have been very coy about mentioning this, and you'll see why.

SLB is an extremely highly regarded (and incredibly expensive) service company. They place a high standard on safety and train their workers to shut down unsafe operations.

SLB gets out to the Deepwater Horizon to run the CBL, and they find the well still
kicking heavily, which it should not be that late in the operation. SLB orders the
"company man" (BP's man on the scene that runs the operation) to dump kill fluid down the well and shut-in the well. The company man refuses. SLB in the very next sentence asks for a helo to take all SLB personel back to shore. The company man says there are no more helo's scheduled for the rest of the week (translation: you're here to do a job, now do it). SLB gets on the horn to shore, calls SLB's corporate HQ, and gets a helo flown out there at SLB's expense and takes all SLB personel to shore.

6 hours later, the platform explodes.

Pick your jaw up off the floor now. No CBL was run after the pressure tests because the
contractor high-tailed it out of there. If this story is true, the company man (who
survived) should go to jail for 11 counts of negligent homicide.

I was always fascinated by that snippet/rumor from the beginning. That point is further addressed in this link provided in the Correntewire article above:

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/costly_time-consuming_test_of.html

Costly, time-consuming test of cement linings in Deepwater Horizon rig was omitted, spokesman says
Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 10:30 PM Updated: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 10:34 AM
David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

BP hired a top oilfield service company to test the strength of cement linings on the Deepwater Horizon's well, but sent the firm's workers home 11 hours before the rig exploded April 20 without performing a final check that a top cementing company executive called "the only test that can really determine the actual effectiveness" of the well's seal.

A spokesman for the testing firm, Schlumberger, said BP had a Schlumberger team and equipment for sending acoustic testing lines down the well "on standby" from April 18 to April 20. But BP never asked the Schlumberger crew to perform the acoustic test and sent its members back to Louisiana on a regularly scheduled helicopter flight at 11 a.m., Schlumberger spokesman Stephen T. Harris said.

But there is a very telling difference between the 2 accounts:

The oildrum rumor poster says that Schlumberger would not do it's part when they saw the well was kicking and dangerous and called for it to be shutdown. When that didn't happen they called their company to get them out before it was too late.

The second article, quoting a Schlumberger spokesman, says the Schlumberger guys flew out on a "regularly scheduled" flight at 11:00am.

*My question: If they knew they were there to do a particular test and it would have taken some time, why would they have flown out on a "regularly scheduled" helicopter that predates their completion time?

*2nd question from second article: They were "never asked" to do the job they were there specifically to perform? Does that make sense to anyone?


But in EITHER account they got out and did not perform the Cement Bond Log which EVERYONE agrees is critical in determining the integrity of the cement liners. And that is where the Challenger comparison is so apropos, the failed cement liners were the equivalent of the failed O-rings in Challenger.

I haven't seen anyone put it all together as effectively as this Correntwire post. The Cement Bond Log test and why it was or wasn't done is the crux of the matter.

[n2doc]

1. Very interesting. Thanks n/t

[yella_dawg]

2. .

[AndyA]

3. I can share a bit of Schlumberger history that may reinforce this story.

Years ago, Dow Chemical Company had an oil well servicing division called Dowell. Worker and employee safety was absolutely the #1 priority with that company. If someone even mentioned the possibility of something being unsafe, or a way to improve something to make it safer, actions were taken immediately.

The number of hours and days without an incident was kept track of, and updated daily so employees knew incidents were being tracked, and to remind everyone to not take any chances. If it cost more to be safe, so be it. Safety was never placed second to anything, including expense and/or time.

Schlumberger bought Dowell years ago. Considering safety was such an important part of the company's culture, I would not be the least bit surprised to learn that Schlumberger sent a company helicopter out at their expense to remove Schlumberger employees from a situation that even remotely had the possibility of being unsafe.

[glitch]

4. Negligent homicide AND ECOCIDE. Most interesting, thanks for posting. nt

[Coyote_Bandit]

5. Not so long ago

I knew somebody who trained Schlumberger workers fom locations around the world. This fellow also helped me do some work around my home. I know from personal experience that he was very safety conscious and I'm sure that's something he tried to instill in the workers he trained.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. afternoon kick.

I just read in one of the realtime blogs that they brought up Schlumberger in the testimony today, but they gave no detail. Anyone hear what was said?

[kiers]

7. They blew it back in FEBRUARY

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/06/did-bp-oil-well-blow-out-in-february.html

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

9. WOW! Thanks for the link.

That makes their subsequent decisions even more suspect if they knew they were in a "well control situation" for that long. Unbelievable.

[Catherina]

14. Thank you. Welcome to DU n/t

[spotbird]

8. Why would Schlumberger cover for BP? nt

[lostnfound]

12. Surely BP is a major client? And they may not have actually "lied"

For example, they might have been able to get on the "regularly scheduled" helicopter ride even though they weren't booked in advance.. With so many wells in that area, isn't it possible that there is a helicopter available on a regular schedule for carrying personnel back from various rigs in the area and the phone call got the Schlumberger employees off of this particular rig that day who otherwise would have gone home later or the next day?

[jmowreader]

10. What I see in the Schlumberger rumor

If the well was kicking, whatever that means, and Schlumberger ordered them to kill the well, they weren't going to do the CBL test because it was unnecessary: it's done to prove the safety of the well, and Schlumberger knew the well was too dangerous to use before they even started testing it.

[Uncle Joe]

11. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Phoebe.

[Catherina]

13. Rec'd. Bookmarked. Thanks n/t