BP to join industry's proposed marine well containment group

BP PLC announced plans Sept. 20 to join the proposed Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) and to make its underwater well containment equipment available to all oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sept. 20, 2010

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 20 -- BP PLC announced plans Sept. 20 to join the proposed Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) and to make its underwater well containment equipment available to all oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell PLC pooled $1 billion to form MWCC, a nonprofit joint venture that will build an equipment inventory and a rapid response system for future gulf oil spills (OGJ Online, July 21, 2010).

MWCC was announced following the Apr. 20 Macondo well blowout that resulted in an explosion and fire on Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible, killing 11 people and contributing to a massive oil spill. Officials declared the Macondo well, on Mississippi Canyon Block 252, dead on Sept. 19.

BP said MWCC operator ExxonMobil agreed the project team will use BP technical personnel having Deepwater Horizon response experience.

Richard Morrison, BP vice-president for gulf operations, said he believes BP’s recently gained deepwater intervention experience and specialized equipment “will be important to the marine well containment system.”