Final Macondo report calls for 'system safety' approach

Two US scientific academies urged companies involved in offshore oil and gas activities to take a "system safety" approach to anticipate and manage possible dangers at every operating level. The National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council also said in their final report on the 2010 Macondo deepwater well incident that an enhanced regulatory approach should combine strong safety goals with mandatory oversight at critical operating points.

"Industry and regulators need to include a factual assessment of all the risks in deepwater drilling operations in their decisions and make the overall safety of the many complex systems involved a top priority," said Donald C. Winter, a University of Michigan engineering practice professor and former US Navy secretary who chaired the committee that produced the final report.

Winter said the final report acknowledges that several significant changes have been made since BP PLC's deepwater well in the gulf blew out on April 20, 2010, leading to an explosion and fire that killed 11 workers and destroyed Transocean Ltd.'s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig. This resulted in a massive oil spill that took months to cap and contain.

"The question remains whether these responses represent a start toward an effective operating and regulatory regime, or whether they're part of a transitory response," Winter told reporters during a Dec. 14 teleconference as the National Academies of Science issued the final report.

In a statement following its release, US Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar, who asked the two national scientific academies to independently investigate the incident, said their final conclusions help affirm efforts Interior has made in the last 18 months to raise the bar on offshore oil and gas safety and operations oversight.

Complements efforts

"Their analysis complements the body of work that has helped us take steps to strengthen our oversight, including reports by the Joint Investigation Team and the president's Oil Spill Commission," Salazar said. "The work we have done to implement rigorous new offshore drilling and safety rules and reform offshore regulation and oversight is in line with the committee's recommendations and with our goals moving forward."

The oil and gas industry also has already taken significant steps to improve offshore safety practices and oil spill prevention and response capabilities, according to Erik Milito, the American Petroleum Institute's upstream and industry operations director.

"Through API's standards process and the Center for Offshore Safety, the industry is leading the way in applying the best elements of the most successful existing safety programs, including the use of independent auditing and certification by third parties," he said. "We look forward to reviewing the report and combining this knowledge with the ongoing efforts by the industry to continuously improve operations."

Winter confirmed that much of what the final report contained was in the committee's earlier interim report or addressed by other groups. "We have been able to assess all these other reports and provide a commentary on the numerous suggestions and recommendations to the agencies responsible for regulating these activities," he said.

The final report said that despite challenging geological conditions, alternative techniques and processes could have been used to safely prepare the Macondo well for temporary abandonment. Several signs of trouble also were ignored by the management and crew at the wellsite, it added. "We view the decision to proceed to temporary abandonment after the attempt to cement the well as the pivotal decision leading to the blowout," said Winter. "Up until that time, the team had control of the well and multiple options were available. Once it decided to disregard cement test results, it became impossible to turn back."

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