Macondo well Deepwater Horizon blowout
Subtitle: lessons for improving offshore drilling safety
By: Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Accidents in the Future, Marine Board, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council of the National Academies
Contributors: National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 176
ISBN-13: 9780309221382
Subjects: Safety measures; Accidents; Offshore oil well drilling; Deepwater Horizon (Drilling rig); BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010; Natural gas in submerged lands; Oil well drilling; Underwater drilling; Standards; Prevention
Description: "The blowout of the Macondo well on April 20, 2010, led to enormous consequences for the individuals involved in the drilling operations, and for their families. Eleven workers on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig lost their lives and 16 others were seriously injured. There were also enormous consequences for the companies involved in the drilling operations, to the Gulf of Mexico environment, and to the economy of the region and beyond. The flow continued for nearly 3 months before the well could be completely killed, during which time, nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the gulf. Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout examines the causes of the blowout and provides a series of recommendations, for both the oil and gas industry and government regulators, intended to reduce the likelihood and impact of any future losses of well control during offshore drilling. According to this report, companies involved in offshore drilling should take a "system safety" approach to anticipating and managing possible dangers at every level of operation -- from ensuring the integrity of wells to designing blowout preventers that function under all foreseeable conditions-- in order to reduce the risk of another accident as catastrophic as the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In addition, an enhanced regulatory approach should combine strong industry safety goals with mandatory oversight at critical points during drilling operations. Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout discusses ultimate responsibility and accountability for well integrity and safety of offshore equipment, formal system safety education and training of personnel engaged in offshore drilling, and guidelines that should be established so that well designs incorporate protection against the various credible risks associated with the drilling and abandonment process. This book will be of interest to professionals in the oil and gas industry, government decision makers, environmental advocacy groups, and others who seek an understanding of the processes involved in order to ensure safety in undertakings of this nature."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.

Also available online.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Well design and construction; title: Blowout preventer system; title: Mobile offshore drilling units; title: Industry management of offshore drilling; title: Regulatory reform; title: Concluding comments; title: References; title: Appendix A : Statement of task; title: Appendix B : Public agendas of the Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Accidents in the Future; title: Appendix C : Findings, observations, and recommendations; title: Appendix D : Calculating the differential pressure at the start of the negative test and the quality of foam cement; title: Study committee biographical information.