Turn off oil and start the transformation

“Should U.S. Halt Drilling Because Of BP?
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer
Manufacturing.Net - July 13, 2010

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The first public hearing by a presidential oil spill panel Monday zeroed in on the relationship between BP and the company it hired to drill the now exploded rig.

In an effort to fight a new drilling moratorium, a rival drilling executive and a Louisiana congressman said other oil operators shouldn't be tarred because of one bad apple: BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.

Larry Dickerson, president of a rival drilling company, told commissioners that the April 20 explosion and resulting oil spill were "the result of reckless operating mistakes."

He said errors were likely made in monitoring drilling mud, in decisions on when to use the blowout preventer and about whether BP PLC or its contractor, Transocean Ltd., was in charge of safety.

BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells testified at the start of the two-day hearing about what BP was doing to try to stop the leak. None of the seven commissioners asked him about the causes of the rig explosion, and Wells did not discuss the question of blame.

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, also in arguing to lift the drill ban said: "The vast majority of companies were doing things in a much safer way than BP was doing."

Dickerson, president of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., which is the No. 2 deepwater drilling contractor, said on the wells they run, they would stop work immediately if something goes wrong. That's even if a customer, like BP, wants to keep going.

"It appears that somebody may not have adequately monitored what's coming out of the hole," Dickerson said. He said he didn't have first hand knowledge but based his comments on media reports.

In Washington, the Obama administration issued a revised moratorium through Nov. 30 on deep-water offshore drilling Monday to replace the one that was struck down by the courts as heavy-handed.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made the announcement, arguing that a pause is still needed to ensure that oil and gas companies implement safety measures to reduce risks and are prepared to handle spills.

Commissioner Fran Ulmer, former lieutenant governor of Alaska, said there needs to be "a higher standard of decision making" on drilling rigs about safety.

Dickerson said his company has had to shut down drilling in the name of safety. He said it is important that his operators have a "hands on the brakes" and not have to go back and forth with the customer.

"There's a natural friction between safety and caution and meeting schedules," Dickerson told reporters. "We need to resolve that in favor of safety."”