Drill And Spill Equals Disaster

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the worst rig explosion in decades is likely to have devastating economic and environmental impacts, perhaps surpassing that of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1989.

As huge amounts of oil gush into the rough gulf waters, critical questions are being raised about safety procedures and environmental response. Both British Petroleum and participating subcontractors (responsible for drilling this well) need to provide some honest answers.

Halliburton Co., headquartered out of Houston, is in the cross hairs of many environmental groups and government officials. The company is responsible for the rigging equipment, and investigators are looking at the company’s role in cementing the deep water drill hole. BP owns the rights to the oil, but Halliburton and Transocean Ltd., which leased the drilling rig to BP, face tough questioning by Congress.

Halliburton was called upon by two members of Congress to provide all documents by tomorrow, May 7, relating to “the possibility or risk of an explosion or blowout at the Deepwater Horizon rig and the status, adequacy, quality, monitoring, and inspection of the cementing work,” the Associated Press reports. U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., (left), and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., (right) made the requests.

Halliburton CEO David Lesar (left) is scheduled to testify in front of Waxman’s Energy and Commerce Committee on May 12. Other executives expected to testify at the hearing include Lamar McKay (right) of BP and Steve Newman of Transocean.

A representative from Halliburton said last week that “it is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any specific issues (involving the rig) … The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications … (and) tests demonstrating the integrity of the production casing string were completed.”

Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon which exploded April 20, says it will lose more than a half-billion dollars in revenue, and its finances will be hampered by hefty fees from a growing pile of lawsuits.

The world's largest offshore drilling contractor added that it's bracing for negative publicity and new regulations because of the incident, the AP reports. Eleven people died following the explosion -- nine of them Transocean employees -- on the rig. The well the rig was drilling also ruptured and has been gushing an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil each day. The oil slick is reported to be near the Louisiana shoreline.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With more than 50,000 employees in about 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir -- from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field.

After a well is drilled, cement slurry is pumped through a steel pipe or casing and out through a check valve at the bottom of the casing. Then it travels up the outside of the pipe, sheathing the part of the pipe surrounded by the oil and gas zone.

After the cement hardens, it is designed to prevent oil or gas from leaking into adjacent zones along the pipe. Once the cement cures, the check valve at the end of the casing prevents any material from flowing back up the pipe. The zone is thus isolated until the workers are ready to start production.

The process, however, is not without risk. The U.S. Minerals Management Service study found that cementing was the single most important factor in half of all oil well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period.


Halliburton has been accused of performing a poor cement job in the case of a major blowout in the Timor Sea off the coast of Australia. This incident also is under investigation.

The company replied in a statement, saying, “Halliburton originated oilfield cementing and leads the world in effective, efficient delivery of zonal isolation and engineering for the life of the well, conducting thousands of successful well-cementing jobs each year.”

It’s clear there are some major issues that need to be addressed. It’s inconceivable that with a near 50-percent failure rate, off-shore drilling is allowed. How absurd.

The Valdez incident serves as a stark reminder of what happens when human error and negligence come together.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the oil tanker bound for Long Beach, Calif., hit Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million gallons of crude oil, according to Wikipedia. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters to occur in history. About 26,000 gallons of Valdez crude oil still remain in Alaska's sand and soil, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In an already fragile economy after the housing bubble, and especially after hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, we now face, in all-probability, the single-most environmental catastrophe of all time! Thousands of humans and their livelihoods will be adversely affected. The ecosystem throughout the entire Gulf Coast -- Texas to Florida -- will likely be damaged permanently.

When will this country wake up and realize that greed and money are the source of most of our problems? The risks are simply not worth the paybacks. Just as we are beginning to emerge in one of the most tenuous periods of financial meltdown, we are now faced with another major blow. Will big business ever learn? Or are we going to finally learn when it’s too late?

Instead of “Drill, Baby, Drill,” it should be “Oil, Oil Go Away.” It’s time to transition our dependency away from oil as much as possible. Now we need renewable fuel sources more than ever; we only hope it’s not too late!

This post is courtesy of TechMan who writes about trends, issues and ideas affecting business, industry and technology.