Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout: Lessons for Offshore Drilling Safety
The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council have released a report that examines the causes of the blowout of the Macondo well that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The report 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.
The committee that developed the report recommends that 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 addition, an enhanced regulatory approach should combine strong industry safety goals with mandatory oversight at critical points during drilling operations.
The report says the lack of effective safety management among the companies involved in the Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon disaster is evident in the multiple flawed decisions that led to the blowout and explosion, which killed 11 workers and produced the biggest accidental oil spill in U.S. history. Regulators also failed to exercise effective oversight.
Development of the report was overseen by the National Academy of Engineering, the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Marine Board, and the Division on Earth and Life Studies’ (DELS’) Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. DELS, like TRB, is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.
This Summary Last Modified On: 12/14/2011