BOP closed but failed to stop oil flow
Rubber packers around the blades designed to cut through drill pipe and seal the well appear to have been washed away, allowing oil to flow, according to sources familiar with an investigation of the...
View ArticleOil spill legal battle costing feds millions
Government agencies have had to spend many millions of dollars gathering and sorting through millions of pages of documents requested by companies involved in the massive civil oil spill litigation...
View ArticleReport: Poor decisions on shore, other factors contributed to BP spill disaster
The final report on last year’s Macondo well disaster found that a series of shortcomings led the explosion that killed 11 rig workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon. Those factors included “poor risk...
View ArticleVessels heaving Arctic rigs to Asian shipyards for repair
A massive oceangoing dry-dock is hauling an Arctic drillship to Korea for repair, and another rig is about to make a similar journey, after problems surfaced once the vessels bored exploratory wells...
View ArticleOffshore industry moves toward audits of safety systems
Oil and gas companies working offshore have until June 4, 2015 to let outside auditors examine their new government-mandated safety programs, but right now, there aren't any investigators qualified to...
View ArticleOffshore regulators to keep eye on bad actors
Marine and drilling regulators vowed Thursday to keep a closer watch on oil companies and contractors they say are consistently cutting corners on safety offshore.
View ArticleNoble pleads guilty to violations involving Arctic drillship
Noble Corp. pleaded guilty Monday to eight criminal charges tied to pollution, propulsion and record keeping problems with the two drilling rigs that bored Arctic oil wells for Shell in 2012.
View ArticleShell conducts drills with Arctic oil spill response system
Shell Oil Co. is conducting the testing for Obama administration officials as it plans a new round of exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska later this year.
View ArticleOTC: Robots and automation offshore create new safety and cyber risks
Increasing computerization and automation offshore open up the possibility of dangerous disruptions, driven by errant software updates and plugged-in flash drives. One incident has already taken place.
View ArticleShell drilling rig leaves Seattle for Alaska waters
Tugboats are pulling a Shell-contracted Arctic drilling rig around protesters in Puget Sound, as the Polar Pioneer begins its long trek to Alaska.
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