Beyond Macondo: SPE's Continuing Role in Offshore Drilling Operations

Abstract

Post-Macondo response SPE has responded to the Macondo disaster by forming a task force whose ongoing mission is to examine how the Society can best use its resources to tackle the myriad issues that are arising in the disaster’s wake. In addition, the Society developed guidelines to aid in complying with a new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (formerly the US Minerals Management Service) requirement that companies requesting permits to drill offshore in the US estimate worst-case discharge. Within a few weeks of the 20 April disaster, SPE 2010 President Behrooz Fattahi appointed a task force (see sidebar), drawn from the SPE Board of Directors, to clarify the Society’s role in addressing technical issues related to the blowout. After meeting several times, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Incident Response Task Force drew up a report, which member Paul Jones, global technology center manager at Chevron, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition to the board of directors and to SPE’s Industry Advisory Council (a 14-member body representing top management at major and independent oil and gas operators and service companies worldwide). The report spelled out several efforts being conducted by industry, governmental, and academic bodies (see sidebar), differentiating these from SPE’s mission, which is to “collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources, and related technologies, for the public benefit.” Future SPE events, workshops, training, and publications will be devoted to discussing results of the various forensic analyses now under way, and to dissecting and interpreting new standards compliance and best practices. These are dependent on results, standards, and best practices yet to be issued by governmental bodies and such organizations as the American Petroleum Institute, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and the International Association of Drilling Contractors. In the meantime, the task force recommended that SPE develop mini-forums to address key issues, such as robust deepwater well design, deepwater well control, and spill mitigation and cleanup. The intent of a mini-forum on robust deepwater well construction, for example, would be to connect deepwater well construction personnel to create a common vision of all the factors that combine to create a robust well design. The objective is to remain focused not on what went wrong with Macondo, but on how a well can be designed such that a blowout will never happen again. A 3- to 5-day mini-forum would cover all aspects of well design—such as hole program and casing design, cementing and zonal isolation, well control, and human factors—from a cross-section of operators, drilling contractors, and service companies. The suggested format would be presentations along with focused discussion, without notes or publication of a report.