Ravi
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #41
That's it, thank you.Your wish is my command.wouldn't hold up at depths we operated at...but no action was taken.
I heard this on some talk show today and can't find anything about it at the moment.
Anyone?
Safety Device Questioned in '04 - WSJ.com
Federal regulators learned in a 2004 study that a vital piece of oil-drilling safety equipment may not function in deep-water seas but did nothing to bolster industry requirements.
The equipment, called shear rams, is supposed to seal off out-of-control oil and gas wells by pinching the pipe closed and cutting it.
As oil companies drilled wells in deeper water, the shear rams had to become stronger and manufacturers responded. But the federally commissioned study questioned whether enough was known about the force required to shear off a pipe at these depths to set proper standards.
The Effort Underwater
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See how BP engineers are trying to stop the flow.
Experts theorize the rams may have failed to work as expected in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, contributing to accident that left 11 dead and an open pipe spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP PLC, the giant British oil company that leased the Deepwater Horizon, says it learned from evacuees who escaped the burning rig that workers had tried to activate the shear rams. BP was leasing the rig from Transocean Ltd. and most of the workers were employees of Transocean.
A Transocean spokesman declined comment.
The shear rams are an integral part of the giant blowout preventer, which sits on the sea floor, 5,000 feet below the surface. R. Scott Amann, a spokesman for the sheer ram manufacturer, Cameron International Corp., said he did not know exactly what happened.