Gulf Rig Explosion - interview with worker on-site during the explosion.

I've been wondering about what was going on at the time of the accident, as I have some familiarity - I've worked as a geologist on land rigs.

This is a really good interview from an anonymous worker on the rig at the time of the explosion. This guy called in to a talk show to stop any discussion of 'terrorist' attacks that were being proposed as a cause.

Apparently the BOP's(blow-out-preventers) failed, even though they'd been recently tested.  BOP stack sits at the seafloor at the top of the drillhole. They're constantly tested at critical times and regularly between times - they are the last line of defense against a gas 'kick', where the pressure in the well pushes back against the column of heavy mud on top of it. 

They'd just done some cementing of the production string, preparing for the drilling rig to pull off the well so a different completion rig could move over the hole and finish putting it into production.

Note that after the cement job, the mud had sat w/o circulation for a while - likely allowing it to settle out and gas up a bit - making it lighter.   It happens, and there are techniques to deal with it.  Ultimately when the mud column gets out of balance and a 'kick' happens, the BOPs are used to shut in the well, bleed off pressure, and get control again.

Something or things went wrong about then.  There are both automatic and manual controls for the BOPs that apparently did not work.  The blowout pushed seawater and drill mud above the derrick some 240 ft above the drill floor work area. Gas flooded the drillfloor, which has "no spark" equipment to prevent ignition of gas.  The gas flooded the work area and ultimately made it to an area where perhaps even static electricity ignited it - perhaps a minute or so after the blowout.

11 people died in the explosion.  

Working and drilling in 5000 ft of ocean is near the limit of current technology.   Getting control of a well in this condition, fixing things and cleaning up after an accident like this is without precedent.  There's an entire rig likely sitting on top of the hole.  Remote piping and the subsea riser is mangled and broken in at least 3 places.

An open hole some 80 miles offshore is pushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico where it's spreading along the coastline, impacting the wetlands and soon the beaches.   

There's a good possibility the flow will eventually roll around Florida and make it's way up the Atlantic coast.

The impacts from that are unknown at present.

Truly a worst case scenario.

td

http://www.marklevinshow.com/Article.asp?id=1790422&spid=32364