Business Ethics: Deepwater simulation"Ethical Issues"
Deepwater
E n e r g y
S o l u t i o n s F o r a
G l o b a l E c o n o m y
The French Petroleum
Institute will be hosting this
year's international Energy
Forum. The Forum will be held
in Barcelona, Spain in
September. Energy ministers
from over 30 developed
countries and representatives
from all the major international
oil companies are expected to
attend.
SEISMIC IMAGING TAKES
A LEAP FORWARD
Researchers at MIT in
Cambridge, MA have
announced a breakthrough in
3-D seismic imaging. The
group, Advanced Signal
Processing for Geological
Applications (ASPGA) intends
to commercialize the new
technology in partnership with
a consortium of private sector
investors. Further information
about the venture is available
by contacting Goldman Sachs,
the group's financial
representative.
.
Investigation Shows Pacific Oil Cut Corners.
Preliminary results of a government
investigation reveal that Pacific Oil cut
corners on maintenance prior to the recent
blowout in the Gulf. Reports come from a
source within the investigation who wishes to
remain anonymous because he is not
authorized to speak to the press. This source
suggests that the company knew about
lapses in quality control during a previous
BOP overhaul but nonetheless decided to
continue operating.
The trouble appears to have been with the BOP's
Subsea Electronic Module, the "brains" of the system
that activates the blowout preventer in case of a loss of
well control. The company discovered that there was a
more than 1 in 4 chance the SEM was faulty, but
decided not to test it. Independent experts contacted
by PetroNews expressed puzzlement about the lapse.
"It's just obvious," said Dr. Thor Kårstad, professor in
the Department of Petroleum Engineering at University
of Stavanger (Norway), "all your emergency systems
have to be at 100%. You don't put a piece of
equipment into service otherwise. It's engineering
101." Mandy Bentworthy, a spokesman for Royal
Dutch Shell responded to a PetroNews inquiry in any
email stating: "Shell adheres to rigorous maintenance
and servicing policies. We have the highest standards
in the industry and never operate equipment that has
not met all failsafe, redundancy and backup
requirements. We cannot comment on the operational
practices of other companies."
Pacific Oil has refused to release full details of the
problem and so far has offered no official account of
the most recent accident. The company does have a
history, according to environmental groups, of putting
profits before safety. These groups cite multiple safety
violations over the years as evidence. The company
responded to these allegations, pointing out that issues
of worker safety are unrelated to equipment
maintenance issues. The company further asserts that
the problems referred to occurred in the past and that
since then the company has invested million of dollars
in improvements.
The official results of the investigation are not expected
for some months. The company could face both
criminal prosecution and civil penalties for the
accident.
this issue Pacific Oil Investigation P.1
Shell Announces New Tech P.2
Industry Profits Up P.3
Executives in the News P.4
I S S U E
PetroNews News from the Petroleum Industry 84