The Macondo Well Blowout - Deepwater Horizon Disaster

The Macondo Well Blowout - Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Introduction

This research paper focuses on the identification and understanding of the causes of the Macondo Well Blowout that took place in the Gulf of Mexico. It is considered as the Deepwater Horizon Disaster which was one of the fierce disasters in the environmental history. This research paper will be considering different aspects of the Macondo Well Blowout and furthermore at the end of this paper, some of the recommendations will also be provided both for the gas and oil industry and government authorities with the intentions of reducing the probability of occurrence and affect of any further losses of well control at the time of offshore drilling.

Time Line to Disaster

The 17 April 2010 oil rig baptized with the suggestive name of Deepwater Horizon (Deepwater Horizon) in the final phase of its work, 80 kilometers off the southeastern coast of Louisiana, USA. It was a floating platform that was operated by British Petroleum; the company started its operations in February 2010. It was equipped to drill 9100 meters from depths up to 2400 meters. After the drilling, the platform would have been removed to take its place for oil extraction tower. As a well was drilled, the mud dislodged was supposed to be extracted by drilling the shot, which was lined with steel pipes and cement. Engineers from the responsible company's had discussion on the way through which they will seal the top of the well, it was expected that oil will come out with a lot of pressure. In the discussion, there was disagreement on key points. On April 20 at 9:45 pm, without having any emergency alarm or call, the workers on the field felt a violent shudder followed by an explosion and a fire. Of 126 people who were there, 11 were missing and 17 suffered serious burns and injuries and were taken to hospitals on the coast while the tube platform spilling thousands of barrels of oil (Maass, 2011)

The Deep Water Horizon

Extracting oil from the first wells drilled in the continental in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth simple technology required because, although oil was about 500 meters deep, was such abundance, that almost just flowed. Over time, as the volume increased extracted oil arises spontaneously stopped. This raises the need to drill the seabed, first at depths up to 400 meters (distance between the surface and the seabed). Platforms were built and perfected the technology to extract at greater depths.

However, the easy oil is running out. Alternative sources of renewable energy, but are on track, even with a higher cost than oil and now can not satisfy our energy needs. This, coupled with the equally insatiable financial ambitions of the companies and countries that have deposits-has led to a rush to squeeze the crust and get all you can give. For that oil companies have taken to drilling in deepwater, i.e. in seabed found more than 500 ...