Consequences of the World’s worst oil well disasters

Every few years it seems that well integrity shoots up the priority list for the oil and gas industry. The sad truth is that it usually takes a disaster such as the BP oil spill of 2010, or the Piper Alpha incident in 1988 to remind the industry of the importance of well integrity including developing and adhering to the best practices of well management.

BP Deepwater Horizon (2010)

The most recent and largest oil spill in US history. Total cost to BP and other contractors will come to approximately $42bn. On top of this, 11 people were killed and there was a disastrous environmental impact.

Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan (1992)

88mn gallons of oil spilled and burnt for 2 months. Eventually the oil stopped leaking by itself.

Piper Alpha (1988)

Occidental’s platform in the North Sea set on fire, killing 167 people. The world’s largest ever oil catastrophe in terms of human lives lost. Piper Alpha was the largest and oldest platform in the North Sea oilfield at the time.

Ixtoc (1979)

Another Gulf of Mexico oil spill from an exploratory well drilled by Pemex, where 140mn barrels lost.

When examining wellhead blowouts, there are often a huge number of factors which all play their part in causing the failure. Although many actions are taken to minimise the chance of a blowout happening, it does seem that it is to some extent a game playing the odds which at times results in risks being taken. With such huge financial pressures on the industry, where an extra day of drilling can cost $1mn, it is understandable that perhaps the bare minimum safety or checks are in place. But when the consequences can be so severe and widespread, should this really be the case?

Five key outcomes of a disastrous integrity failure:

1- Human loss of life and environmental factors

2- How to handle the spill – both stopping it and the clean up

3- Share prices and public image suffering

4- Loss of income in production

5- Cost of cleanup and fines

When the consequences are so wide ranging and can be so detrimental to the company and environment, everything should be done to ensure this does not happen. There should always be a genuine focus on safety and integrity; a tangible one where actions are taken rather than just spoken about.