A good Idea...Oil Gusher/BP Related (With a Bit'o Saecastic humor tossed in.

[PJPhreak]

A cross post from a thread at "The Oil Drum" a coupla weeks ago...Posted By "Rockman"

The original thought was offered as much for comic relief as a practical solution: hire engineers formerly employed by an offshore operator to monitor their safe drilling practices. The idea produced a number of funny anecdotal stories of former employees in a number of industries who have very sharp axes to grind. They would jump at the chances to impose strong safety recommendations that were ignored (and sometimes mocked) by their former employers.

The serious proposal: First, develop specific criteria for the safest drilling procedures. This would take no time at all. Most companies already have very detailed safe drilling protocols (SDP) already developed. How well any one company follows its SDP is another matter. Second, have independent inspectors monitor how well any company is following the SDP especially at critical phases of the operation. Can the gov’t make offshore operators do this? Of course, they do it right now. Many here now understand there is a gov’t regulation that requires BOP’s be tested on a regular basis. These tests are done by private companies and are paid directly by the operators for providing this service. But the analysis by these companies is reported directly to the MMS. If the MMS doesn’t like the results it has the immediate authority to shut down the drilling ops. And how honest are these BOP testing companies? They certify their results under both civil and criminal penalties if they misrepresent the facts. Everyone can judge for themselves how well such a system might work.

So now I’ve incorporated Rockman, Inc. I’ve recruited about 80 consultant engineers. They are all experienced but not the most skilled hands out there. No need to hire the most expensive folks available. Remember they aren’t developing drilling proposals or making those tough judgment calls: they are “watchers”. Consider my background as a well site logging consultant. I sit in a Schlumberger logging unit and watch them log the well. I’m responsible for hole safety and quality control. Could I run the logging unit? Not if my life depended upon it. Way above my pay grade. But I can shut them down in a heart beat if I don’t like what I see. Same situation with my SDP inspectors. They don’t have to have the skills to do a job but can readily tell if it isn’t being done properly.

The cost to the operator? Minimal despite their complaints. The SDP inspectors need not be onboard everyday. Just at critical phases: cementing ops and testing, running casing, displacing riser, setting plugs. Just a guess but on a 80-day well they could be onsite 20 days. Two SDP inspectors working 12-hour towers. They chopper in and out as required. My inspectors would get paid $1400/day each. So the costs estimate for the model above; $1400*2*20 days = $56,000. Cost to drill a typical DW GOM well: $800,000/day*80 days = $64 million + $60 million (casing, mud, etc costs) = about $120 million. Percentage for SDP inspection: about 1/20 of one percent. Companies can bitch but who’ll will take them seriously.

But can the public trust these supposedly “independent” SDP inspectors? Did I mention that as owner of Rockman, Inc I get 20% of my consultants’ fee? Pretty standard cut for running a “body shop”. So what do I make: 80-days per well = about 4 wells per year. Assume 30 rigs drilling DW GOM. So $56,000*30 rigs*4 wells/year = $6.7 million/year. My 20% = $1.3 million/year just sitting in my office sending out invoices. So what would I do if I caught one of my SDP inspectors playing footsie with an operator? I would nail his b*lls to my office door as a warning to the other inspectors as a warning.