Presentation concerning BP Oil Spill

1. Morgan State University
School Of Engineering
Department of Electrical & Computer
Engineering
EEGR 400
Introduction to Professional Practice
Government
Group Members
Nirosha Peiris
Richard Bowling
DeMar Montgomery
Daniele Manikeu
Chukwuemeka Igwilo
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2. Deepwater
Horizon Oil
Spill
Representing the Government
Agencies
•BOE
•EPA
•HHS
•FDA 2

3. Drilling in Deepwater?
•Geography / Climate of Deep Waters
•Improved Technology to drill deep waters
•Economy
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4. The Gulf of Mexico
Deep Water – 1,000 to 4,999 feet
Ultra Deep Water – 5,000 feet or more
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5. Environmental
Protection Agency
(EPA)
•Lisa Jackson is the Administrator of
the EPA
•Declaration as a Spill of National
Significance
•1990 Oil Pollution Act
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6. Use of Dispersant
• Chemical used to break up the oil
• Authorized to be used by the National
Contingency Plan
• EPA will monitor water and air for
potential impact
• Use of Dispersant has ceased
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7. EPA view of BP
• Did not install deep- water valve
• 200 feet under sea floor
• Did not install remote-control shutoff
switch
• $500,000 for remote-control switch
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8. EPA
• 2005 Massive Explosion
• BP ignored protocol
• 15 killed , 170 injured
• Fined $50 million by EPA and $87 by
the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
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9. Bureau of Ocean Energy ,
Management, Regulation &
Enforcement
aka
Mineral Management service
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10. Description
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Services (BOE ) formerly called
Minerals Management Service (MMS), a division within the
Interior Department is an agency that monitors offshore
drilling.
• The MMS, which has about 1,700 employees, has two
responsibilities when it comes to industries such as oil or
natural gas. It must act as a regulator while also collecting
royalties from the companies. Some critics say those are
opposite pulls and make the agency ripe for
mismanagement.
• In a letter sent last year to the Department of the Interior, BP
objected to what it called "extensive, prescriptive
regulations" proposed in new rules to toughen safety
standards. BP said "We believe industry's current safety and
environmental statistics demonstrate that the voluntary
programs…continue to be very successful."
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11. Background
• The disaster began April 20 with an explosion
aboard the Deepwater Horizon drill rig, which was
completing the well for BP at the time of the blast.
The 11 killed all died in the blast and fire, which
raged for two days before the rig sank, rupturing the
well a mile below. Transocean, the rig's owner,
Halliburton, the cement contractor, and BP have
pointed fingers at each other since the rig sank. BP
was responsible for capping the ruptured well it
owned and cleaning up the more than 200 million
gallons of oil that spilled. The well was sealed
temporarily in mid-July and capped permanently on
September 19.
• The rig was spilling around 210,000 gallons of oil a
day into the Gulf of Mexico.
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13. Could anything have been done
to prevent the Gulf of Mexico
disaster?
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14. Ethics Issues
• MMS claimed that the chances of a blowout were less than
one percent
• MMS noted that delays in construction were costing BP more
than half a million dollars a day
• MMS reported a significant increase in the number
associated with cementing.
– In retrospect, BP & Halliburton should have taken note
Opportunity Cost
 BP chose to drill the fastest possible way- using a well
design known as “long string”
 Congressional investigators and industry experts contend
that BP cut corners on its cement job
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15. Shortcomings
• Failure to circulate heavy drilling
mud outside the casing before
cementing
• Inordinate Oversight
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16. Introspection
• We are not saying that the BOE should not
take any responsibility for the blowout,
indeed, we think that tougher safety
measures could have been required for the
industry; including certification of
equipment meant to prevent well blowouts.
Also, tougher inspections of deep-water
operations and more requirements around
key steps in well drilling.
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17. Oil Spill Map
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18. Impact on Marine & Wild Life
•Hypothermia
•Poisoning and Internal Damage
•Increased Predation
•Decreased Reproduction
•Fouling of Habitat
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19. Future of Tourism, Wild, &
Marine life
• Beaches Effected
• Steps taken for cleanup
• Length of time taken to recover
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20. • References
• NYTimes
• National Geographic
• ABC
• CNN.com
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