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Four Killed in Brazil Offshore Helicopter Crash
by Dennis M. McElwee on September 13, 2011
Four people have been confirmed dead in an offshore helicopter crash off the coast of Brazil. The helicopter had just taken off from a drilling platform located in the Atlantic Ocean when it crashed killing a pilot, co-pilot and two subcontractors. The platform was operated by Brazilian company, Petrobras. According to news accounts, the pil...
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Researchers Use Crash Test Modeling Software to Predict Offshore Pipe Fractures
by Matthew D. Shaffer on September 19, 2011
In the future, offshore oil rigs may be safer because pipes are manufactured with safer materials, thanks to research at the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology who are currently using car crash test software to predict pipe fractures. Offshore drilling pipes may be subjected to extreme pressure as they travel deep into the ocean, and require...
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Liftboat Capsizes After Waterspouts Strike
by Dennis M. McElwee on October 06, 2011
A Hercules Offshore liftboat that was struck by several waterspouts capsized in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana on Friday evening. Five crewmembers aboard the Starfish vessel were evacuated and rescued at sea shortly after the capsizing. They were treated for minor injuries at hospital in Houma, Louisiana, and released. The vessel, a 140-clas...
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Federal Report Blames BP, Transocean, Halliburton for Rig Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 12, 2011
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has laid much of the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil explosion last year on BP. However, Transocean, the owner of the rig, and Halliburton, which did much of the cementing work on the vessel, have not been spared blame either. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation an...
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Chemical Safety Agency Has Concerns about Offshore Safety
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 31, 2011
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is conducting an investigation into the BP explosion and oil spill last year. The investigation is being conducted at the request of Congress. The investigation is still on, but according to the New York Times, the board has found that lax federal offshore safety regulatory standards were re...
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Failure to Identify Gearbox Problem Led to Offshore Helicopter Crash
by Dennis M. McElwee on December 14, 2011
The Air Accident Investigations Branch has completed its investigation into an offshore helicopter crash in the North Sea in March 2009 that killed 16 people, including 14 offshore workers and 2 pilots. The report blames the accident on the failure to identify a potential problem in the gearbox just one week before the crash. According to the r...
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Bill Would Require Stationing of Rescue Vessels within 3 Miles of Offshore Rigs
by Dennis M. McElwee on January 09, 2012
A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives would require rescue boats to be stationed within three nautical miles of offshore oil and gas drilling rigs. The measure has been sponsored by Louisiana Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia. According to him, the proposal aims to find a common sense approach to the safety problems facing the offs...
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2 Workers Missing After Chevron Rig Catches Fire Off Nigerian Coast
by Matthew D. Shaffer on January 16, 2012
Chevron Corp. officials said 2 workers were missing after a rig off Nigeria’s coast caught fire Monday. The company said that 152 workers had been found, but officials were still accounting for all those working on the offshore rig, which was exploring possible deep-water oil and gas fields. The cause of the fire was still under investigation,...
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Scientific Panel Calls for New Approach to Offshore Safety
by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 22, 2012
A scientific panel is recommending that U.S. offshore drilling companies take a more systematic approach to offshore safety in order to prevent a disaster like the BP oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The recommendations were made by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. In a new report, the two ag...
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Brazilian Oil Rig Worker Killed In Fall Accident
by Dennis M. McElwee on February 29, 2012
A worker on an oil rig owned by Brazil's national oil and gas agency has been killed in a fall accident. According to Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras, the accident occurred last week on the PUB-03 oil rig, which is located in the Rio Grande do Norte in the northeastern part of the country. The worker and two of his colleagues fell on the d...
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Fire Rages through Petroleos Mexicanos Platform; No Injuries Reported
by Dennis M. McElwee on March 26, 2012
All crew members on an offshore oil platform operated by Petroleos Mexicano have been evacuated after a fire raged through the platform last week. There were approximately 213 workers on the KU-S platform in the Ku Maloob Zaap field in the Bay of Campeche. This is Mexico's largest oil producing field, and for several years now has been a source...
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Improved Helicopter Crash Training Facilities for Offshore Workers
by Dennis M. McElwee on April 16, 2012
Offshore oil industry workers in Canada now have access to greater and more improved helicopter crash survival training. The Marine Institute has announced newly improved facilities for workers in the country's offshore industry. The Offshore Safety and Survival Center located in Foxtrap, Canada has invested in new survival equipment that is me...
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Offshore Helicopter Flight Abandoned After False Fire Alarm
by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 24, 2012
There are a number of dangers that an offshore oil rig worker is exposed to, and one of these is the risk that a worker faces every time he takes a helicopter flight to or from an oil rig or platform. Offshore oil workers make frequent trips between shore and land, and these trips are not without their dangers. Last week, nine passengers on an ...
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Shell Oil Platform Evacuated After Gas Leak
by Matthew D. Shaffer on May 02, 2012
An oil platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell in the North Sea has been partially evacuated after detection of a gas leak. There were a total of 76 crew members on the Gannett Alpha platform operated by Shell in the North Sea. Out of these, 48 members were evacuated, and returned to shore by helicopter. According to Shell, the problem came to l...
