June 11, 2010 5:39 PM

BP Rig Missed 16 Inspections Before Explosion

By
Laura Strickler
Topics
News
(Credit: CBS/AP)

This post was written by CBS News investigative producer Laura Strickler.

Newly released government inspection reports show BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig was only inspected six times in 2008 even though government regulations say drilling rigs should be inspected every month. In total, the rig missed 16 inspections since January 2005, according to the documents.

An Interior Department official told CBS News a rig might miss an inspection because it's moving from one place to the next or there might be a delay from weather.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

Inspectors found five incidents of non-compliance at the rig dating back to 2001.

The last government inspection of the rig was on April 1 by Eric Neal, a government inspector who had only recently started his drilling inspection training, yet he was sent to the rig by himself to do the inspection.

Neal was asked about his experience by Jason Mathews, one of the accident investigators from the Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation, May 11:

(Question): Have you done any drilling inspections?

(Neal): Only in training.

(Q): And for how long have you been in training?

(Neal): Four months.

"Seems a bit of a risk to allow novice inspectors to be responsible for a deepwater rig," said Gene Beck, associate professor of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University.

In response to questions about the inspections, an Interior Department spokesperson sent a statement referring to the many ongoing inquiries into the rig's explosion.

"These questions will be best addressed in the context of those investigations," the statement read.

"We need professional, highly trained inspectors who aren't just pushing paper and rubberstamping what the industry tells them," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee investigating the government's ability to thoroughly inspect offshore rigs.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), the government agency that conducts inspections, has been sharply criticized for its "cozy relationship" with the oil and gas industry.

Two MMS employees who inspected Deepwater Horizon in 2009 were quoted in a recent report (PDF) by the Department of Interior inspector general describing the close relationship that MMS inspectors have with the oil industry.

Marcus Mouton inspected Deepwater Horizon June 9, 2009. Mouton told federal investigators he participated in skeet-shooting fundraisers where "various offshore companies sponsored a five person team.

"He said he had thought participating in the events was acceptable because many MMS employees including senior managers attended and participated in them. He explained he did not think offshore companies received any favors in exchange for inviting MMS inspectors to these events."

Another Deepwater Horizon inspector, Larry Williamson, described the relationship between the oil and gas industry and MMS employees by saying, "Obviously we are all oil industry." He added "We're all from the same part of the country. Almost all of our inspectors have worked for oil companies out on these same platforms."

But Williamson said once a staff member was brought up on charges of taking gratuities from oil and gas companies, he told his employees that even eating with an industry representative was unacceptable.

MMS inspection reports dating back to September 2001 show five red flags or incidents of non-compliance. The last incident was from February 2007. Back in 2003, the reports note there was a pollution event on the rig that was investigated.

MMS has 56 inspectors in the Gulf of Mexico to oversee 3,500 production facilities that operate 35,591 wells, according to the Interior Department.

More Oil Spill Coverage

Democrats Slam Boehner, GOP for Position on BP Oil Spill Liability

Three Men, Three Views of BP CEO Tony Hayward

Under Political Fire, BP May Cut or Suspend Dividend

Pelosi Takes Aim at BP


Add a Comment See all 37 Comments
by windrider160 June 14, 2010 9:36 PM EDT
"MMS has 56 inspectors in the Gulf of Mexico to oversee 3,500 production facilities that operate 35,591 wells, according to the Interior Department."

So each inspector is roughly responsible for inspecting almost 700 wells/month or about 70 production facilities a month? Every month? It cannot be done. It is physically impossible to inspect all rigs and/or wells in the Gulf every month with a relative handful of inspectors

Under Obama, in 2009 the Deepwater Horizon was inspected 9 times out of the 12 inspections recommended. In 2010, the MMS inspected the rig three times out of 4 times recommended but the rig also blew out in the 4th month.

Even if MMS had rigorously inspected the rig every month, those inspections would not have identified all the issues that caused the blowout: the casing design, the lack of sufficient numbers of centerizers to center the pipe in the well bore, the failure to secure the hangers to the well casing for pipes of differing diameter, failure to circulate the drilling mud for at least 12 hours to see if there were gas deposits coming up the pipe (this conduct despite the fact that the well repeatedly experienced major 'kicks' from the methane gas getting into the pipe), etc. The MMS *might* have determined that the BOP had been leaking fluids if it was logged; otherwise, no, they wouldn't have caught that either.

If we want offshore rigs thoroughly inspected every month, we need a LOT MORE INSPECTORS. And we need massive revision of the self-regulations written by the oil companies so that inspectors know exactly what to inspect, what to enforce, and oil companies know what they have to provide to be in compliance.

Yes the MMS was negligent and corrupt. But no regulatory agency pursued its mandates diligently under Bush/Cheney. That was policy right from the top.

And pointing fingers of blame at all the inept, corrupt, incompetent, greedy players will not put one drop of oil back in the well. Other than monitoring BP's work and staying on their backs until the well is sealed and the damage is cleaned up and claims are paid, there are only two things that government can and should do: (1) thoroughly investigate what happened and why; (2) write AND ENFORCE regulations to prevent a similar occurrence, to the extent possible.

Accidents can, do and will happen in drilling for oil. And mining for coal. But THIS accident didn't have to happen. And unless BP thoroughly revises the practices that led to this blow-out, they should lose all leases for oil wells in American territory. That's 22,000 wells.

Just as important in preventing another spill of this magnitude is the need to develop new and workable technology for deepwater drilling. BP used, without success, all the SAME TACTICS of the Ixtoc1 well blowout in 1979. In 160 feet of water. Never again should an oil company be allowed to hedge its strategies by repeating "this has never been done in 5000 feet of water before" over and over and over again, ad nauseum. deepwater well drillers need to develop and test tactics specifically in deep water wells. And since relief wells are the only proven tactic in shallow water and deep water, oil companies should be required to drill at least one relief well at the time they drill the production well, so that they CAN kill a runaway well in something less than several months. BOPs also need to be modified so that containment caps, with seals, can more readily be mounted and locked down to capture spilling oil until the well can be sealed.

Preventing this kind of disaster in the future is going to require a great deal of political will. We already know that the Republicans don't have that will.

It's also going to require a great deal of money to develop the new regulations and hire enough inspectors to properly do the job of inspecting all offshore oil rigs. This will have to be paid for, either by raising taxes, or raising the fees on oil companies that pay for prevention and containment activities by the government.

Again, Republicans will not have the political will to do this, and neither will a fair number of 'blue dog' Democrats, either.

The only ones who can summon the will to do whatever is necessary to protect our water, our shores, and the people who live and earn their livings from the seas. If we do not demand these changes, then we have no right to expect anything different in the future from what we are contending with now. Ultimately, the government is US, not 'them'.
Reply to this comment
by alphaa10000 June 13, 2010 2:46 AM EDT
NO GAME AT ALL

kluzer12 said, "Ok liberals the game is over this is Obama's problem, so please stop blaming Bush."
---

The BP disaster in the gulf is no "game"-- it is a national disaster. And BP is Exhibit A in the case brought by the people of the United States against eight years of GOP DEregulation of the oil industry.


DEregulation-- the Bush and GOP Record

From Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope to the Gulf of Mexico, Bush-era inspectors let BP run roughshod over the mineral assets of the American people. The Bush DEregulated Department of the Interior was no guardian of the nation's natural treasures, but an enabler of industry thieves threatening (and taking) life, health and/or livelihood for countless Americans.

By no coincidence, the GOP is also the party which led a similar charge for DEregulation on Wall Street. The GOP repeal of Glass-Steagall brought us banks selling derivatives whose value was anything the bank declared-- a license to print money for the bank, but rendering Wall Street and investor assets-- in the words of John McCain himself-- a "casino".

Accordingly, GOP DEregulation delivered to our country the worst financial disaster since 1929 and the Great Depression which followed. Both 1929 and 2008 disasters occurred under lessez faire, DEregulated GOP administrations.


BP Regulation-- No Comic Relief in Sight

Again, all or almost all of the faulty MMS inspections of BP were done under the Bush DEregulated regime, in which BP was left to regulate itself.

The Interior OIG (Kendall) report states most of the regulatory problems, oversights and omissions occurred from the 2001 launch of Deepwater Horizon until 2007. The story above mentions additional evidence during 2008.

The Deepwater Horizon was re-permitted only two months after Obama was sworn in, but it is not reasonable to expect his reforms and oversight to be fully in place. In addition, no new president has carte blanche to fire all federal employees-- even the very Bush-era employees guilty of the infractions and blunders noted. That means the old Bush inspection regime was not entirely removed when Deepwater Horizon inspections proceeded under Salazar, and BP received its waiver for an EIS on Deepwater Horizon.


The Bush Legacy

George W. "I'll Be Gone by Then" Bush (actual Bush quote) burdened the United States with the worst administration in at least 145 years-- the ravages of his GOP-sponsored neglect will continue to be discovered by not only Obama, but by his successors for at least a decade.

Bush, with all due respect, turned the people's government into his personal fraternity house. The "Bush Legacy", such that it is, offers continuing commentary on his deficiencies as a leader. GOP scandals and corruption, especially the billions lost to the public treasury and handed to Bush patrons and friends, is a crime worthy of prosecution.

Never the fiscal conservative, Bush doubled our national debt to $11.7 trillion to pay for his adventure in Iraq, and for lavish tax breaks at our expense to his friends-- all without a fiscal budget in support.

As it turned out, Bush was not impeached, to spare the country political theater the GOP selfishly imposed on the nation with Clinton (the narrow GOP case, like other GOP "fishing expeditions", came to nothing). But that in no way protects or exonerates Bush and his minions. As more facts surface through the decade, the record of anti-achievements under George W. Bush will make his father, as well as Reagan and Nixon seem giants, by comparison.

While all four GOP presidents were at the wheel during tumultuous periods in American history, giving historians plenty to debate, the nation muddled through their corruption, incompetence, crime, greed, neglect and massive fraud by only the grace of God.

Yet, George W. Bush is a special case. At the darkly-corrupt Bush family door will be laid the burden for the Iraq War-- "Bush's War"-- the single most massive political fraud ever perpetrated on the American people since Johnson and Vietnam.
Reply to this comment
by joenikk June 12, 2010 11:43 PM EDT
Every one was fired during the Clinton/Bush administrations. That was how Hillary bought the "cop vote" with money that hadn't been made yet.

Has anyone at the department of the interior ever inspected an oil rig? Only if it was at a Federal park.

Well Obalma, If you get this...all of those emergency shut off valves are remotely powered. Any problems with the Generators in the log? They would disconnect anything that was likley to be the cause, result: burn the pipe at the waterline, explosion and fire. Not a result: the shut off valve fixing itself.

Any problems with State agencys thinking that the right to searc and seizure has some top secrete implied due process, State Goverment civil servant making more than engineers? The Cop got caught and donated Bernie Madhoff instead of his real lawyer, result: WTC, Everone you needed is sitting at home while a cop reads their mail and spends their money for them. Not a result: Me or anyone else going back to work and paying the State Troopers for the privilege. Any private citizen doing a job that has already been determined by Congress to only be possible if done by The Postmaster General's of the US Office.
Reply to this comment
by whoofer June 12, 2010 5:20 PM EDT
CAPPING THE LEAK SHOULD BE OF UTMOST CONCERN.

BP should use a 100 thousand LB solid lead bullet shaped cap droped from 10 feet above the well hole sealing the leak.

BP must stop using dispersents. It will do untold damage to the entire food chain. I know this is a much cheaper way to rid BP of costly clean up but better to clean the the surface than to create the death of all living things in the ocean including agae that supply the earth with oxygen.

I do not feel BP should be attemting to cap the well via a very dangerous relief well. The presure is too great to attemt to plug it with cement. It will be armagedon if they are allow to do this.
Reply to this comment
by alphaa10000 June 13, 2010 3:29 AM EDT
See comments by an Egyptian oil expert posted below my comments, who posted on the CBS forum Saturday.

Egypt-based hodieb-khalifa claims BP knows how to kill the leak permanently, but does not wish to do so, since BP does not want to lose its investment in its out-of-control bore. BP will be content to dither-- at our expense-- while it slowly drills two relief wells, all to spare its leaking primary bore.

--------------- hodieb-khalifa comments ------------------

by hodieb-khalifa June 12, 2010 7:41 AM EDT

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS & CONGRESSMEN

As an expert in oilfields in the Middle East, I've already offered BP the following simple technique that can instantly plug the well. Though BP admitted it can work, it wouldn't implement it because it will kill the Well.

Plugging BP Well by a String of Cement-Filled Casing Pipes:

{BP has to lower down the wellbore through the Riser Pipe Stub and the Blowout Preventer a string of 16"- 18" Casing Pipes connected together about 500-1000 ft long after being filled with cement. The wild well will instantly be plugged and there will be no need for the Relief Wells. The annulus space between the Casing Pipe String and the well walls can be filled by pumping cement. The whole operation will take a couple of hours- finito!}

PLEASE ASK YOUR SENATORS & CONGRESSMEN TO INVITE ME to face Tony Hayward during his hearing this week to expose the real BP for US officials and citizens, then implement this solution.

Eng. Hodieb Khalifa
Cairo - Egypt
hodieb_khalifa yahoo
by kluzer12 June 12, 2010 11:25 AM EDT
Ok liberals the game is over this is Obama's problem, so please stop blaming Bush. Obama had his cronies in the MMS and they failed to inspect BP. Now 54 days later he still does not have a plan to clean it up, this makes Katrina look like a thunder storm.
Reply to this comment
by alphaa10000 June 13, 2010 3:30 AM EDT
See comments in NO GAME AT ALL, above you.
by wjksea June 12, 2010 10:43 AM EDT
wjksea June 12, 2010 10:40 AM EDT
There are 3500 oil rigs out there many in deeper water than the Dead water Horizon. This problem clearly skims over multiple regimes faux democratically elected. Our national security is in the hands of multinational corporate governments that are incentivized by private profiteering. Narrowly incentivized anti-socials with the control of weapons of mass destruction are a threat to human survival.

Corporations rule the world.
Reply to this comment
by wjksea June 12, 2010 10:33 AM EDT
SoCalSuperSage June 12, 2010 10:01 AM EDT
Put this leak right on the door of OBAMA...

Happened under his watch with his inspectors
---------------------------------------------

Next time I take a dump should I place it at your doorstep, it's yours. Just applying your logic. Have a nice day.
Reply to this comment
by zootropolis June 12, 2010 11:28 AM EDT
I like your logic
by wjksea June 12, 2010 10:28 AM EDT
Newly released government inspection reports show BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig was only inspected six times in 2008 even though government regulations say drilling rigs should be inspected every month....

------------------------------------

Hmm, Obama's fault?
Reply to this comment
by gbrum June 12, 2010 3:02 PM EDT
Hey einstein, the last inspection by a rookie inspector with no experience was done on April 1, 2010. Who was President then? The rig wasn't even it's current location in early 2010.
by soap-suds June 12, 2010 9:47 AM EDT
Obviously we need more government, oops we have too much government??? I guess it depends on the day of the week.

It seems that the totality of the work done by the federal government is performed by one person, must be an exceptional person.
Reply to this comment
by euge005 June 12, 2010 10:05 AM EDT
I believe that you could summarize your worthwhile objection with the GOP expression "smaller government". No oversight is the problem closely followed by a politicized civil serivce like we have since little W here in Florida. What government worker can do a good, responsible job when some smuck pol can have them fired without cause as in Florida??
by 48boomer June 12, 2010 9:14 AM EDT
Am I missing something? There are 3,500 rigs,35,000 wells and 56 inspectors. Each inspector would have to inspect more than 3 rigs per day. I don't know squat about oil rigs. I don't know how long it takes to do an inspection, whether it takes longer to inspect one rig that is operating 10 wells, how long it takes to write a report or how long it takes to transit between rigs. This just doesn't look right on the surface of it. I smell the adept hand of our wonderful Congress at work here - mandating something and then not providing adequate funds to accomplish the objective. Way to go folks. You've done it to us again. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.
Reply to this comment
by alphaa10000 June 13, 2010 4:02 AM EDT
TRUE OR FALSE

48boomer said, "Am I missing something?... I smell the adept hand of our wonderful Congress at work here - mandating something and then not providing adequate funds to accomplish the objective..."
---

With the No Child Left Behind program-- which Bush presented with great fanfare-- states were left to pick up the tab after funding provisions for the measure turned up missing.

But this may not be entirely a congressional matter. Routine federal inspections of BP drilling is an executive (administrative) issue, as well-- as are most inspections and regulations.

That means when Bush claims the nation is fully protected against irresponsible industry behavior, this is either true or false. It turned out to be false.
by 48boomer June 13, 2010 11:59 AM EDT
alphaa10000: I'm not sure how my comment turned into a referendum on Bush and no child left behind. My point was not that this is a legislative function, merely that the legislature still controls the budget. Common sense tells me that they do not have enough inspectors to accomplish the task. That is either because the current administration (who has done two budgets now) did not request them or requested them but did not hire them or because Congress did not fund the requested level. I know not which nor was I attempting to place blame on Obama or Bush or anyone else. I was simply noting that 56 inspectors are inadequate to the task at hand and that funding must come from Congress. These guys (MMS) were sucking their thumbs shooting skeet with the oil companies just like the SEC was watching porn instead of regulating the financial system. At some point, people just expect that government will work, without the finger pointing about whose fault it is. Just make the damn thing work, God knows we're spending enough money.
See all 37 Comments
.

Follow CBS News Investigates

Scroll Left
Scroll Right More »
CBS News on Facebook
  • Building You a Better Morning

  • CBS This Morning

    "CBS This Morning," anchored by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill, airs weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and at the same time in other time zones.
    Learn more...