Recently in Energy Category

The Houston Chronicle published an op-ed piece that I submitted this week about the first anniversary of BP's Gulf well blowout....

In testimony to the panel of the Joint Investigation into the Deepwater Horizon blowout, Transoccean equipment supervisor confirmed what we had already heard:  the Deepwater Horizon blwout preventer (BOP) never received an overhaul as recommended by the API.  Maintenance was piecemeal, testing components and replacing/repairing only as they failed or observed as worn.  Equipment manager Mike Fry stated that Transocean considers API stadards as recommended, not mandatory.  More at NOLA....

You've probably heard by now that Transocean announced last week that 2010 was its "best year for safety performance" based on incident rate statistics even though their offshore rig, the Deepwater Horizon, burned down and sank during the largest blowout and oilspill in the history of the US.  Eleven workers were killed in the disaster, nine of whom worked for Transocean.  The company said their executives qualified for 115% of their bonus amount, which makes...

I just found this link to my appearance on BNN's Squeeze Play talking about energy supply.  I was at the NASDAQ in New York for the interview.  ...

Brazilian producer Petrobras announced yesterday that the BOEMRE ordered a halt to the startup of its Chinook/Cascade deepwater floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facility that had just been permitted a few weeks ago.  The halt was ordered due to the failure of a buoyancy can that supports the free standing risers that bring oil and gas from subsea wells to the surface.  The riser collapsed and sank in over 8,500 feet of water.  The...

Yesterday, under intense questioning from the attorney for blowout preventer (BOP) manufacturer Cameron International, the project manager for Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the company who led the investigation of the BOP, admitted an error in the computer model they used to determine the cause of failure of the BOP during the BP well blowout last April.  The admission came during testimony on the first day of hearings convened in Metairie, Louisiana by the board of...

Fuel Fix has an interesting piece on the email war that went on inside of BP before the blowout last April.http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/04/04/bp-e-mails-show-internal-strife-in-weeks-leading-up-to-explosion/...

Jimmy Carter delivered this televised speech on April 18, 1977. Still relevant? I think so.   Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem unprecedented in our history. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. It is a problem we will not...

Tonight, I was part of another investigative report by Rachel Maddow about the flurry of drilling permits being issued by the BOEMRE and the fundamental design flaws in existing subsea blowout preventers.  The first segment is Rachel's new report; the second is an interview with me.  Have a look:Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy...

The BP well blowout last April exposed one of the biggest weaknesses of drilling in the deepwater: the inability of the oil and gas industry to contain a well blowout once it occurred.  The industry was overly confident in advanced drilling and well control technology, and never contemplated that a well could blowout, burn down the rig, sink it, and then flow uncontrolled into the ocean environment for days, weeks, months as we so painfully...