People across the country who never gave a thought to how oil gets from below the surface of land and sea into barrels are now learning about things like blow-out preventers and acoustic switches. This is due, in part, to a wealth of information that has come to light since a fire and explosion occurred onboard the Transocean semisubmersible drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, on April 20, 2010.
For example, ten years ago, the pipe from a different offshore drilling rig came loose and the valve that is supposed to shut off the flow of oil did not work. The drilling rig above could not control the valve, called a blow-out preventer. This incident highlighted that the rig, similar to the Deepwater Horizon, did not have a backup system for activating the blow-out preventer.
This decade old incident prompted officials of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to issue a safety alert in March, 2000 ordering companies drilling in deep water in the outer continental shelf to have good backup systems. But MMS left it up to the companies to decide what kind of backup system to have.
Why MMS did not require drillers to use a specific type of backup system like the ones used in other major offshore drilling countries (a remote-control shutoff called an acoustic switch) is currently under investigation. Reports show that MMS did look at the issue of whether to require the acoustic switch, but it found that acoustic switches were too expensive and not always reliable.
As reported last week by The Wall Street Journal, acoustic systems cost about $500,000. Ironically, this is the same amount it costs BP to lease the rig for one day from its owner and operator, Transocean Ltd. BP is currently spending $6 million each day to try to halt the spill.
Now, eleven people are dead and the U.S. coastline is facing an environmental disaster. Experts estimate that 210,000 gallons of oil per day is escaping the underwater well. Approximations concerning when the leak can be controlled are still vague and range from weeks to months.
If you need help with a Transocean lawsuit, or Transocean claim, we urge you to call Gordon, Elias & Seely today at 1-800-773-6770 or locally at 713-668-9999. Attributable to a successful track record in prior Transocean wrongful death matters, our firm was hired before all other maritime law firms to prosecute a lawsuit against Transocean, British Petroleum and others.
The highly trained Transocean rig attorneys at Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. f/k/a/ Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., are knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to helping offshore workers and their families. We focus our efforts and expertise in maritime law. With a track record for successful outcomes for injured workers, there’s little doubt that we can help families who have been affected by this preventable accident.