Reflections on Deepwater Horizon

10 years later…

A toolbox talk commemorating

the 10th anniversary of the
Deepwater Horizon tragedy

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
10 years later…

April 2020 marks the 10th

anniversary of the Deepwater
Horizon incident in the USA.
On the evening of 20 April 2010, a well
blowout caused an explosion on the
Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig and
11 people lost their lives. It also triggered
the largest oil spill in US history.

Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig

How much do you know about the (Photo: Bloomberg)
incident? Take this quiz to find out.

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
Incident event (what happened?)
Ignition
Gas control
• The incident occurred during diverter

temporary well-abandonment
Cement Multiple
activities on the drilling rig. evaluation fatalities
tool Monitoring
Control of the well was lost,
resulting in an uncontrolled
release of oil and gas Hydrocarbons
(blowout) from the well. The
hydrocarbons found an Blowout
Cement
ignition source and exploded. job
Well
integrity
Blowout
preventer
test
Environmental
disaster
• This video depicts the events Blowout
leading up to the incident. response
plan
Oil spill
response
plan

Simplified bow tie for the Deepwater Horizon incident

(Image: Hopkins, A, Disastrous Decisions – The Human and Organisational Causes of the Gulf of Mexico
Blowout, CCH Australia Ltd, Sydney, 2012, p.63)

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, 21 April 2010

(Photo: US Coast Guard)

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
Incident consequences (what was the outcome?)

This incident was one of the worst industrial

disasters in recent history...

• 11 people killed
• 17 people seriously injured
• Sinking of the entire rig to the seafloor
• 5 million barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf of
Mexico
• 1,694 kilometres of coastline across 4 US States
contaminated by heavy or moderate oil pollution
• US $65 billion in clean-up costs and legal fees
incurred by BP Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, 21 April 2010
(Photo: US Coast Guard)
• US $23 billion in lost tourism income in US Gulf
of Mexico costal region between 2010-2013.

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
Incident findings (what were the contributing factors?)
The formal investigation concluded that the
incident culminated from a complex, closely
connected interplay of technical, human,
organisational and regulatory factors.

In particular the US CSB report concluded that:

1. the operator/drilling contractor relationship between
BP and Transocean, as influenced by US offshore
regulations, ultimately led to vaguely established
safety roles and responsibilities that affected human
performance and major accident risk management at
Macondo.
2. both BP and Transocean had an insufficient focus on
process safety.

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
Safety Leadership Visits (a missed opportunity)

• Earlier in the day 4 senior managers (2 from BP, 2 from Transocean) arrived on the rig for a Safety
Leadership Visit. All had detailed knowledge and experience of drilling operations.

• The main purpose of the visit was to emphasise the importance of safety, yet they paid little attention
to the safety critical activities that were occurring during their visit. They focused on personal safety
issues, not process safety issues.

Personal Safety Process Safety

✓ slip hazards  pressure testing

✓ harnesses used for  well control
working at height procedures
✓ hand injury awareness  emergency backup
✓ objects dropped from systems
height

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
What part can you play in preventing incidents like this?

⚫ Do you know the Major Accident Hazards at your site?

Process Safety ⚫ Do you know the process safety barriers that are supposed to be in
place to prevent Major Accident Events at your site?
⚫ Do you know the process safety barriers that you are responsible for?
⚫ Do you feel competent to implement the process safety barriers that
relate to your job role?
⚫ Do you know what previous Major Accident Events have occurred
previously at your site, and other similar sites?
⚫ Do safety performance indicators address process safety metrics, in
addition to personal safety metrics?

⚫ Are organisational changes, production pressures and budget

Leadership and decisions carefully managed to ensure safety is not compromised?
Workforce Engagement ⚫ Do you report safety problems and near misses, and are you
encouraged to do so?
⚫ Do you look for warning signals of safety problems? Do you always
respond to those warning signals?
⚫ Are procedures regularly reviewed and kept up to date? Do you
Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, 21 April 2010 always comply with the written procedures?
(Photo: US Coast Guard)

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 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon
What are some of the tools available to help you?

Process Safety

Process Safety Awareness Mobile Major Accident Hazard Process Safety Incident
Campaigns Awareness Training Review Workshops

Leadership and
Workforce
Engagement

Safety Leadership Visits Safety Culture Survey Learning Event Bulletins

9 https://www.safertogether.com.au/
 Reflections on Deepwater Horizon

Memorial Service for victims of the Deepwater Horizon Incident

(Photos: Transocean)

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