A JOURNAL FROM THE NORWEGIAN OCEAN INDUSTRY AUTHORITY
A decade since Deepwater Horizon
Photo: AP/US Coast Guard
The 10th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster falls on 20 April 2020. A blowout on this drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to an explosion and fire.
Published:
20 April 2020
Eleven people were killed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and a number of others suffered serious injuries.
The drilling rig sank after two days, but more than four million barrels of oil continued flowing out of control from the well for 87 days until it could finally be capped.
In the wake of the incident, the PSA devoted substantial resources to reviewing investigation reports and learning lessons with an eye to applying them to Norway’s petroleum operations.
Follow-up of Deepwater Horizon has included:
- updating drilling and well standards
- developing well-capping equipment for use with blowouts
- advances in barrier and risk management.
Main issue 2020: Never another major accident
“Our choice of main issue for 2020 is intended to challenge the companies,” says PSA director general Anne Myhrvold. “We want to know what they’re going to do – and how."
“I sincerely hope that we never experience another major accident in our industry. To avoid that, we must develop – at all times.
“We must learn, analyse, implement and make safety the highest priority. Responsibility rests with the companies, which must show that they accept it – every day.”
