Drilling safety is critical to the lives of oil and gas workers, the prosperity of local economies and preservation of the environment
More than three years have passed since the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, a tragedy that killed 11 men and sent more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history. Yet, the Republican Congress has not enacted a single law to improve the safety of offshore drilling and continues to block commonsense safety reforms. This is unacceptable. In January 2011, the independent, bi-partisan National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released their in-depth findings on the BP disaster. The report made a number of important safety recommendations. These recommendations have since been turned into legislation.
However, the Republican Majority has blocked this legislation and instead repeatedly passed bills through the House that would expand offshore drilling off of states such as Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, California and Alaska without putting any new safety standards in place.
Committee Democrats continue to monitor safety of drilling operations onshore and offshore. Recently, Shell Oil rushed to drill offshore in the Arctic. Cutting corners to skirt regulations, their 30 year-old arctic drilling platform, the Kulluk, lost control and beached on pristine Alaskan coastline. Committee Democrats investigated the matter and found Shell moved the rig in dangerous conditions, possibly motivated by a desire to avoid paying millions in taxes.
The push for speed over safety is what led to disaster in the first place. Congress owes it to the families of the rig workers who lost their lives on the Deepwater Horizon and those currently working in the industry to ensure that accidents like the BP spill never happen again.
Oversight of Arctic Drilling
Last year, Shell’s rush to begin drilling offshore in the Arctic Ocean led to numerous safety and environmental failures in this harsh and sensitive ecosystem. These failures, which include the grounding of Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig, its other Arctic drill ship, the Discoverer, being cited for numerous safety and environmental violation and a failure of its well-containment system during testing, raise serious questions about Shell’s ability to drill safely offshore in the Arctic.
On December 21, 2012, Shell decided to move its arctic drilling rig, the Kulluk, from the state of Alaska. They continued moving the rig despite the fact that the weather forecast for the area showed significant weather, and Shell ultimately lost control of the rig in the storm and it ran aground.
An investigation by Committee Democrats exposed that Shell could have been liable for millions of dollars in taxes if they had waited until January to move the rig.
Committee Democrats also released the 16 safety and environmental violations that had been issued to Shell’s other Arctic drill ship, the Discoverer, and conducted oversight into Shell’s failed test of its Arctic spill containment system. Shell has since cancelled its plan to drill in the Arctic for 2013.
Please watch this heartbreaking and moving testimony from Chris Jones, brother of Gordon Jones, a rig worker who lost his life on the BP Deepwater Horizon.
First BP told America the oil spill was 1,000 barrels a day. Then 5,000 barrels a day. But after Congress brought in outside experts and forced the release of video footage, scientists have placed the spill at between 53,000 and 62,000 barrels of oil per day. 4.1 million barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf over 87 days. Knowing the true size of the spill was a critical piece of information for the response and cleanup efforts, families and businesses living and working in coastal communities.
It took 23 days for BP to produce images from the spilling underwater oil well. After this shocking footage appeared, Congress was able to pressure BP into releasing a live video feed from the ocean floor. The response from the public was overwhelming, with House websites receiving over a million hits in just the first few days.
Image Courtesy Washingon Post
Investigations by Congress uncovered the missteps and safety violations that led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, killing 11 people. The blowout preventer was riddled with problems, including a significant leak in a main hydraulic system that was improperly modified and not powerful enough to cut through joints in the drill pipe. Plus the “deadman switch” - the last line of defense - had a dead battery. Poor cementing by Halliburton and fatal decisions made by BP in the hours and minutes before the explosion have also been uncovered by Congress.
Despite the assertions made by BP that dispersants could be safely used on the surface and at the sea floor, Committee Democrats conducted oversight of the 1.8 million gallons of dispersants applied to the Gulf.
Warning of potential harm that long-term use of chemicals could have on the marine environment, food chain and families, Congress continued aggressive oversight aimed at minimizing the amounts used and assessing their impact.
Congress has called on companies responsible for the disaster to pay for outside research and development from independent scientists to ensure this never happens again. These calls included oil clean-up technology and improved deep water solutions to help stop oil leaks in the future. Following this request, BP pledged to donate $500 million to establish this fund which will also assess the ecological impacts on the Gulf.
Congress has held numerous oversight hearings with the companies responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf: BP, Halliburton and Transocean. Congress has also called in the Administration to ensure that clean up and recovery efforts by local, state and federal agencies are in place to protect families and businesses in the Gulf. Congress is providing oversight of the FDA to ensure the food supply and the fishing industry are protected from chemical dispersants.
Congress has held numerous oversight hearings with the companies responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf: BP, Halliburton and Transocean. Congress has also called in the Administration to ensure that clean up and recovery efforts by local, state and federal agencies are in place to protect families and businesses in the Gulf. Congress is providing oversight of the FDA to ensure the food supply and the fishing industry are protected from chemical dispersants.
Over the years since the catastrophic spill in the Gulf, BP has been fighting to skirt responsibility for the damages caused by the disaster. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against BP, Transocean, and Halliburton. In March 2012, BP settled its collective lawsuits with individuals and businesses, and in November 2012, BP settled its civil suit with the Justice Department, agreeing to pay $4.5 billion in damages, making the settlement the most expensive of its kind in history. The criminal investigation is ongoing.
