Deepwater Horizon, the blind shear ram, and regulatory failure

By Michael J.W. Stickings

The New York Times: "Regulators Failed to Address Risks in Oil Rig Fail-Safe Device." The authors try to piece together just what happened on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The so-called "blind shear ram" failed to seal the well, and the rest is ongoing environmental catastrophe. And the failure goes straight back to Washington:

An examination by The New York Times highlights the chasm between the oil industry's assertions about the reliability of its blowout preventers and a more complex reality. It reveals that the federal agency charged with regulating offshore drilling, the Minerals Management Service, repeatedly declined to act on advice from its own experts on how it could minimize the risk of a blind shear ram failure.

It also shows that the Obama administration failed to grapple with either the well-known weaknesses of blowout preventers or the sufficiency of the nation's drilling regulations even as it made plans this spring to expand offshore oil exploration. 

It's an extremely interesting piece, worth reading in full. And hopefully the lessons have been learned. Letting the oil industry have its way without rigorous rules and oversight is, quite clearly, a recipe for disaster.