Lack of Federal Regulations Governing Oil Rig Cement Jobs In Spite of Explosion Risks

In the early days after the Transocean oil rig explosion last month, speculation began to mount that a shoddy cement job while sealing the well, was responsible for the explosion. The name “Halliburton” first made an appearance around this time, since that was the company that had been responsible for sealing the well with cement.

Shoddy cement jobs have been linked to a large number of oil well accidents over the past decades. However, in spite of this, there are minimal federal regulations governing the process of sealing the well with cement. There are no regulations governing what kind of cement is to be used. The only regulations, if you can call them that, come from the American Petroleum Institute.

According to a review by the Associated Press, bad cement jobs have been linked to at least 34 offshore accidents since 1974. There isn’t any thorough investigation into these jobs, and most such accidents are simply attributed to “poor cement jobs.”

In 2005, a poor cement job was linked to an incident where steel casing that supported the well came off, leaking approximately 15,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

That same year, there was cement leakage, which caused gas to leak into a well. A major explosion was averted just in time, although the crew had to be evacuated.

Poor cementing was also linked to a 2007 oil rig explosion off Louisiana. In that incident, investigators found that the cement used had been of poor quality.

In the wake of the Transocean explosion, there have been calls for uniform standards for cementing. We currently have strict federal standards for any cement work that is performed on roads, highways and in the construction industry. It’s about time that the Minerals Management Services stops hobnobbing with oil industry executives, and begins taking its regulatory duties much more seriously.

The offshore injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. represent injured offshore and oil workers, helping them recover compensation after maritime accidents that occur off Texas and nationwide.