For Macondo, the April 20, 2010, incident progressed from a gas-in-riser event ultimately to an uncontrolled blowout after the crew’s well control actions and the physical well barriers (e.g., the BOP and diverter system) were unable to mitigate the hazardous conditions created once hydrocarbons entered the riser.
A number of investigations examined the disaster. Many focused not only on what went wrong, but what changes needed to be made in the offshore oil and gas industry to make sure there was never another repeat of the Macondo disaster. Below is a summary of some of the main failures determined from an investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.1U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. (2016, June 5). Deepwater Horizon Blowout Animation. https://www.csb.gov/macondo-blowout-and-explosion/ In subsequent pages we will highlight some of the failures discussed in the video.
