Montara: broader implications*

Abstract

After almost two years, the implications of the Montara incident and the more recent Macondo disaster are still evolving. Failure of safety critical barriers led to the Montara blowout and spill. Why did these barriers fail and what are the associated lessons for operators, regulators and governments? There are parallels with the Macondo Incident in the Gulf of Mexico and while many of the insights are particular to drilling, there are others that are applicable to other activities in the oil and gas industry. While the deepest impacts of the Macondo disaster are felt by the families and friends of those who were killed and injured, the broader implications affect the oil and gas industry itself, other industries that expect to co-exist with the petroleum industry, governments and communities, and all those—employees and investors—whose economic future is linked with the industry. Questions we should all be asking include:

1. Is a particular operator competent enough to prevent problems? Can they afford to pay should things go wrong?

2. Are today’s facilities being designed and built to maximise inherent safety? Do they automatically fail safe when things go wrong?

3. Have we set up our regulators for success?