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Owners of Vermilion 380 rig have a history of violations and fines
Just like BP, the owners of the Gulf of Mexico platform that caught fire Thursday morning have a long list of safety violations. The Vermilion 380 rig, located 80 miles south of the Louisiana coast and over 200 miles west of the Deepwater Horizon, is owned by Mariner Energy of Houston which was bought by Apache Energy. 13 workers were evacuated from the platform and safely pulled out of the water in their life jackets.
According to the BPOE (formerly MMS) which regulates offshore drilling, both companies have been fined a combined $775,000 for violations this year alone. Here is a breakdown of violations going back to 2006:
June 2010: Mariner was fined $20,000 for its heliport being taken out of service after a fire which meant that only a boat landing was available as the only access point to the facility. Even worse, the boat landing was later pulled from service after failing an inspection because of missing handrails and corroded grating. Thus, there was no safe method for personnel to arrive on the structure.
May 2010: Mariner Energy cited for operating without an H2S Contingency Plan and releasing emissions that could potentially reach high levels. The company paid a $35,000 fine.
April 23, 2010: Apache was cited for the removal of a lever controller from a caisson sump; this meant that a sufficient oil level could not be automatically maintained to stop leaking into the Gulf. The company paid a $435,000 fine.
April 2010: Apache was fined $235,000 from a violation a year earlier when no corrective action was taken to replace, remove or repair a Surface-Controlled Subsurface Safety Valve (SCSSV) which failed due to an excessive leakage rate at Well JA-001.
2007: Apache was fined $446,000 for numerous failures to maintain blow out preventer (BOP) equipment. A failed BOP was the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The related violations included: 1) No mud-pit-level indicator with visual and audible alarms were installed. 2) During two test periods in 2006, there were violations associated with the HCR kill valve, HCR choke valve, manual kill valve, choke manifold, TIW valve and IBOP. 3) The secondary air supply power source was in an isolated position with a manual valve. 4) Lack of a BOP station in the snubbing unit work basket.
The article goes on to say that Apache’s two $400,000–plus fines are significant when you consider that the vast majority of fines in the BPOE database range from a few thousand dollars up to less than a “few tens of thousands of dollars.”
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