Events Blackbeard

One of the most important lessons learned was the reaction of the Exxon Mobil company. Their management recognized that the causes went well beyond a single officer who had had too much to drink, or failure to maintain critical instrumentation. A fundamental rethink of safety management systems was needed. The company did go through this rethinking process and the results can be seen with respect to their response to the Blackbeard event, discussed in the next section. 

Table 2.11 shows the same for the elements of culture that contributed to this non-event. Those elements that are particularly pertinent to the Blackbeard event are italicized. Of these elements, the one that stands out is the leadership that was shown and the willingness to make difficult decisions. 

The Blackbeard event (Chapter 2) showed how leadership should work. The members of the drilling crew were worried about the high temperatures and pressures... 

Because the Blackbeard incident was actually a nonevent, no official reports or analyses are publicly available. Therefore most of the information to do with the event is based on news stories and information that Exxon Mobil chose to share with the media, particularly an interview that the company s Chief Executive, Rex TiUerson, gave to the New York Times in 2010. 

At the time of the event Blackbeard was not only in deep water but it was also the world s deepest oil well at 32,000 feet below the seabed. Company experts reported that the well had potentially huge reserves— up to 1 billion barrels. However, the prospect was also risky because of the very high temperatures and pressures in the well. 

The Blackbeard incident shows how a company culture can change. In the case of the Exxon Valdez, the event led to management instituting a safety culture that is among the best in industry. 

This chapter describes eight of the most important events that have occurred in the process industries over the last 40 years. Three of the incidents occurred onshore but their impact was so profound that they affected the entire energy-related business—regardless of location or industry type. (One of the offshore incidents— Blackbeard—was actually a nonevent, but it offers profound lessons to managers and leaders at aU levels.)... 

In February 2005, the oil company Exxon started drilling the Blackbeard West well, 28 miles off the coast of Louisiana, and about 70 miles from the site of the future DWH event. 

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