Safety
Preparing for hurricanes
With the hurricane season under way, one of the issues we face is how to help keep the nation’s energy supply moving safely and securely as a storm approaches. I thought I’d share with you some information about what ExxonMobil does to secure our facilities, protect our employees and the public, and maintain critical fuel supplies in case a hurricane threatens the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Deepwater facts
As the intense debate about the offshore drilling moratorium continues following the tragic Gulf of Mexico incident, I’ve been reading a report on the future of deepwater oil and natural gas production published by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates. The facts contained in CERA’s report are important reading for anyone considering the appropriate policy response to the Deepwater Horizon accident.
Elements of safety
At ExxonMobil we’ve taken a lot of questions lately about our approach to safety and what can be done to prevent situations like the one now in the Gulf of Mexico. Our answer goes back more than 20 years – to the Exxon Valdez accident.
Drilling differently
Since Tuesday’s Congressional hearing on the Gulf of Mexico accident and spill, a lot of people have asked me about ExxonMobil’s approach to designing and drilling wells. For example, would we have used a long casing string or a liner/tieback to reduce the risk of a cement job failure? Do we use the same approach with all wells? My answer is — every well is different. Effective casing design is complex and the approach to drilling each well must be tailored to the specific conditions involved.
Getting the facts straight in Nigeria
Today’s New York Times includes a front-page story on oil spills in Nigeria. Good investigative journalism is needed to bring attention to and increase understanding about this important environmental issue. Unfortunately, readers don’t get it with this article. Reporter Adam Nossiter simply gets the facts wrong.
A response on response plans
Tuesday’s Congressional hearing made for interesting political theater. In particular, a lot of hay was made of the apparent similarity among various energy companies’ oil-spill response plans. Here are some facts you might not have picked up from the hearing …
