September 2006
Columns
Drilling advances
Post-event analysis. Let’s face it – things do go wrong in the oilpatch. Murphy, or someone with the same last name, developed his first “Law” years ago at NASA in Houston. We all know it: If anything can go wrong, it will.
Murphy was right.
A lesser known law developed by Murphy says: Nature always sides with the hidden flaw. Unfortunately, the hidden flaw has an annoying way of developing into serious problems on occasion.
The drilling rig is a place where the unexpected can occur at any time. When this leads to an event that results in a dangerous situation, an injury or fatality, loss of property or significant loss of time, the first question is “How did it happen?” Sadly, the answer is often “I don’t know” or mere speculation is offered without in-depth forensic analysis of the event.
