Averting Another Gulf Disaster ... more haunting woes near Louisiana

Apache spokesman John Roper said the company notified federal regulators after the initial kick and regularly as they responded to the incident. “Once we realized this was unconventional, we started having more discussions (with regulators),” he said.

“We evacuated non-essential personnel, we brought in the experts and we notified the government,” Roper added. “The procedures worked; the safety systems are doing their job.”

Former drilling regulator Michael Bromwich said that based on public information, “it appears that both the company and the government have acted properly.”

“Even so, this incident is a sobering reminder that offshore drilling is an inherently risky activity,” said Bromwich, now a consultant in Washington, D.C. “It undermines the often-repeated but erroneous claim that drilling in shallow water has few risks, and reinforces the conclusion that heightened safety and environmental standards should be applied across the board.”

Apache plans to kill Gulf well after detecting uncontrolled flow

HERE Posted on February 15, 2013 at 12:20 pm by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

Apache Corp. evacuated 15 workers from a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and is preparing kill the well after tests found natural gas migrating below the seabed.

The Houston-based company has contracted with specialists Boots & Coots to kill the natural gas well, located in 218 feet of water about 50 miles east of Venice, La. A drilling rig is heading for the site in case it’s needed to bore a relief well to intercept the one being plugged.

Problems first arose  on Feb. 4, when workers on the Ensco 87 jackup rig detected a kick, or uncontrolled flow of fluid, in the well. In response, they activated a blowout preventer, which apparently was  successful in keeping natural gas from escaping the well.

However later testing revealed that gas had migrated from the bottom of the roughly 8,300-foot well to a shallower sand formation 1,100 feet below the seabed.

After at least one flight over the site Thursday, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said it has detected no gas at the seafloor and no sign of pollution at the location.Full report HERE