Friday, May 21, 2010

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) Recommend Safety Changes for Offshore Drilling

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) are part of a task force brought together to take a look at ways they can make changes to offshore drilling to make it safer, in the light of the oil spill in the gulf from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Also partaking in the discussions were BP (NYSE:BP) (LON:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), all which had a connection to the failed rig.

Some of the recommendations from the discussions include deploying redundant barriers against gas flow before the heavy drilling fluid is removed; increased testing of blowout preventers to be be sure they can drill through the pipe to shut off the well in emergency situations; and running a negative pressure test to ensure the barriers in place are working before the heavy drilling fluid is taken out.

The companies made it clear their recommendations are a criticism of BP and the other companies, and even if these recommended procedures were in place it wouldn't necessarily have stopped what happened on the Deepwater Horizon.

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