BP senior corrosion position left vacant

Houston Chronicle ^ | Sept. 8, 2006 | TINA SEELEY

[thackney]

Job has been unfilled for at least 20 months

BP's senior corrosion engineer position for its Alaska operations has been left vacant for at least 20 months, even after a March 2 leak that resulted in the largest-ever oil spill on the North Slope.

"There is an urgent need to recruit and rapidly induct a successor for the vacant senior corrosion engineer position," according to a June 7 internal BP audit released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The position, vacant since December 2004, has not been filled, BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said Friday. "The responsibilities and duties of that position were filled on an interim basis by members of the team," he said.

BP's pipelines leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of crude oil onto Alaska's North Slope in March.

Inspections required after that spill led to the discovery of another leak and corrosion that in some places had eaten away 80 percent of the pipeline wall.

London-based BP has had to cut output at Prudhoe Bay because of the pipeline problems.

However, a BP spokesman told Reuters News Service on Friday that the company now believes that the downstream segment of the shutdown pipeline on the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field is in good enough condition to be safely restarted.

BP has not yet asked the Transportation Department for permission to restart the line and is continuing to work with regulators on the restart plans, the spokesman said.

The report released by the House committee said that the lack of a senior engineer and the arrival of several new employees in key maintenance, reliability, integrity and operations jobs "reduce the capacity of the teams to take a broader strategic view of the corrosion management program."

A team led by John Baxter, director of engineering for BP, wrote the report.

The company's senior corrosion engineer serves as deputy to the manager of the corrosion, inspection and chemicals group, known as CIC.

At a congressional hearing Thursday, the group's former manager, Richard Woollam, refused to testify about his work at BP.

Baxter recommended "the urgent appointment" of employees to fill Woollam's position and his deputy's role in an April 2005 report to BP Alaska's management.

"There is little evidence of a management of change process or transition plan, and replacements need to be quickly identified from BP's limited pool of corrosion management expertise or externally if necessary," the April report shows.

Woollam's position was filled about six months after he left. The senior corrosion engineer job remains vacant.

Woollam was transferred to a nonsupervisory job in Houston in January 2005 after a report by the Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins said his "aggressive management style" deterred workers from raising corrosion issues. The firm was hired to investigate complaints of intimidation and retaliation for employees reporting safety concerns.

Woollam was placed on paid leave by the company on Sept. 7, one day before he declined to testify, Steve Marshall, head of BP's Alaska unit, told reporters after the hearing Thursday.

The former manager cited his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as his reason for not testifying.

James Torgerson, Woollam's attorney, didn't return voice mail or e-mail messages.

BP spokesman Scott Dean told the Associated Press on Friday that the company has been slow in filling the vacancies because staff has been consumed with responding to the March spill and related problems.

Dean said BP is recruiting and that it plans to radically increase the size of its corrosion prevention staff in Alaska.

He was in charge of 150 employees and contractors in that position, which he held for about five years, according to the October 2004 Vinson & Elkins report.

[thackney]

"BP is recruiting and that it plans to radically increase the size of its corrosion prevention staff in Alaska" ping

[MNJohnnie]

Congress is is investigating. Curious when the Junk Media and Demagogues in Congress will investigate why the price of gas has dropped $.64 in the last 30 days?

[PA Engineer]

Good luck BP. This is going to cost them big time. The corrosion engineering field has been decimated over the past couple of decades with cost cutting declines, retirements and burnouts. Many I have spoken with have said they would not touch those positions (with all of the attention) with a ten foot pole. There were many options they could have used such as contracting while this position was empty. They chose instead to cut costs. For them to fill this position (and many others in their corrosion department) they are going to pay some top dollars unheard of in the industry. This could not happen to a nicer company. My prayers for the person who finally accepts BP's offer.

[Marius3188]

They already have come up with an excuse:Elections

[wildcatf4f3]

i got a can of rustoleum...but its gonna cost ya bigtime...

[freedumb2003]

I can be pretty corrosive. Maybe I should apply?

[proud_yank]

Thanks for the pings thackney. I'm finally going through weeks of posts that I have missed.

I've applied online for a couple different positions with BP and am still waiting to hear back on them. I would love to get involved with BP, and the inspection efforts on the slope.

Some good news, I will be travelling to Prudhoe Bay on Oct 1st for a second interview. I'm pretty excited!

[RightWhale]

Sounds like a golden opportunity. Take it.