Downhole Drilling Tools: Theory and Practice for Engineers and Students Book

This is an incredibly frustrating read.

An oil field veteran, Cavnar is passionate about the craft of deepwater drilling, and scathing about the failure of politicians and industry to protect workers and the planet from its deregulated excesses. "Drill baby drill!" indeed.

The disaster on the Deepwater Horizon could and should have been foreseen and prevented, he argues, were it not for the the cosy and cronyish relationship between regulators and companies. There is too much reliance on "the wink and the nod" between the two sides.

This story, however, is almost completely lost by the constant use of industry jargon and technical language. Terms are explained in the multiple pages at the back but, especially on a kindle, having to check so many words and phrases makes for a very slow read that is entirely without flow.

What makes this so frustrating is that Cavnar can write with eloquence in understandable terms. He describes how wells have the power "to talk to you...You just have to understand the language". He explains that the well that destroyed the deepwater had been warning of its dangers in that very language. Yet the team on the rig were not equipped to hear or respond.

Yet for every sentence like this, we get five paragraphs discussing technical details in dense terms.

I can't help but think that a more judicious editor or even non-technical co-author would have created a much more accessible telling of what happened in the Deepwater Horizon.