B.P.'s Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Thread (it's all here).....

[Avro]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb4JWgUuSEE&feature=player_embedded

“BP’s Rules, not ours.”
That’s what journalists were told when they were blocked from visiting and filming oil soaked beaches by a boatload of BP thugs – and threatened with arrest.
Perhaps it’s time to let BP know who makes the rules in America.

 

[Mowich]

BP Prepares to Take New Tack on Leak After ‘Top Kill’ Fails


“The abandonment of the top kill technique, the most ambitious effort yet to plug the well, was the latest in a series of failures. First, BP failed in efforts to repair a blowout preventer with submarine robots. Then its initial efforts to cap the well with a containment dome failed when it became clogged with a frothy mix of frigid water and gas. Efforts to use a hose to gather escaping oil have managed to catch only a fraction of the spill.

BP has started work on two relief wells, but officials have said that they will not be completed until August — further contributing to what is already the worst oil spill in United States history.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30spill.html?hp

Documents Show Early Worries About Safety of Rig


WASHINGTON – Internal documents from BP show that there were serious problems and safety concerns with Deepwater Horizon rig far earlier than those the company described to Congress last week.


The problems involved the well casing and the blowout preventer, which are considered critical pieces in the chain of events that led to the disaster on the rig.


The documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of “well control.” And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer.


On June 22, for example, BP engineers expressed concerns that the metal casing the company wanted to use might collapse under high pressure.


“This would certainly be a worst-case scenario,” Mark E. Hafle, a senior drilling engineer at BP, warned in an internal report. “However, I have seen it happen so know it can occur.”
The company went ahead with the casing, but only after getting special permission from BP officials because it violated the company’s safety policies and design standards. The internal reports do not explain why the company allowed for an exception. BP documents released last week to The Times revealed that company officials knew the casing was the riskier of two options.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30rig.html?ref=us


PARDON ME THOU BLEEDING PIECE OF EARTH THAT I AM MEEK AND GENTLE WITH THESE BUTCHERS.
SHAKESPEARE

 

[numbnuts]

BP doesn't have a clue. Its time someone credible took over.

 

[MHz]

BP doesn't have a clue. Its time someone credible took over.

I thought Halliburton was the king of fixing blowouts, and they were there hours before the 'mishap'. Perhaps there is a time limit between being give a no-bid contract and having your ass sued off for shoddy workmanship.

 

[Kakato]

This is starting to make the oilsands look pretty environmentally friendly.:lol:

 

[MHz]

This is starting to make the oilsands look pretty environmentally friendly.:lol:

Until we catch it on fire.

 

[Kakato]

Until we catch it on fire.

Cant see that happening,too bad i'm not allowed to take pictures of the oilsands reclamation,it's looking very promising on getting rid of the old tailings ponds in a very short time.

 

[L Gilbert]

This is starting to make the oilsands look pretty environmentally friendly.:lol:

lol Not even close to a comparison.

 

[Kakato]

lol Not even close to a comparison.

Thats right,the oilsands are confined to one area and can be reclaimed,that oilspill cant.The company I work for specializes in diving in those environments and that kind of work and they say it doesnt look good for BP,not much can be done and it will get worse yet.

 

[L Gilbert]

Thats right,the oilsands are confined to one area and can be reclaimed,that oilspill cant.The company I work for specializes in diving in those environments and that kind of work and they say it doesnt look good for BP,not much can be done and it will get worse yet.

I posted a simple solution in the other oil spill thread.

 

[Kakato]

The biggest problem is it's so deep down that the only way to do anything is with robotics,someone obviuously didnt do their due dilligence and i'm sure they will be made an example of.Too bad the environment will pay no matter what.

 

[L Gilbert]

The biggest problem is it's so deep down that the only way to do anything is with robotics,someone obviuously didnt do their due dilligence and i'm sure they will be made an example of.Too bad the environment will pay no matter what.

Yep. A mile is a ways down.
It could be worse though, they could have had to deal with wave action if it were closer to the surface.

 

[Kakato]

Yep. A mile is a ways down.
It could be worse though, they could have had to deal with wave action if it were closer to the surface.

I wonder if they included what happened in their FLRA(field level risk assesment) or hazard assesment and if anything was recorded during permitting for this well,in any ground based operation every hazard would have been covered before any permits were issused.
I imagine a lot of people will be covering their ass right about now and passing the buck.

 

[Tonington]

They are trying to cover their ass. Anyone have any guesses why they're using so much dispersant, and why the BP estimates are consistently low-balling the flow rate out of that riser pipe?

The US can fine BP up to $4300 per barrel of oil spilled. If that's 5,000 barrels, then it could be up to $21,500,000 a day. Recent estimates place it more likely in the 12,000-19,000 barrel range. That could be up to $81,700,000 a day!

On the plus side though, it's really more like a toss-up though rather than a plus. The dispersant keeps more oil on the bottom of the ocean (making the total volume a little more difficult to track!) but it also keeps more of the oil away from the coast, so it means less large fauna die, but at a cost to the benthic organisms.

 

[darkbeaver]

The leak should be stuffed with BP executives and politicians.

 

[Stretch]

Re: its not a bloody spill, its a leak!

BP Capping Information Flow on Oil Gusher Damage


Sunday, 30 May 2010 06:21

'British Petroleum, accountable for a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, is reportedly blocking efforts to expose the extent of damage caused by the environmental disaster. The explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig has been sending a historic amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico over the past three weeks.
With at least 70,000 barrels of oil leaking into the Gulf per day, there are grave concerns that wildlife is faced with a serious threat. BP rejected claims that the move sought to hide the extent of damage. The company argues that the censorship was only established to provide one reliable source for the public.'
Read more: BP Capping Information Flow on Oil Gusher Damage

 

[darkbeaver]

Re: its not a bloody spill, its a leak!

One source sounds way more like censorship don't it, of course it do, we are all used to corporate liars though.

 

[Risus]

Re: its not a bloody spill, its a leak!

Yet another thread about this?????????????????

 

[darkbeaver]

Re: its not a bloody spill, its a leak!

I guess the interest is because this is a once in a century event, hopefully. Why don't you start a thread of something interesting to you Risus, like thread management or subject selection. It's what normal poster/people do.

 

[ironsides]

...or basement dwelling dead weight.

We all agree. To bad it is about something that just maybe beyond our technology at this moment in time to fix.