Spill Baby Spill!

[Hugo Farnsworth]

Wow, I guess I really should be surfing the oil drum more.

Didn't circulate bottoms up prior to cementing? Holy shit! This is a fundamental safety procedure, and it ensures a good cement job. Basically, the drilling mud is circulated until the mud that is at the bottom of the hole is returned to the surface. Gas concentration in the mud is monitored and the density of the mud is checked as well. If there is a problem (mud density "cut" with gas bubbles, gas concentrations above acceptable limits), the density of the fluid is increased, and circulation is continued until the problem is abated.

Very often, and I mean very often, drilling engineers will conduct a "short trip" if they suspect that the well is being "treacherous." This is a test to "tease" the well in order to find out if control over the well is truly in hand. Basically, about 1000-2000 feet of the drill string is pulled out of the hole, then put back in, and then bottoms up is circulated.

Not doing that is so stupid, it defies belief. Let me see if I can make some analogies for those unfamiliar with oil well drilling:

That's like cleaning a loaded pistol.
That's like driving a car with no brakes.
That's like riding in a plane with a drunk pilot.
That's like playing chicken with an 18-wheeler.
That's like sticking a fork in a live electrical socket.
etc.

Any notion that BP might have had about blaming TransOcean or Halliburton, some unforeseen problem, or an act of God (or Gaia) just flew out the window. They are so toast.

[chump]

http://cryptogon.com/?p=15710

MATT SIMMONS: THERE’S ANOTHER, MUCH LARGER LEAK THAN THE ONE WE’RE BEING SHOWN, CALL IN THE MILITARY, NUKE THE WELL
May 30th, 2010
The person who sent this wrote, “Thanks for your work, Kevin. We’re heading to the hills.”

Might not be a bad idea.

Via: Bloomberg:

One Response to “MATT SIMMONS: THERE’S ANOTHER, MUCH LARGER LEAK THAN THE ONE WE’RE BEING SHOWN, CALL IN THE MILITARY, NUKE THE WELL”
1.scarletfire Says:
May 30th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Not sure what it all means but Simmons is a big proponent of peak oil theory while also being a huge investor in oil and oil services, which to my way of thinking is a bit of a conflict of interest. Not the first time I’ve heard the nuke option mentioned..so this idea is getting steam..read somewhere though (urban survival i think) an oil engineer who studied this before says not only will the nuke not work, it will make it worse. Perhaps the illuminati oil spill card is indeed being played. Why though? The powers that be control the oil industry and this is bad PR to say the least..an attack on america to further the transfer of power out of the us to china? can’t seem to wrap my tin foil mind around this one yet..

[Cordelia]

Can anyone help with a suitable caption for this picture in today's NYT?

Obama tells gulf residents, "you are not alone..."

Obama encounters treacherous waters during gulf visit

Secret service tests new stealth mechanical shark during presidential gulf visit, oil not an impediment

Attachments:

Can't get your attachment back up , but how about:

'The Emperor's New Clothes': Obama uncovers his 'Podium Belt', specially designed for him and now permanently attached to his midriff.

[DoYouEverWonder]

Wow, I guess I really should be surfing the oil drum more.

Didn't circulate bottoms up prior to cementing? Holy shit! This is a fundamental safety procedure, and it ensures a good cement job. Basically, the drilling mud is circulated until the mud that is at the bottom of the hole is returned to the surface. Gas concentration in the mud is monitored and the density of the mud is checked as well. If there is a problem (mud density "cut" with gas bubbles, gas concentrations above acceptable limits), the density of the fluid is increased, and circulation is continued until the problem is abated.

Very often, and I mean very often, drilling engineers will conduct a "short trip" if they suspect that the well is being "treacherous." This is a test to "tease" the well in order to find out if control over the well is truly in hand. Basically, about 1000-2000 feet of the drill string is pulled out of the hole, then put back in, and then bottoms up is circulated.

Not doing that is so stupid, it defies belief. Let me see if I can make some analogies for those unfamiliar with oil well drilling:

That's like cleaning a loaded pistol.
That's like driving a car with no brakes.
That's like riding in a plane with a drunk pilot.
That's like playing chicken with an 18-wheeler.
That's like sticking a fork in a live electrical socket.
etc.

Any notion that BP might have had about blaming TransOcean or Halliburton, some unforeseen problem, or an act of God (or Gaia) just flew out the window. They are so toast.

Then they know that too and you can be sure they are doing everything they can to hide the evidence.

BP should be relieved of duty immediately if not sooner.

[Nordic]

BP, Transocean, and Halliburton should have been banned from the scene of this mess after the first few days.

Trusting BP to fix this is like asking Jeffrey Dahmer to clean out his own refrigerator.

[DoYouEverWonder]

BP, Transocean, and Halliburton should have been banned from the scene of this mess after the first few days.

Trusting BP to fix this is like asking Jeffrey Dahmer to clean out his own refrigerator.

Christ, I think that's the first time I've laughed in two day.

[chump]

Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it

The Deepwater Horizon disaster caused headlines around the world, yet the people who live in the Niger delta have had to live with environmental catastrophes for decades.

We reached the edge of the oil spill near the Nigerian village of Otuegwe after a long hike through cassava plantations. Ahead of us lay swamp. We waded into the warm tropical water and began swimming, cameras and notebooks held above our heads. We could smell the oil long before we saw it – the stench of garage forecourts and rotting vegetation hanging thickly in the air.

The farther we travelled, the more nauseous it became. Soon we were swimming in pools of light Nigerian crude, the best-quality oil in the world. One of the many hundreds of 40-year-old pipelines that crisscross the Niger delta had corroded and spewed oil for several months.

Forest and farmland were now covered in a sheen of greasy oil. Drinking wells were polluted and people were distraught. No one knew how much oil had leaked. "We lost our nets, huts and fishing pots," said Chief Promise, village leader of Otuegwe and our guide. "This is where we fished and farmed. We have lost our forest. We told Shell of the spill within days, but they did nothing for six months."

That was the Niger delta a few years ago, where, according to Nigerian academics, writers and environment groups, oil companies have acted with such impunity and recklessness that much of the region has been devastated by leaks.

In fact, more oil is spilled from the delta's network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of a major ecological catastrophe caused by oil that has poured from a leak triggered by the explosion that wrecked BP's Deepwater Horizon rig last month...


... The scale of the pollution is mind-boggling. The government's national oil spill detection and response agency (Nosdra) says that between 1976 and 1996 alone, more than 2.4m barrels contaminated the environment. "Oil spills and the dumping of oil into waterways has been extensive, often poisoning drinking water and destroying vegetation. These incidents have become common due to the lack of laws and enforcement measures within the existing political regime," said a spokesman for Nosdra...

[chump]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 87039.html

Oil spill creates huge undersea 'dead zones'

Clouds of crude and chemical dispersants have formed in the Gulf of Mexico and oceanologists fear these could have devastating effects on the food chain

By Emily Dugan
Sunday, 30 May 2010

The world's most damaging oil spill – now in its 41st continuously gushing day – is creating huge unseen "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico, according to oceanologists and toxicologists. They say that if their fears are correct, then the sea's entire food chain could suffer years of devastation, with almost no marine life in the region escaping its effects...

... At least two submerged clouds of noxious oil and chemical dispersants have been confirmed by research vessels, and scientists are seeing initial signs of several more. The largest is some 22 miles long, six miles wide and 3,300 feet deep – a volume that would take up half of Lake Erie. Another spans an area of 20 square miles...

More than 8,300 species of plants and animals are at risk...

Once these harmful substances enter the food chain, almost nothing will escape their effects...

"It's the biggest environmental disaster of our time and it's not even over yet," said the marine toxicologist Dr Susan Shaw, director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute based in Maine."This is dismantling the food web, piece by piece," she said. "We'll see dead bodies soon. Sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, whales: the impact on predators will be seen in a short time because the food web will be impacted from the bottom up."

Marine biologists say the timing of this underwater contamination could not be more catastrophic...

With no confirmation that BP's attempts to stop the flow of oil have succeeded, the damage is likely to get worse. If this "top kill" method of plugging the hole with concrete and mud fails, then the only option left is a relief well, which will take until August at the earliest to become operational. In the meantime, the surrounding ocean will become deadlier every day that passes. And even if the plug works, it may well be too late. As Dr McKinney pointed out: "At the depth that these plumes are at, the sea will be toxic for God knows how long."...

----------------

What was Halliburton's role in US oil spill?

By David Usborne in New York
Sunday, 30 May 2010

Shares in Halliburton, the world's second-largest energy services company once headed by former US vice-president Dick Cheney, slid in trading on Friday, in part because of the new six-month moratorium on offshore drilling projects imposed last week by President Barack Obama.


But investors have had other reasons to feel concern for the fortunes of Halliburton. As the investigation into the BP oil rig explosion accelerates, new information has been surfacing in congressional hearings in Washington pointing to possible problems with the casings that were put around the bore hole in the sea bed and the cementing that is critical to sealing it up.

Halliburton did the cementing at the well, under contract to BP. It was to inject the cement to seal the casing in the bore hole to make any seepage of gas and oil impossible, and insert the cement plug that would have allowed BP to return at a later date to begin production. Last August, Halliburton was involved in the cementing of a well in the Timor Sea off the coast of Australia that similarly blew out, sending thousands of gallons into the ocean.

Even within days of the US tragedy, which left 11 men dead and unleashed the worst oil spill America has ever seen, investigators were focusing on the type of cement used – it had been infused with nitrogen – and tests that were done to ensure it had set properly. BP investigators told members of Congress that in the hours before the blast, a "fundamental mistake" may have been made in moving forward with placing the plug even when pressure tests had shown a "very large abnormality".

The notion that blame for the blast could eventually be put on Halliburton might be tempting for BP. Indeed, at early hearings, BP seemed to point fingers both at Halliburton and at Transocean, the owner of the rig, prompting a rebuke from President Obama.

From the start, Halliburton's lawyers have insisted that its men on the rig were simply following specifications and instructions from BP. In other words, if the cement does turn out to have been at least partly responsible for the tragedy, BP is "bound to hold Halliburton harmless", as one of the lawyers told Congress last week. Transocean has made a similar case that as the owner of the lease on the well, BP must be ultimately responsible.
---------------------------

[chump]

hey how 'boot this one?

Quote:
Emergency evacuations plans have been drawn up for entire Gulf of Mexico region as secret financial negotiations head to climax
Posted by benjaminMay 31, 2010
The Pentagon and US government have drawn up emergency plans to evacuate much of the population surrounding the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of toxic rain and severe environmental damage, a military intelligence source says. The extreme environmental destruction and the deliberate failure to put an end to the oil leaks are all part of the dark cabal’s bargaining strategy since all they have left to bargain with now is the threat of mayhem. At the same time, a senior oil industry source has approached the White Dragon Society with an offer of $60 billion a month to be spent on saving the planet so long as the money goes through the Vatican, the BIS and the Federal Reserve Board.

I saw this posted by SLAD in the other thread, but in keeping with my commitment to not pollute the other threads, I'll just stay over here. I have been catching a glimpse of this elusive story about mass evacuations for over a week. Does it all boil down to Benjamin Fulford? I recall the name, but I can't remember who he is at this moment.

I quickly googled 'emergency evacuations gulf' and found only two hits, at the top, that were current: One, BF's, on which you have to be a member to read his entire post, and then this http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum ... 083131/pg1
a sight that I have encountered before, but not keen on, which included the full text of what he posted on his website, followed by a comment by "Anonymous Coward", FWIW:

Benjamin Fulford has long been established as insane, basically.

He used to be Forbes' magazine's principal correspondent in Tokyo. The key words in that last sentence are "used to be." Forbes let him go when he started to act strangely and his writings became more and more separated from reality.

Fulford now believes that he is the world's sole go-between for the European-American Illuminati and a vast but nebulous Asian secret society. According to Fulford, this Asian secret society has the Illuminati bigwigs by the balls and as a result, we should all soon be free from the economic slavery of the Rockefellers and Rothschilds, any day now.

And all of this will be set in motion by Fulford himself, you see.

I been mired in the ocean on this story; the cause, the size of the "leak", the dead zones, the faltering wildilife and the damage to the shoreline, etc. At the very least, I can say that it is being made to look like and, judging from pictures and reports that I have seen from various media, truely is an epic cataclysm.

While I personally don't vouch for anything BF says, I can somewhat understand the paradigm he describes. I felt from the beginning that this event was just that kind of war; that somebody was being attacked. For instance, will BP be stripped of their leasing rights? Unfortunately (or fortunately), I haven't researched well enough the cabalistic factions involved in the catastrophe - who belongs to who, and why they're doing what they are doing; which is perhaps the most pertinent line of inquiry of all. Who do we root for?

IF evacuations do occur, it could be another sign that the blowout was premeditated; especially if they have had their ducks already lined up. I haven't had time to research that either - much. I feel as though there is an bigtime agenda at work here, but wouldn't forcing people to leave their homes at this time be too bold; especially when they may be likely to leave on their own within a short period of time due to the impending environmental and economic uncertainties?

If they do force evacuations, it's gonna turn the heat up on everybody right away. Maybe there isn't time for a low boil.

The answer will be upon us soon enough.

Whatever whatever...

[Hugo Farnsworth]

I will say this one more time so maybe, this time, it will sink in, well maybe.

It's BP's fault. Not TransOcean, not Halliburton. Even if it's TransOcean's fault, it's BP fault. Even if it's Halliburton's fault, it's BP's fault. When you are the operator on a drilling site, you are sort of like a captain of a ship in the US or UK Navy, it's always your fault. That's one thing that needs to be made perfectly clear.

The second thing is what I posted about earlier: not circulating bottoms up. In drilling, as a standard practice, that is so fundamental, I am speechless. It's like not tying your shoelaces, or something.

And DAMNIT, folks, it's not Big Oil that has killed the GoM, well at least not until now, that is. It's King Corn. Watch the movie of the same name. All the runoff from massive Federally subsidized corn agriculture in the Midwest has turned the Mississippi into a toxic soup that has produced huge dead zones in the GoM, not to mention Cancervilles out of the towns and cities that get their drinking water from it. The oil business was small potatoes compared to this until the blowout. But yet, I have seen very little about this in the press, either internet or msm. Call it journamalism.

Some of you folks are ingesting too much internet WOO about this, btw. Still, it is entertaining.

[Simulist]

And DAMNIT, folks, it's not Big Oil that has killed the GoM, well at least not until now, that is. It's King Corn.

In the unfolding murder of the Gulf of Mexico, there are many accessories to the crime.

It's bigger than Big Oil, of course. Bigger even than King Corn, easily.

It's at least an indictment of an entire way of life. (And it's probably bigger even than that.)

[chump]

Looking for solutions, aside from what has already been mentioned (much), I came accross these:

Inflatable plugs

http://thepipeplug.com/InflatablePressurePlugs.htm

Seriously! A stop valve could possibly be configured to slip around the top. The oil would flow through until it was attached?


And if those don't work, BP supposedly ran a smaller diameter pipe into the well already. Why not another... Then another, and another. Stuff a bunch of pipes in there until no more will fit. At least, they could syphon more of the oil until the relief wells are completed.

As for the cleanup, the supertanker, suck up method used by Saudi Arabia is a possibility. Maybe even Kevin Costner's separator gizmo. What about this?

http://spillfighters.com/

SpillFighters—Dedicated to Oil Spill Cleanup through Bioremediation
The greatest environmental disaster that has ever occurred to the U.S. is looming a few miles Offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. If you look at the satellite photos of the Gulf today you’ll see an enormous portion of the Gulf is already covered in oil. Given the amount of oil already spilled and the undetermined amount of oil still flowing up from a mile under the sea, it is impossible for the upper areas of the Gulf of Mexico to survive as we know it. Also, the financial fallout from millions of citizens that depend on the tourism and seafood industries could trigger another round of foreclosures, bankruptcies and even another recession.

BUT, there is one simple and natural solution. “Oil Eating Microbes”.

Microbes occur in nature (in fact humans have over a pound of microbes in their bodies) and each type of microbe is programmed to do certain tasks. Some decompose plant matter, others help break down toxins. In the last 20 years scientists have been able to find and ‘harvest’ these naturally occurring oil-eating microbes from around the world and increase their reproduction cycle so that trillions are now available to help us!

These microbes are commercially available and have been tested successful on large oil spills around the world. These microbes can be supplied immediately in large enough quantities to ‘bioremediate’ the oil that is now washing up on the beaches and in the marshes of the Gulf Coast. The microbes are simply mixed with water and sprayed on the oil as it reaches the calmer waters near shore or on shore itself. Once applied to the oil, the microbes eat it—leaving a natural waste product that is harmless to marine life. Their waste is non-toxic and can actually be beneficial to the plants and sea creatures that feed on it.

The process to completely clean an area of oil is dependent on a few things—but it can usually be accomplished in just a few weeks—not years. If we can adopt this solution immediately, we have a chance to save the Gulf—if we wait, we’ll just be cleaning up corpses of our precious wildlife and bailing out millions of individuals and businesses again.

If you are a local, state or federal government official, press or media representative or an oil company executive, please contact us and we’ll provide any information you need to make an informed decision about how to implement this process.

SpillFighters
21699 Hwy 40
Golden, CO 80401
JBrentTuttle@Gmail.com

But they better hurry.

http://monkeyfister.blogspot.com/

Monday, May 31, 2010

Tropical Depression Agatha Crossing Into Gulf Of Mexico...


Perrrrrfect.

Once (Pacific Storm) Agatha crosses over Guatemala, it will be renamed Alex.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

000
ABNT20 KNHC 012330
TWOAT
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
800 PM EDT TUE JUN 1 2010

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DECREASED IN THE NORTHWESTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE REMNANTS OF PACIFIC TROPICAL
STORM AGATHA. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE NOT CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT
AND THERE IS A LOW CHANCE...10 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A
TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED
TO MOVE LITTLE OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO.

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.

$$
FORECASTER BRENNAN

It looks like there is a storm over the area now, but it's not Agatha. Hopefully, there won't be an Alex.
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/HURRLOOPS/gulfvs.html

[Simulist]

Looking for solutions, aside from what has already been mentioned (much), I came accross these:

Inflatable plugs

http://thepipeplug.com/InflatablePressurePlugs.htm

Seriously! A stop valve could possibly be configured to slip around the top. The oil would flow through until it was attached?

Maybe all they really need is that Irish plumber I once heard about.

While vacationing at Niagra Falls, he looked up, and said, "I think I can fix this!"

[Hugo Farnsworth]

And DAMNIT, folks, it's not Big Oil that has killed the GoM, well at least not until now, that is. It's King Corn.

In the unfolding murder of the Gulf of Mexico, there are many accessories to the crime.

It's bigger than Big Oil, of course. Bigger even than King Corn, easily.

It's at least an indictment of an entire way of life. (And it's probably bigger even than that.)

Certainly, Big Oil is the enabler. Without Big Oil, you cannot have King Corn and the other myriad things that comprise our toxic way of life. We are just clever, not sapient. It's so sad.

[chump]

For those who wish to immerse themselves in more fear-mongering.



http://www.technofascismblog.com/2010/0 ... -1695.html

Detonating nuclear bomb at BP oil spill site could end all life on planet

Posted in environment, extinction, tech-catastrophe on May 30th, 2010 by Tony

Lately, I’ve heard many talking heads in the news media suggesting that the only way to stop the BP oil leak might be to detonate a nuclear bomb under the leak site.

Before they consider that option, they might want to watch this video of Dr. Gregory Ryskin, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northwestern University. In the video, Dr. Ryskin explains how a prehistoric methane gas explosion could explain the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, a mysterious period in Earth history where 95% of all species went extinct.

Given that the amount of methane gas that is leaking from the BP spill site is at least equal to the amount of oil, it would lead one to believe that there is a huge underground pocket of methane gas buried there. Now, if Dr. Ryskin’s theory is correct, not only would detonating a nuclear bomb near that underground methane pocket end the oil spill, it might end all life on Earth as well.

Well, fortunately, apparently, nukes are no longer being considered. Uh huh, uh-huh.