'Not for public': the oil spill may be getting much worse

[ninakat]

But the article doesn't seem to talk about any inland damage. I'll continue looking for more info about environmental damage inland. It just seems logical that if a storm with "winds of over 70 mph" distributed the oil over a large area, that a hurricane would be much more devastating, potentially dropping oil from the skies quite a ways inland.

I don't know, I'm no climatoligist, but I am guessing that you don't have to worry too much about an 'oil rain,' since oil doesn't evaporate at the same rate as water. However, that said, there hasn't been an oil spill of this magnitude in such a hurricaine-prone area before, afaik. But it does seem to me that the oil would be left behind in the water, much like salt gets left behind as seawater evaporates.

I think the thing to be worried about is the spread of the slick, all the way up to NC, if Perelandra's map is accurate.

Yeah, that's my concern -- the oil slick residing just 100 miles away and a hurricane or tropical storm whipping it up and dumping it all over the place.

But I'm less optimistic than you regarding the idea of the oil being left behind like sand. Oil is lighter than water, and I would think that particulates could easily be cast upwards along with the water -- think funnel clouds and tornadoes surrounding typical hurricanes -- and it just sounds like a recipe for disaster far beyond the beaches and estuaries.

[Simulist]

Halliburton & BP -- Is it time for the Corporate Death Penalty?

by Thom Hartmann

President Barack Obama pretty much stated the obvious when he called the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico "a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." The oil well pouring a river of crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have the normal type of remote-control shut-off switch used in Norway and the UK as last-resort protection against underwater spills, largely because the oil companies themselves are responsible for "voluntary" compliance with safety and environmental standards.

It was in 1994, two years into the Clinton administration, when this practice of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse was legalized, about the same time George W. Bush was doing the same thing in Texas, a program pushed hard in the previous administration by Dan Quayle's so-called "competitiveness council" charged with deregulating industry. The accident has led to one of the largest ever oil spills in U.S. water and the loss of 11 lives. Voluntary safety for oil wells, but you and I can get stopped by the police if we don't fasten our safety belts? Eleven people have died because Halliburton and BP wanted to save money.

In the first hundred years of this republic it was commonplace for rogue corporations to get the corporate death penalty -- being shut down, dissolved, and having their assets sold off. Through the 19th century, it averaged around 2000 companies a year that got the axe. If the Supreme Court now says that corporations are people -- and they did -- then these corporations should be eligible for the corporate death penalty. Time to break up and sell off the pieces of Halliburton and British Petroleum.

LINK

[ninakat]

Well, BP is now saying the following, FWIW:

'We've significantly cut the flow' of oil from damaged rig
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/bp_offi ... antly.html

That didn't last long. And the link above has an update as well, now entitled "Update: BP refutes executive who said company 'cut the flow' of oil from damaged rig". Sheesh.

BP says U.S. Gulf leak flow rate unchanged

HOUSTON, May 3 (Reuters) - The flow rate of the oil leak in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remains unchanged, a BP spokesman said on Monday.

Spokesman David Nicholas said the rate was unchanged in response to an inquiry about another BP official, Jeff Childs, saying in an interview with an Alabama television station that the flow rate had been "significantly" cut.

"Our observations indicate no change at all, the flowrate is unchanged," Nicholas said.

[JD]

This is a stupidly bad outcome. Truly unbelievable this could happen. Everyone I know is a bit baffled as per why the well is blowing out.

Deep down in each well there presumably is something called a Downhole Blow Out Preventor or Downhole BOP in jargon speak. This critical bit of gear is missing on the diagram previously posted. Its purpose is to automatically close if there is an issue above it. As they are deep in each well they should be unaffected in their function by the platform burning and sinking on top of the wellheads.

I suspect as there are multiple wells and for whatever reason one well's downhole BOP failed and it alone could be the culprit. There are individual Gulf of Mexico wells which could flow at the types of rates being reported.

I've got a not into a friend who is an experienced offshore drilling engineer in the Gulf and around the world; he's worked for BP in the Gulf and currently at XOM working on the Sakhalin Island project in East Russia. He'll know a bunch about what happened and is happening beyond what gets in he media and I'll let folks here know. His opinion of BP was very negative; he thought they were a bunch of clowns who didn't know what the heck they were doing so didn't hang around there very long. So not a big surprise who this happened to. Sure seems that BP is the company most likely to have a huge problem when it comes to oil companies. This is the latest in a series of fiascos, including the Gulf refinery explosion which was apparently gross negligiance. There must be systemic issues with BP. No conspiracy needs to be speculated upon they are simply a poor operator which is the 99.9% probable answer.

I hope this shuts down offshore arctic drilling for another generation or two. If there was ever an offshore oil blowout in the arctic it'd make the environmental damage from this blowout look mild. There is some hope of containing much of this oil, warm water biological activities will break down much of the oil quickly, and chemical dispersants (fancy word for SOAP) will work effectively in the warm water. In the arctic if there is an offshore oil blowout there is NO TECHNOLOGY to address the resulting marine oil spill in containment or cleanup. And honestly I can't ever see the technology being developed either. Best just to leave it all alone. Folks, don't forget this and vigorously oppose any talk of offshore arctic oil development when you hear of it. On land in the arctic things can probably be managed but not offshore.

[wintler2]

Thanks JD. TheOilDrum has gone encyclopedic on this, more tech than i can soak up. Comments i think suggest a BOP was in place, but its hydraulics were damaged. Apparently the blowout preventer is likely to have been underrated for the pressures it was working under..

In 2004, a study commissioned by the MMS raised significant questions about the ability of rams to cut through the stronger pipes used in deep-water drilling. Those thicker pipes—as well as the shear rams—must withstand the enormous pressures found at 5,000 feet below sea level. The study noted there was no agreement on how to determine if the sheer rams would work properly in deep-water conditions.

Only three of 14 newly build rigs had blowout preventers that were able to squeeze off and cut the pipe at the water pressure likely to be experienced at the equipment's maximum water depth, the study noted.

"This grim snapshot illustrates the lack of preparedness in the industry to shear and seal a well with the last line of defense against a blowout," the study said.
WSJ

Deep water, heavy oil, welcome to the decline side. I share JDs wish that this will stall arctic drilling and extraction, but in the same way i wish for global peace.

[Hugo Farnsworth]

This is a stupidly bad outcome. Truly unbelievable this could happen. Everyone I know is a bit baffled as per why the well is blowing out.

Deep down in each well there presumably is something called a Downhole Blow Out Preventor or Downhole BOP in jargon speak. This critical bit of gear is missing on the diagram previously posted. Its purpose is to automatically close if there is an issue above it. As they are deep in each well they should be unaffected in their function by the platform burning and sinking on top of the wellheads...

A DHSV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhole_safety_valve) is not installed until the well is in production. The Macondo well was a discovery and in the process of being readied for production by a completion rig. It is my opinion that the casing was run in too fast, broke down the formation, and the lost drilling fluid returns which should have been detected was masked by the cementing operation. An educated guess until something more substantial is revealed.

BP is not held in very high regard here in Houston since the refinery fiasco a few years ago.

[82_28]

Very interesting eyewitness account of a local tuna fisherman here:

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6104

A snippet:

It was pretty cool to see them literally SAIL! When we drove at night the jellyfish would glow as they passed under the boat by the thousands. The tuna bites were starting to slow down so we drove right up to the rig to try to catch bait. No bait, but we found more tuna under the floating rig. Around 10pm the entire center of the rig started rushing water downwards over all the pipes... I've never seen such an event take place. I looked at my friend who previously worked offshore, and he said that's BOP something another and the rig took a 'kick!' I thought the rig was sinking and that was their way of bilging... But nope! Methane gas began BLOWING out of the West side of it and the noise of the thrust was louder than anything I've ever herd (except for a sonic boom I herd once, and what I'm about to tell you next) My eyes began to burn and that friend I was telling you about earlier began to SCREAM, "GO, GO, GO, GO, GOOOOO!" I positioned my compass North and put the gears in WOT! At approximately 100 yds from the rig it Exploded! Puts a new meaning to explosion. We hit the deck and continued North @ WOT, Blind because the moon was at quarter crescent and I had no radar. black for unknown reasons; therefore I had no running lights either. The flood lights in the rear did work. The rig continued EXPLODING. A very large crew boat was tied to the rig as it blew and the ppl began rafting to that boat as it floated away slowly. I got on the radio to try to help and they told me to stay away for safety. The rig blew a few more explosions after that and began to burn down. Some of the rig began dripping into the water and the platform tilted in and turned RED HOT. As bad as we wanted to save ppl, it wasn't the case here. I tried going in to be a hero and my posse wasn't having it! Maybe they were right...

Blurry pictures to be seen @ link and some more text and comments and stuff

[Nordic]

We're really making WAY too big a deal over this, according to Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), the oil is just like "chocolate milk".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/0 ... 61362.html

Congressman Compares Gulf Coast Oil Spill To 'Chocolate Milk,' Says It Will 'Break Up Naturally'

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) suggested over the weekend that people shouldn't be "scared" about the Gulf Coast oil spill and in justifying his claim compared the massive slick to "chocolate milk."

I think he should prove his point by drinking a pint of it.

The man has the low-IQ but photogenic gaze of a Hollywood extra:

[82_28]

More Limbaugh:

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, has spent a lot of time talking about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico lately. First, he focused on the timing of the spill, claiming that it was maybe too convenient. He was suggesting that the spill, about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, was an inside job by environmentalists to convince President Obama to back down on plans to expand offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Now, Limbaugh claims that the oil spill is natural, even though it started when a rig leased by BP and owned by TransOcean went up in flames and sank. "The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there," he said. "It's natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is." The spill is currently pumping about 210,000 gallons of oil into the ocean every day and coastal states fear that, when the oil reaches shore, billions will have been wasted in beach restoration, and entire ecosystems will be compromised.

http://slatest.slate.com/id/2252681/?wpisrc=newsletter

[justdrew]

Very interesting eyewitness account of a local tuna fisherman here:

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6104

A snippet:

It was pretty cool to see them literally SAIL! When we drove at night the jellyfish would glow as they passed under the boat by the thousands. The tuna bites were starting to slow down so we drove right up to the rig to try to catch bait. No bait, but we found more tuna under the floating rig.

Blurry pictures to be seen @ link and some more text and comments and stuff

so fishing boats can go up to and under these rigs anytime they want to.

gee, that's secure and safe. good thing no one would want to do anything bad

[82_28]

Very interesting eyewitness account of a local tuna fisherman here:

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6104

A snippet:

It was pretty cool to see them literally SAIL! When we drove at night the jellyfish would glow as they passed under the boat by the thousands. The tuna bites were starting to slow down so we drove right up to the rig to try to catch bait. No bait, but we found more tuna under the floating rig.

Blurry pictures to be seen @ link and some more text and comments and stuff

so fishing boats can go up to and under these rigs anytime they want to.

gee, that's secure and safe. good thing no one would want to do anything bad

I read somewhere the other day that the fish tend to congregate around the rigs and that it has long been a "trick" of the fishermen to go there as well. In a "simpler" world, it makes perfect sense. But if you do read this oildrum thread, it sounds as if terrorism is pretty much out of the question:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6427

(edit: As in "out of the question" of being the cause)

[brekin]

I don't think this has been posted up thread:

Halliburton May Be Culprit In Oil Rig Explosion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/3 ... 58481.html

This story has been updated

Giant oil-services provider Halliburton may be a primary suspect in the investigation into the oil rig explosion that has devastated the Gulf Coast, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Though the investigation into the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon site is still in its early stages, drilling experts agree that blame probably lies with flaws in the "cementing" process -- that is, plugging holes in the pipeline seal by pumping cement into it from the rig. Halliburton was in charge of cementing for Deepwater Horizon.

"The initial likely cause of gas coming to the surface had something to do with the cement," said Robert MacKenzie, managing director of energy and natural resources at FBR Capital Markets and a former cementing engineer in the oil industry.


The problem could have been a faulty cement plug at the bottom of the well, he said. Another possibility would be that cement between the pipe and well walls didn't harden properly and allowed gas to pass through it.

The possibility of Halliburton's culpability was first reported Monday by HuffPost's Marcus Baram.

According to a lawsuit filed in federal court by Natalie Roshto, whose husband Shane, a deck floor hand, was thrown overboard by the force of the explosion and whose body has not yet been located, Halliburton is culpable for its actions prior to the incident.

The suit claims that the company "prior to the explosion, was engaged in cementing operations of the well and well cap and, upon information and belief, improperly and negligently performed these duties, which was a cause of the explosion."
Story continues below

And Congressman Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a tough letter on Friday to Halliburton, asking for an explanation of its work on the rig, according to a spokesperson for the committee.

Last year, Halliburton was also implicated for its cementing work prior to a massive blowout off the coast of Australia, where a rig caught on fire and spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons into the sea for ten weeks.

In that incident, workers apparently failed to properly pump cement into the well, according to Elmer Danenberger, former head of regulatory affairs for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, who testified to an Australian commission probing that accident.

"The problem with the cementing job was one of the root causes in the Australian blowout," Danenberger told Huffington Post, adding that the rig crew didn't pick up on indications of an influx of fluids coming back in after they cemented the casing. "The crew didn't pick up on them and didn't take action."

Halliburton declined to return a detailed request for comment from Huffington Post.

The company did issue a press release responding to reports about its work on the rig:

As one of several service providers on the rig, Halliburton can confirm the following:


-- Halliburton performed a variety of services on the rig, including cementing, and had four employees stationed on the rig at the time of the accident. Halliburton's employees returned to shore safely, due, in part, to the brave rescue efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard and other organizations.

-- Halliburton had completed the cementing of the final production casing string in accordance with the well design approximately 20 hours prior to the incident. The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications.

-- In accordance with accepted industry practice approved by our customers, tests demonstrating the integrity of the production casing string were completed.

-- At the time of the incident, well operations had not yet reached the point requiring the placement of the final cement plug which would enable the planned temporary abandonment of the well, consistent with normal oilfield practice.

-- We are assisting with planning and engineering support for a wide range of options designed to secure the well, including a potential relief well.

Halliburton continues to assist in efforts to identify the factors that may have lead up to the disaster, but it is premature and irresponsible to speculate on any specific causal issues.

Halliburton originated oilfield cementing and leads the world in effective, efficient delivery of zonal isolation and engineering for the life of the well, conducting thousands of successful well cementing jobs each year. The company views safety as critical to its success and is committed to continuously improve performance.

Here is the letter from Waxman to Halliburton: (at link)

[brekin]

-- Halliburton had completed the cementing of the final production casing string in accordance with the well design approximately 20 hours prior to the incident. The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications.

This is just wild ass conjecture, but what if Halliburton intentionally caused the oil spill? I mean it would seem to go against what I assume their goals to be but maybe they have an agenda that would allow them to profit from the obvious reluctance for more domestic off shore drilling now?

[Cordelia]

This is an interesting (though too much infomercial) NPR program, aired in September 2006, on deep water oil drilling. It addresses the 'Jack 2 Well' drilled by Chevron, 175 miles off the Louisiana coast (further offshore and deeper, I think, than the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP). FWIW

http://www.onpointradio.org/2006/09/dee ... ng-for-oil

[justdrew]

Very interesting eyewitness account of a local tuna fisherman here:

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6104

A snippet:

It was pretty cool to see them literally SAIL! When we drove at night the jellyfish would glow as they passed under the boat by the thousands. The tuna bites were starting to slow down so we drove right up to the rig to try to catch bait. No bait, but we found more tuna under the floating rig.

Blurry pictures to be seen @ link and some more text and comments and stuff

so fishing boats can go up to and under these rigs anytime they want to.

gee, that's secure and safe. good thing no one would want to do anything bad

I read somewhere the other day that the fish tend to congregate around the rigs and that it has long been a "trick" of the fishermen to go there as well. In a "simpler" world, it makes perfect sense. But if you do read this oildrum thread, it sounds as if terrorism is pretty much out of the question:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6427

(edit: As in "out of the question" of being the cause)

yeah, I'm fine with the accident, no terrorism here explanation, I'm err.... "just sayin'"
and I too have heard of fishing around the rigs being good in the past. maybe around Katrina time when so many rigs got messed up in the hurricanes that year?

realistically I'd guess just dropping some charges down underneath the rig wouldn't do much anyway, but if the theoretical terrorists had a unmanned RC sub, that could get ugly.