[VIDEO] ~ "Exxon Valdez Pales In Comparison To Gulf Oil Spill!" Size of spill x5!

[Reason]

YouTube - Louisiana Declares State of Emergency as Oil Spill Nears Shore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZdQVDw1dgE)

[LibForestPaul]

Yeah, my tax dollars paying oil execs!!!

[CountryboyRonPaul]

White House: Oil spill could affect drilling plan

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/29/1167898/white-house-spill-could-have-impact.html

[dannno]

Wow that's a cool orange boom or whatever.

[Anti Federalist]

Exxon Valdez Pales In Comparison To Gulf Oil Spill!" Size of spill x5!

Deepwater Horizon blew out on 20 April. Today is 29 April. That's nine days.

Assuming the worst case of leakage, 210000 gallons a day, that comes to just 1.9 million.

Exxon Valdez lost 11 million gallons.

11 million > 2 million.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Will take months....

The 2010 Hurricane Season in the Atlantic Ocean will begin on June 1, 2010, and end on November 30, 2010. Atlantic hurricanes affect the eastern and Gulf coasts of the U.S. and the Caribbean nations. Those with interests in hurricane-prone areas must heed federal and state advice on preparedness, the season in general, and each specific storm in the season.

April 7th, 2010: Colorado State University forecasters predict an "above-average" hurricane season

YouTube - BLACK RAIN-Ozzy Osbourne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyHmivh67os)

-t

[BenIsForRon]

So is the coast guard going to set it on fire or not? You would think time is of the essence here.

[Reason]

Updated OP with this video.

YouTube - Louisiana Declares State of Emergency as Oil Spill Nears Shore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZdQVDw1dgE)

[idirtify]

Wow, this is really bad. Has anyone heard anything about the cause of the explosion/fire on the rig? Without any information whatsoever, and considering the political climate over domestic drilling, one can’t help but suspect eco-terrorism. Not that I want to start a rumor or anything.

[tangent4ronpaul]

So is the coast guard going to set it on fire or not? You would think time is of the essence here.

The Coast Guard did a test burn this evening, though it's unclear why they needed to do a test. Part of the cleanup of the Valdez disster was burning and Oil slick igniters have been around since at least WWII. The early British ones were quite adequate at igniting slicks of crude oil, but the US took up the problem and did considerable research on it. Two devices were developed, with variations - The "CITY SLICKER" and the "PAUL REVERE", the latter could be used on land or sea, depending on igniter. They came in cylindrical, rectangular, and triangular packages, with a 100lb cluster bomb package developed for the latter that would give a reliable 150' spread (24 igniters) when dropped from 600'. Burn time varies between 1 and 7 minutes.

Here's the rub, while they will reliably ignite slicks in freezing seawater, you absolutely have to have a 1"-10" thick surface slick for them to work. As some of the oil has drifted out forming a 100 mile diameter slick, in most places we don't have that. Some of the oil is also subsurface. The other catch, is that there are a lot of oil platforms in that area, and starting a fire that will spread to below them is - well, probably not a stellar idea... Some of it can be burned off, more so if it is "herded" into pools capable of being ignited. What you don't want is a wildfire at sea.

Bacteria that digest petroleum were used to help clean up the intentional oil spill Sadam made in the Persian Gulf to slow up our invading Iraq, as well as blowing a lot of wells.

-t

[Brian4Liberty]

The safety measures were clearly inadequate. Major F-up.

[Reason]

YouTube - This Is About To Get Very Very Ugly! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtq8Oc_LvkU)

[Baptist]

Bacteria that digest petroleum were used to help clean up the intentional oil spill Sadam made in the Persian Gulf to slow up our invading Iraq, as well as blowing a lot of wells.

-t

Heh, Blowback shows up in many forms.

[CountryboyRonPaul]

I've been fishing these waters since I was a baby.

I've been trying to be optimistic as I watch this, but it looks like the worst is happening now.

There's a strong se wind flooding the marsh, the oil is getting pushed inshore, and it will completely destroy the livelihood of thousands of people on our coast.

Think Katrina was bad for our coast? This has the potential to ruin us for decades.




And I can't help the nagging feeling that this was some sort of eco-false flag in response to Obama opening up new areas for drilling a couple weeks back.

I've never seen an oil disaster on our coast, and now this right after drilling is expanded? Quite a coincidence... :mad:

[eok321]

This is going to be a huge disaster right across the gulf - going to be a month or so before they shut the leak off:o

http://dynimg.rte.ie/00033e98-380.jpg

[idirtify]

And I can't help the nagging feeling that this was some sort of eco-false flag in response to Obama opening up new areas for drilling a couple weeks back.

I've never seen an oil disaster on our coast, and now this right after drilling is expanded? Quite a coincidence... :mad:

that's what I was thinking. but I've heard nothing about the possibility of "foul play", "sabotage", "terrorism", or a "crime". That in itself seems suspicious.

[Brian4Liberty]

This is going to be a huge disaster right across the gulf - going to be a month or so before they shut the leak off:o


How long would it take to shut it off if it was on land? What about these new "slant-drilling" techniques that could eliminate the need for offshore drilling?

[idirtify]

CNN just reported about the original event. Survivors said it was at night and there were no warnings preceding the NUMEROUS explosions. Then CNN started talking about the BOPs (Blow Out Preventers), but it was unclear whether they were implying that they could have been involved in causing the explosions or only that they are to blame for not sealing the leak afterwards (or implying that they were also blown up/destroyed).

[Brian4Liberty]

CNN just reported about the original event. Survivors said it was at night and there were no warnings preceding the NUMEROUS explosions. Then CNN started talking about the BOPs (Blow Out Preventers), but it was unclear whether they were implying that they could have been involved in causing the explosions or only that they are to blame for not sealing the leak afterwards (or implying that they were also blown up/destroyed).

You would think there would be an emergency shut-off at the well-head on the sea-floor. Just an idea. I don't know anything about oil wells or drilling. :)

[Anti Federalist]

You would think there would be an emergency shut-off at the well-head on the sea-floor. Just an idea. I don't know anything about oil wells or drilling. :)

That is what the sub sea BOP is supposed to do.

It's designed like a series of huge hydraulic knives and gate valves, and the purpose is to, in an emergency, crimp and cut off any casing, drill tools or pipe that are down hole, and seal the well from the outer casing.

This device failed and that is what's causing the problem.

[constituent]

Hey, thanks oil&gas industry! You guys rock! Totally safe and everything! Technology has brought us sooooo far since the 70's.

I mean really, who enjoys going to the beach anyway?

:rolleyes:

[dannno]

CNN just reported about the original event. Survivors said it was at night and there were no warnings preceding the NUMEROUS explosions. Then CNN started talking about the BOPs (Blow Out Preventers), but it was unclear whether they were implying that they could have been involved in causing the explosions or only that they are to blame for not sealing the leak afterwards (or implying that they were also blown up/destroyed).

YouTube - Beastie Boys - Sabotage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE)

[lx43]

I hope BP will stand by its decision to pay all legitmate claims for cleaning up the oil spill/pay damages to those affected. The damages will probably be in the billions.

This is how free market enviromentialism works, hold the party responsible liable instead of having a massive govt department (EPA) involved.

[Anti Federalist]

Hey, thanks oil&gas industry! You guys rock! Totally safe and everything! Technology has brought us sooooo far since the 70's.

I mean really, who enjoys going to the beach anyway?

:rolleyes:

Blow me.

What do you do for a living, huh?

If the BOP had functioned properly there never would have been any major leakage, it never would have been a news event, and nobody would have given a shit about the dead or injured men.

It would have been a minor blip in the news.

Technology is a fallible god. It should never be trusted to always work exactly like it is supposed to. Of course, I get shouted down as a Luddite for saying that.

Planes crash, cars wreck, trains derail, mines cave in and oil rigs blow up. You can mitigate risk or minimize it, you can never eliminate it.

[sratiug]

I hope BP will stand by its decision to pay all legitmate claims for cleaning up the oil spill/pay damages to those affected. The damages will probably be in the billions.

This is how free market enviromentialism works, hold the party responsible liable instead of having a massive govt department (EPA) involved.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this be a government lease?

[Anti Federalist]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this be a government lease?

Yes it is.

[Brian4Liberty]

If the BOP had functioned properly there never would have been any major leakage, it never would have been a news event, and nobody would have given a shit about the dead or injured men.

Being on the bottom, wouldn't that be hard to "sabotage"? (Not that I think that sabotage was involved. But if that was ever proven, maximum penalty!).

[Anti Federalist]

Being on the bottom, wouldn't that be hard to "sabotage"? (Not that I think that sabotage was involved. But if that was ever proven, maximum penalty!).

I'm the first one to jump on the idea of nefarious malefactors working against the people, but in this case there's no conspiracy.

The stage of the operation they were at is tricky, under the best of circumstances.

It's certainly not the first time this has happened.

It boils down to an accident plain and simple.

[Anti Federalist]

No Worries Now


Posted by Lew Rockwell on April 30, 2010 12:35 PM

Amidst the hair-on-fire media hysteria over Mother Earth’s oil potentially touching Mother Earth’s beach, a relieved FOX anchorwoman had some good news to impart: Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano will join the multitudes of other well-paid government bigshots at the water’s edge, perhaps to play Canute.

Upon failing to order the tide to cease Cnut (Canute) said:

"Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws."

[BenIsForRon]

Planes crash, cars wreck, trains derail, mines cave in and oil rigs blow up. You can mitigate risk or minimize it, you can never eliminate it.

That's why we have cost v benefit analysis. Deep sea drilling never has enough benefit to overcome the kind of cost we're seeing today.

[constituent]

Blow me.

Go f* yourself.



What do you do for a living, huh?

What's it to you? My product won't be destroying any fisherman's living any time soon...



If the BOP had functioned properly

"But... but... but..."

Well, ain't that always the story? Seriously, cry me a river.

[constituent]

That's why we have cost v benefit analysis. Deep sea drilling never has enough benefit to overcome the kind of cost we're seeing today.

Exactly, but it pays good! Burrrrrrrrrr

[Fox McCloud]

That's why we have cost v benefit analysis. Deep sea drilling never has enough benefit to overcome the kind of cost we're seeing today.

obviously incorrect, considering the oil company took up the venture to begin with and is now offering to pay for the damages they caused: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63T2VX20100430

so clearly they knew the risk but it was small enough that the benefits outweighed the costs.

If there's a 1% chance of something happening but a billion dollars to be made if you take the risk, you're going to do it (not saying these are official numbers just using this as an analogy), and $50 million to be lost if everything goes haywire? Again, going to take it...that 1% chance is nothing.

Of course if it does go wrong, then it seems like a wasted venture...but it's not--everything involves risk and speculation in this world, everything (you could wake up, get out of bed, slip, fall, and break your neck, killing yourself). In retrospect everything is 20/20...it's a cliche, but very true.

[Anti Federalist]

What's it to you? My product won't be destroying any fisherman's living any time soon...

How do you get your product to market, ace?

Kites?

And don't talk to me about fishermen either.

I was one for 15 years. The only time the environmental fucksticks give a shit about the fishermen is when they can cry crocodile tears about a oil spill.

I'm out of that business not because of big bad oil companies but because of self righteous assholes who pressured the government to regulate us out of work.

[BenIsForRon]

obviously incorrect, considering the oil company took up the venture to begin with and is now offering to pay for the damages they caused: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63T2VX20100430

so clearly they knew the risk but it was small enough that the benefits outweighed the costs.

If there's a 1% chance of something happening but a billion dollars to be made if you take the risk, you're going to do it (not saying these are official numbers just using this as an analogy), and $50 million to be lost if everything goes haywire? Again, going to take it...that 1% chance is nothing.

Of course if it does go wrong, then it seems like a wasted venture...but it's not--everything involves risk and speculation in this world, everything (you could wake up, get out of bed, slip, fall, and break your neck, killing yourself). In retrospect everything is 20/20...it's a cliche, but very true.

I'm not talking about a cost/benefit analysis for the oil companies. I'm talking about society. BP's not going to be able to clean all this up, especially not after a significant amount of damage is done to fish populations and other wildlife. Coastal wetlands are going to be contaminated for years, if not decades.

This kind of stuff is beyond monetary value.

[awake]

I'm not talking about a cost/benefit analysis for the oil companies. I'm talking about society. BP's not going to be able to clean all this up, especially not after a significant amount of damage is done to fish populations and other wildlife. Coastal wetlands are going to be contaminated for years, if not decades.

This kind of stuff is beyond monetary value.

Thanks to an eco disaster of luck, the environmental movement has a new lease on life.

[Fox McCloud]

This kind of stuff is beyond monetary value.

Nothing is beyond monetary value; everything can be estimated and given a value.

also, society does not exist, I might add =p only individuals that have the potential (or are affected) by decisions.

[BenIsForRon]

Nothing is beyond monetary value; everything can be estimated and given a value.

also, society does not exist, I might add =p only individuals that have the potential (or are affected) by decisions.

Society a higher form of organization by individuals, it does exist.

Just because you put a number beside something doesn't mean it is worth that amount. You can't attach any meaningful monetary value to the Louisiana wetlands, as they serve an ecosystem function, not an economic function. The can't be used for residential development, and they can't be used for resource extraction. I guess in your mind that would make them worthless. No?

[Anti Federalist]

The can't be used for residential development, and they can't be used for resource extraction. I guess in your mind that would make them worthless. No?

You have any idea of the tens of thousands of oil wells that dot the Louisiana wetlands?

[BenIsForRon]

You have any idea of the tens of thousands of oil wells that dot the Louisiana wetlands?

Nope, I didn't. But I'll go ahead and tell you it should be illegal to drill there. They serve as critical habitat for wildlife and are crucial in stopping erosion and flooding throughout the gulf coast.

[Anti Federalist]

Nope, I didn't. But I'll go ahead and tell you it should be illegal to drill there. They serve as critical habitat for wildlife and are crucial in stopping erosion and flooding throughout the gulf coast.

There's been drilling all across the marshes and bayous for a 100 + years now.

Crude seeps up out of the ground and seafloor all around.

This too shall pass, with minimal impacts, the "OMFG OH NOES" hair on fire reporting notwithstanding.

[BenIsForRon]

This too shall pass, with minimal impacts,

So you're saying fish and frogs can live in an area with crude leaking into the marsh? I would think it will take many decades for those marshes to be restored.

[Reason]

YouTube - Oil Spill Expected To Reach Florida Beaches By Monday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8xJYwsJ09A)

[raiha]

My sympathies go out to all the Gulf States and the loss of livelihood and stress up ahead. Yet again!
They should get the Thai engineers over. They fixed that Australian leak years ago after trying many times. The oil leak was 8000' under the sea floor and they managed to cap it.

We all use oil and we all would whinge if we didn't get it. Costs dearly.

[MelissaWV]

Thanks to immigration hysteria, National ID is back on track.
Global warming hysteria wasn't working anymore, but now we've had a huge oil spill from an explosion whose cause has yet to be determined, and new Environmental/Energy regulations are sure to come about.
An oil rig explosion and a couple of mine incidents occurred... it's probably time to put in strict new safety guidelines for that, too.
The economy is still down, and people are mad that anyone made money (even if it was done within the loopholes and rules that have been in place for years), so stern financial reform is coming, both domestic and international.
People are sick and losing their jobs, so ObamaCare was critical to keeping Americans alive, let alone healthy.

Isn't it even the least bit premature to gripe about this particular "disaster" until it's actually done unfolding? Wouldn't it be nice to know what caused the fire in the first place, and what caused such a large discharge of oil? I'm glad for the news coverage being out there, even though I'm not watching it, so that people in affected industries can prepare as best they can for this.

AF is right, though; most people do not think about these industries until something they can use to their advantage comes along. Commercial fishermen have an incredibly dangerous job, and it's become complicated over the years to ensure you're in compliance with a growing list of regulations. Coal miners die with fairly alarming frequency all over the world. They don't just die on the job, they die years later, coughing hard enough to dislodge teeth or pop blood vessels in their eyes, having known full well it might happen to them. Most of them just accept it, because it's why the job paid so well to begin with, and had good benefits, and it was the big sacrifice they made for family to have a big advantage moving forward. People working on oil rigs face a crapload of dangers every single day, and as you saw from the fire itself, their entire workplace is pretty much a towering gamble with their lives. If you can't find a reliable way down, your other choice is to leap off the side into the sea and hope you survive AND someone saw you jump and comes to get you.

Of course, people eat fish, use coal and coal products, and definitely use oil and oil products. No one calls for the industries to end, because they know that would be catastrophic on many levels. What they do, instead, is say "well this just goes to show you shouldn't drill in the ocean, or on wetlands." If an oil spill happens inland or in the desert, damaging the fragile ecosystem there, we would hear "well this just goes to show you shouldn't drill inland, or in the desert... those dormant seeds that wait the rare rains in the desert are now coated in oil and will never bloom!"

During the building of the Alaska pipeline, there were ads on television showing dead caribou and implying they were going to die off because of the pipeline being in their way. However would they survive?! Think of the caribou!


A series of scientific papers published since 1992 consistently show that the caribou population has increased dramatically during the period of oil field development, and caribou herds regularly use ranges in the oil fields. In 1998, the journal Arctic published a paper documenting that caribou do in fact use ranges in and around the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. The paper's publication was reported in The Yukon News, a Canadian newspaper, but not in Alaskan or other U.S. media.

Another paper published in 1998, in the journal Biological Conservation, showed the size of the caribou herd that uses the oil fields has increased dramatically (from about 5,000 animals to more than 23,000) since the oil fields were first developed.

http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/1123/Alaska_oil_fields_and_caribou.html

The pipeline actually seems to be comforting (warm) and the land around it provides pretty good grazing. Since there aren't big blocky buildings or frequent vehicles, like areas near big cities, the animals (including many other species, the caribou just being the one the environmental alarmists at the time were using in their ads) are actually doing great.

So yeah, this oil spill in the Gulf sucks, but it sounds like BP never had a plan for anything of this sort, and there's still no cause, and there's still no knowing where and how the damage will be.

[LibForestPaul]

So all the crude that is now leaking up IS being contained?

If not, why not? I understand the current slick may not be manageable (too thin, too wide). But what of the area right above the busted drilling rig?

[BenIsForRon]

So yeah, this oil spill in the Gulf sucks, but it sounds like BP never had a plan for anything of this sort, and there's still no cause, and there's still no knowing where and how the damage will be.

BP didn't mean to, so it's OK?

Sorry, what we should learn here is that we should stop acting like a junkie looking for just one more fix. Drilling in more and more marginal places is just going to cause more disasters.

Oil is the energy source of the past, and we need to realize that our entire economy is built around it, and we need to reduce our need for it. Stop subsidizing Big Ag, so local food can be more competitive. Place all road maintenance costs on the gas tax, so that the people who use it most are the ones who pay the most for it. Instead of widening roads, widen sidewalks and build bike lanes.

Increasing consumption /= prospertity

[MelissaWV]

BP didn't mean to, so it's OK?...

Where on earth did you get that?

I said they did not have a plan in place for something like this, meaning that's the only blame that can be assigned so far. Is the leaking their fault, was there a weakness in the tanks that should have been detected, were the tanks manufactured in a way that they were more succeptable to busting open, did someone blow the thing up? All of those things would factor into whether or not this is even BP's fault, ultimately.

Not having a "what if our tanks fail for ANY reason... what do we do about all that oil?" plan in place, though, is pretty damned irresponsible.

By all means... let's widen the sidewalks or put bike lanes on the interstate instead of adding more lanes. Let's keep working in theories rather than dealing with what already exists.

Instead of "don't drill here," how about you suggest where someone SHOULD be drilling? Oh that's right... we should all be riding bikes in the rain/heat/snow, for hours in many cases, to get to work... and do our grocery shopping a few bags at a time rather than bring the stuff all home at once. How realistic, exactly, does that sound?

[torchbearer]

Where on earth did you get that?

I said they did not have a plan in place for something like this, meaning that's the only blame that can be assigned so far. Is the leaking their fault, was there a weakness in the tanks that should have been detected, were the tanks manufactured in a way that they were more succeptable to busting open, did someone blow the thing up? All of those things would factor into whether or not this is even BP's fault, ultimately.

Not having a "what if our tanks fail for ANY reason... what do we do about all that oil?" plan in place, though, is pretty damned irresponsible.

By all means... let's widen the sidewalks or put bike lanes on the interstate instead of adding more lanes. Let's keep working in theories rather than dealing with what already exists.

Instead of "don't drill here," how about you suggest where someone SHOULD be drilling? Oh that's right... we should all be riding bikes in the rain/heat/snow, for hours in many cases, to get to work... and do our grocery shopping a few bags at a time rather than bring the stuff all home at once. How realistic, exactly, does that sound?

how many years have we been drilling in the gulf? how many wells have been created? over all those years, how many times has this happened?
the safety teams spend their time creating ways to save crew in case of accidents.
but i don't think this was an accident.

[MelissaWV]

how many years have we been drilling in the gulf? how many wells have been created? over all those years, how many times has this happened?
the safety teams spend their time creating ways to save crew in case of accidents.
but i don't think this was an accident.

I know all of that, but you've got all those years to develop at least theories and the order in which to deploy them, and spills happening in other areas of the world to study and build off of, and knowledge of the prevailing currents and conditions in the area over various parts of the year. Most companies that deal with any chemicals are going to have an ultimate "Oh Shit." plan in place that they hope to never use. BP has basically admitted they didn't. That's kind of disappointing to me. That's all that's certain, so far.

[constituent]

Actually, I agree with Anti-Federalist's stance that "technology is a fallible god."

Drilling is no different from exploration in that regard. Sometimes what should work just doesn't.

[sratiug]

I know all of that, but you've got all those years to develop at least theories and the order in which to deploy them, and spills happening in other areas of the world to study and build off of, and knowledge of the prevailing currents and conditions in the area over various parts of the year. Most companies that deal with any chemicals are going to have an ultimate "Oh Shit." plan in place that they hope to never use. BP has basically admitted they didn't. That's kind of disappointing to me. That's all that's certain, so far.

The government leased out the land for drilling. If they didn't require enough safety measures and disaster plans it is the government's fault.

BP is of course the same outfit that brought us the Shah of Iran and the Iranian revolution, Iran/Iraq war, etc...

[Anti Federalist]

So you're saying fish and frogs can live in an area with crude leaking into the marsh? I would think it will take many decades for those marshes to be restored.

I'm saying that crude oil is a naturally occurring substance and that given time, in this case not nearly decades, the natural processes that break it down will have removed almost all vestiges of whatever was spilled.

Much more damaging are refined, finished products.

[Anti Federalist]

A better synopsis of the situation.

This is pretty accurate, trust me on this one.


Dear Outstanding Investments Reader,

http://outstandinginvestments.agorafinancial.com/2010/04/26/transocean-rig-disaster-the-well-from-hell/ (member only site - the story was quoted here: http://www.saltycajun.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9898

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. Here's another update on the disaster that befell Transocean Ltd. (RIG: NYSE) and BP (BP: NYSE) last week in the Gulf of Mexico. (Thanks to OI reader Steve, in Texas, for sending some of the photos in today’s alert.)

As you know by now, the drilling vessel Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned and sank last week, with the loss of 11 workers and injuries to many more. What happened? What's happening now? What's going to happen? I've spent the weekend working to piece things together.

An Ill-fated Discovery

According to news accounts, at about 10 p.m. CDT last Tuesday, Deepwater Horizon was stable, holding an exact position in calm, dark seas about 45 miles south of the Louisiana coastline. Water depth in the area is 5,000 feet. The vessel manifest listed 126 souls on board.

Deepwater Horizon was finishing work on an exploration well named Macondo, in an area called Mississippi Canyon Block 252. After weeks of drilling, the rig had pushed a bit down over 18,000 feet, into an oil-bearing zone. The Transocean and BP personnel were installing casing in the well. BP was going to seal things up, and then go off and figure out how to produce the oil -- another step entirely in the oil biz.

The Macondo Block 252 reservoir may hold as much as 100 million barrels. That's not as large as other recent oil strikes in the Gulf, but BP management was still pleased. Success is success -- certainly in the risky, deep-water oil environment. The front office of BP Exploration was preparing a press release to announce a "commercial" oil discovery.

This kind of exploration success was par for the course for Deepwater Horizon. A year ago, the vessel set a record at another site in the Gulf, drilling a well just over 35,000 feet and discovering the 3 billion barrel Tiber deposit for BP. So Deepwater Horizon was a great rig, with a great crew and a superb record. You might even say that is was lucky.

But perhaps some things tempt the gods. Some actions may invite ill fate. Because suddenly, the wild and wasteful ocean struck with a bolt from the deep.

The Lights Went out; and Then...

Witnesses state that the lights flickered on the Deepwater Horizon. Then a massive thud shook the vessel, followed by another strong vibration.

Transocean employee Jim Ingram, a seasoned offshore worker, told the U.K. Times that he was preparing for bed after working a 12-hour shift. "On the second [thud]," said Mr. Ingram, "we knew something was wrong."

Indeed, something was very wrong. Within a moment, a gigantic blast of gas, oil and drilling mud roared up through three miles of down-hole pipe and subsea risers. The fluids burst through the rig floor and ripped up into the gigantic draw-works. Something sparked. The hydrocarbons ignited.

In a fraction of a second, the drilling deck of the Deepwater Horizon exploded into a fireball. The scene was an utter conflagration.
Evacuate and Abandon Ship

There was almost no time to react. Emergency beacons blared. Battery-powered lighting switched on throughout the vessel. Crew members ran to evacuation stations. The order came to abandon ship.

Then from the worst of circumstances came the finest, noblest elements of human behavior. Everyone on the vessel has been through extensive safety training. They knew what to do. Most crew members climbed into covered lifeboats. Other crew members quickly winched the boats, with their shipmates, down to the water. Then those who stayed behind rapidly evacuated in other designated emergency craft.

Some of the crew, however, were trapped in odd parts of the massive vessel, which measures 396 feet by 256 feet -- a bit less than the size of two football fields laid side by side. They couldn't get to the boats. So they did what they had to do, which for some meant jumping -- and those jumpers did not fare so well. Several men broke bones due to the impact of their 80-foot drop to the sea. Still, it beat burning.

With searchlights providing illumination, as well as the eerie light from the flames of the raging fire, boat handlers pulled colleagues out of the water beneath the burning rig. In some instances, the plastic fittings on the lifeboats melted from the heat.

The flames intensified. Soon it was impossible for the lifeboats to function near the massive vessel. The small boats moved away from the raging fountain of fire fed by ancient oil and gas from far below.

The lifeboat skippers saved as many as they could find -- 115 -- but couldn't account for 11 workers who were, apparently, on or around the drill deck at the time of the first explosion. Nine of the missing are Transocean employees. Two others work for subcontractors.

Damon Bankston to the Rescue

Fate was not entirely cruel that night. Indeed, a supply boat was already en route to the Deepwater Horizon. It was the Tidewater Damon Bankston, a 260-foot long flat-deck supply vessel.

Damon Bankston heard the distress signal. Her captain did what great captains do. He aimed the bow toward the position of Deepwater Horizon. Then he tore through the water, moved along by four mighty Caterpillar engines rated at 10,200 horsepower. Soon, the Damon Bankston arrived on scene, sailed straight into the flames and joined the rescue.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard helicopters lifted off from pads in southern Louisiana, and Coast Guard rescue vessels left their moorings. "You have to go out," is the old Coast Guard saying. "You don't have to come back."

The helicopters flew in the black of night toward a vista of utter disaster. Arriving on scene, the pilots watched in awe as columns of flame shot as high as a 50-story building. The helicopters were buffeted by blasts of super-heated wind coming from the flames, while chunks of soot the size of your hand blew by.

The pilots hovered in the glow of the blazing rig, while Coast Guard medics fast-roped down to the deck of Damon Bankston ... The medics quickly assessed the casualties, strapped critically injured crewmen to backboards and hoisted them up to the helicopters. Then the pilots turned north and sped ashore to hospitals.

Uninjured survivors returned to land on the Damon Bankston. And others came out to fight the blistering flames.

But the Deepwater Horizon wasn't going to make it. The situation deteriorated, to the point of complete catastrophe. The ship was lost.

At about 10 a.m. CDT on Thursday morning, 36 hours after the first explosion, the Deepwater Horizon capsized and sank in 5,000 feet of water. According to BP, the hulk is located on the seafloor, upside-down, about 1,500 feet away from the Macondo well it drilled.

Still Spilling Oil

On Friday, I told you that the oil well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon was sealed in. The "official" word was that the well wasn't gushing oil into the sea. My sources were no less than U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, of the New Orleans district, as quoted in The New York Times.

But over the weekend, Rear Adm. Landry and The New York Times reported that the well IS leaking oil, at a rate of about 1,000 barrels per day.

The on-scene information comes from remotely operated underwater robots that BP and Transocean are using to monitor the well and survey all the other wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon. There's now a large amount of equipment and pipe and a myriad of marine debris on the seafloor near the well. It's a mess.

Apparently, the blowout preventer is not controlling the flow of oil. According to Transocean, the blowout preventer on Deepwater Horizon was manufactured by Cameron Intl. (CAM: NYSE).

What happened? We don't know that just yet. Earlier reports that underwater robots sealed the blowout preventer were wrong. It's possible that the blowout preventer is only partially closed. We'll find out, eventually. Meanwhile, BP and Transocean have announced that they will make another effort to activate the blowout preventer. They need to stop that oil.

BP is also preparing to drill one or more relief wells to secure the site permanently. BP has mobilized the drilling rig Development Driller III, which is moving into position to drill a second well to intercept the leaking well. With the new well, the drillers will inject a specialized heavy fluid into the original well. This fluid will secure and block the flow of oil or gas and allow BP to permanently seal the first well.

Riser Problems?

According to the Coast Guard and BP, oil is leaking from two spots along what is left of the riser system. Here's a schematic view:
Originally, the risers (represented by the blue line in the graphic above) were affixed to the blowout preventer on the seafloor, and extended 5,000 feet straight up to the "moon pool" of the Deepwater Horizon. When the drilling vessel sank, it took the riser piping and bent it around like a pretzel.

The remnants of the riser system now follow a circuitous underwater route. According to BP, the risers extend from the wellhead up through the water column to about 1,500 feet above the seabed. Then the riser system buckles back down toward the seafloor. (Frankly, I'm astonished that it all held together as well as it has. It's a credit to the manufacturer, which I'll discuss below.)

According to the Transocean website, the riser devices on the Deepwater Horizon were manufactured by VetcoGray, a division of General Electric Oil & Gas. The specific designation is a "HMF-Class H, 21-inch outside diameter riser; 90 foot long joints with Choke & Kill, and booster and hydraulic supply lines."

Here's a photo of something similar. These are Vetco risers sections that I saw on another vessel, the Transocean Discoverer Inspiration, when I visited that ship last month:
The different color stripes on the risers indicate differing amounts of buoyancy. The idea is to put heavy riser pipe down at the bottom, connected to more buoyant risers above. The buoyancy keeps the entire riser system in more or less neutral buoyancy, so that the drill ship doesn't have to somehow hoist up the huge weight of all that pipe.

As you can see, there's a large-diameter pipe in the middle of each riser. That pipe is then encased in a buoyant foam substance. The risers are bolted together at the flange sections. The bolts are about as big as the arm of a very strong man. The nuts, which tighten things down, are the size of paint cans.

After the risers are assembled and hanging down from the drilling vessel, the drilling personnel lower and raise drilling pipe through the large-diameter center riser pipe. All the drilling mud stays inside the drill pipe on the way down hole, and inside the riser pipe on the return.

On the side of the riser sections, you can see smaller-diameter pipes. These are choke & kill, booster and hydraulic pipe components. The pipes run parallel to the large-diameter inner pipe. These pipe systems run down to the blowout preventer on the seafloor.

The idea is to keep the drilling process an enclosed system. All the "drilling stuff" -- the drill-pipe, drilling-mud and drill-cutting returns -- stays inside the large-diameter pipe. The smaller pipes hold fluid to transmit hydraulic power and help control drilling. In particular, the pipes on the side aid in communicating with and controlling the blowout preventer.

Technical Specs

Ideally, when the risers are working as intended, nothing leaks out into the sea. Then again, you're not supposed to twist and bend the riser sections like a pretzel. So how strong is a riser system? Extremely strong, actually.

According to technical literature from GE Oil & Gas, the riser equipment is "designed for use in high-pressure, critical service and deep-water drilling and production applications." The pressure-containing components are rated for working pressures of 15,000 psi. That's the same as the Cameron blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon. The materials used in risers have exceptional tensile and bending load characteristics.

According to Vetco paperwork that I've seen, the Class H riser sections have a 3.5 million pound load-carrying capacity. That's the equivalent weight of about four fully fueled Boeing 747s. These risers are super strong.

Still, it's not just any one single piece of riser section that does it all. These sections all get bolted together, for 5,000 feet in this case. The riser sections all have to work together as a system. The whole string is only as strong as the weakest spot. And yes, even the strongest steel will break if you apply enough stress.

It all has to work together. You've got the riser sections, along with things called HMF flanged riser connectors. Then there are HMF riser joints; flex joints; telescopic joints; and, near the top, things called "fluid-bearing, nonintegral tensioner rings." Together, these all comprise the marine riser system.

In general, the riser components compensate for heave, surge, sway, offset and torque of the drilling vessel as the ship bounces around on the sea surface. The bottom line is to maintain a tight seal -- what's called "integrity" -- between the subsea blowout preventer stack and the surface during drilling operations.

Down at the bottom, at the seafloor, the risers are connected to the blowout preventer by a connector device. The GE-Vetco spec is for a device that accommodates 7 million foot-pounds of bending load capacity. That's about eight fully fueled Boeing 747s.

What's the idea? You want a secure connection between the high-pressure wellhead system and the subsea blowout preventer stack. That's where mankind's best steel meets Mother Nature's high pressures.

High pressures? You had better believe it. And in this case, Mother Nature won. So looking forward, there's going to be a lot of forensic engineering on the well design and how things got monitored during drilling. Transocean drilled the well, but BP designed it. So the key question is how did the down-hole pressures get away like they did?

What Happens Now?

its a good thing that the Deepwater Horizon didn't settle right on top of the well. At least there's room for the remotely operated vehicles to maneuver. Also, there's still a lot of riser still floating in the water column. So there's some element of integrity going down to the blowout preventer.

It's absolutely imperative to shut off that oil flow. We just have to hope and pray that the BP and Transocean people can get the blowout preventer shut off. Or that there's enough integrity to the risers somehow to get in there and control the leaks, perhaps with some sort of plug. One other idea is to lower a large "hood" over the leak and capture the oil so it can be pumped up to a storage tanker ship.

Meanwhile, the relief well has to go down -- carefully and safely. This Macondo well is history. Seal it. Mark it. Give it back to the sea. Move on. Don't tempt fate on this one.

And wow... for a relatively modest-sized deep-water discovery, this thing sure has turned into the well from hell.

Welcome to the World of Deep-water Risk

As I've said before, this accident is Mother Nature's wake-up call to everyone. Deep-water drilling is a high-stakes game. It's not exactly a "casino," in that there's a heck of a lot of settled science, engineering and technology involved.

But we're sure finding out the hard way what all the risks are. And it's becoming more and more clear how the totality of risk is a moving target. There's geologic risk, technical risk, engineering risk, environmental risk, capital risk and market risk.

With each deep well, these risks all come together over one very tiny spot at the bottom of the ocean. So for all the oil that's out there under deep water -- and it's a lot -- the long-term calculus of risk and return is difficult to quantify.

There's more to discuss, but I'll end here today. I'll update you as things evolve. This is big news all through the offshore industry. There are HUGE environmental issues, and certainly big political repercussions. I won't go there just now.

For now, I'll just send out collective best wishes to the people at Transocean, BP, the Coast Guard, Minerals Management and so many more. I'm sure they're doing their best.

Thanks for reading...

[Brian4Liberty]

A better synopsis of the situation.

This is pretty accurate, trust me on this one.

Yeah, good article.

One issue that is coming up is talk about an "acoustic switch". This is supposedly some type of automatic (redundant?) safety mechanism to clamp off the well-head, and is used in other parts of the world for water based oil rigs.


Ruptured oil well not fitted with auto-shut off device
May 1, 10:12 AM
...
As details began to unfold as to how this eco-disaster occurred, investigators have noted that the oil rig that exploded, caught fire and eventually sank, "The Deepwater Horizon", didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch that is used in two other major oil-producing nations as a last-resort protection against underwater spills.

The oil rig not being equipped with the "game changing" shut-off switch, called an acoustic switch, could magnify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling.

Currently, U.S. regulators do not mandate the use of the remote-control device on offshore rigs, and The Deepwater Horizon, hired by British Petroleum, didn't have one. In theory, with the remote control, a crewmember can attempt to trigger an underwater valve that shuts down the well even if the oil rig itself is damaged or evacuated.

When oil wells rupture and surge out of control, the primary shut-off systems almost always work. In the case of The Deepwater Horizon, the primary shut-off system failed to work. Indeed, remote control systems such as the acoustic switch, which have been tested in simulations, are intended as a last resort.

Nonetheless, Norway and Brazil, two major oil producing countries, require them. Production records indicate that Norway has had acoustic triggers on almost every offshore rig since 1993.

The U.S. did consider requiring a remote-controlled shut-off mechanism several years ago, however, drilling company executives questioned the apparatus' cost and effectiveness; according to the agency overseeing U.S. offshore drilling. The agency, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, stated that it decided the remote device wasn't needed because in their opinion, oil rigs had other back-up plans to cut off surging crude from a ruptured well.

British Petroleum reportedly is spending 6 million dollars a day to combat the oil spill that threatens so much of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastline and fisheries and wildlife. In hind sight one must question if indeed the cost of installing The Deepwater Horizon with an acoustic switch would have cost BP a considerable amount less amount of money than what they are now forced to pay in cleanup after opting not to have the device.

http://www.examiner.com/x-21743-New-Orleans-Progressive-Examiner~y2010m5d1-Ruptured-oil-well-not-fitted-with-autoshut-off-device

[The Patriot]

I have my suspicions it was the Chinese or Cubans, who have leases on oil reserves in the Gulf, and want to undermine the American Oil Industry and help cripple the American economy(particularly those of the Gulf States), can't prove it though, just a hunch. I have a hunch they are keeping something under wraps so as to not have the price of oil shot up to over 150 or 200 dollars a barrel. Here is an interesting article suggesting North Korean involvement. Take it for what it's worth, thought it was interesting.

http://www.eutimes.net/2010/05/us-orders-blackout-over-north-korean-torpedoing-of-gulf-of-mexico-oil-rig/

[Anti Federalist]

Yeah, good article.

One issue that is coming up is talk about an "acoustic switch". This is supposedly some type of automatic (redundant?) safety mechanism to clamp off the well-head, and is used in other parts of the world for water based oil rigs.

The "acoustic switch" is just a fail safe method of engaging the BOP (blow out preventer).

In this case, at least from the information I've been able to glean, the BOP failed to activate, not because the switching mechanism failed but that the unit itself failed.

The analogy is a light that fails to light, not because the wall switch didn't work or wasn't turned on, but that the bulb was burned out.

[Old Ducker]

Wow, this is really bad. Has anyone heard anything about the cause of the explosion/fire on the rig? Without any information whatsoever, and considering the political climate over domestic drilling, one can’t help but suspect eco-terrorism. Not that I want to start a rumor or anything.

It was a North Korean torpedo. :p

http://www.eutimes.net/2010/05/us-orders-blackout-over-north-korean-torpedoing-of-gulf-of-mexico-oil-rig/

[Anti Federalist]

Actually, I agree with Anti-Federalist's stance that "technology is a fallible god."

Drilling is no different from exploration in that regard. Sometimes what should work just doesn't.

Exactly.

Consider for moment the three most heavily regulated forms of transportation on the planet:


Commercial aircraft
Space craft
Nuclear powered submarines


Crashes and failures of these forms of technology, while not widespread, are certainly not unheard of.

[driller80545]

Yeah, good article.

One issue that is coming up is talk about an "acoustic switch". This is supposedly some type of automatic (redundant?) safety mechanism to clamp off the well-head, and is used in other parts of the world for water based oil rigs.

All drill rigs, whether land or sea based, have remote stations to operate the BOP. If the hydraulics have been compromised, it is irrelevant. I suspect good ol Haliburton left a little cement in the stack, preventing it from closing and sealing. Who knows? There are three or four people from the drilling crew who actually know what happened, and they are probably dead.

[Brian4Liberty]

The "acoustic switch" is just a fail safe method of engaging the BOP (blow out preventer).

In this case, at least from the information I've been able to glean, the BOP failed to activate, not because the switching mechanism failed but that the unit itself failed.



All drill rigs, whether land or sea based, have remote stations to operate the BOP. If the hydraulics have been compromised, it is irrelevant. I suspect good ol Haliburton left a little cement in the stack, preventing it from closing and sealing.

I didn't know if this "acoustic switch" was a redundant BOP or not. Sounds like there is only one mechanism (BOP) to shut off the well, whether an "acoustic switch" is there or not. Redundant and separate safety mechanisms are usually a good idea. Guess we'll see what comes out of the investigation of this failure.

[Anti Federalist]

I didn't know if this "acoustic switch" was a redundant BOP or not. Sounds like there is only one mechanism (BOP) to shut off the well, whether an "acoustic switch" is there or not. Redundant and separate safety mechanisms are usually a good idea. Guess we'll see what comes out of the investigation of this failure.

Yes that is correct, the BOP is the last line in the sand.

[Fox McCloud]

Any estimates on how long it could be before the leak is stopped and the oil is cleaned up?

Also, does this make it into the top 10 oil disasters, or is it still smaller than them?

[silverhandorder]

It sounds like the biggest one. Am I wrong?

[driller80545]

I didn't know if this "acoustic switch" was a redundant BOP or not. Sounds like there is only one mechanism (BOP) to shut off the well, whether an "acoustic switch" is there or not. Redundant and separate safety mechanisms are usually a good idea. Guess we'll see what comes out of the investigation of this failure.

There is only one BOP to shut in the well, but the BOP has several different rams to accomodate whatever pipe may be in the well at the time, plus a shear ram that will sever and seal anything that is in the bore, or if no pipe is in the bore. There are backup rams in case one fails, but they are all actuated hydraulically. If the hydraulics fail, uh oh. The bottom line is that people must actuate the BOP for it to work, and they have to be paying attention to know when to activate them. The BOP is tested rigorously after it is installed to insure that it will work. It takes a while for a well to blow out, starts slowly and ends in a rush. If no one is paying attention to the warning signals, then wells blow out. Might call it pilot error. This is the case most of the time. And I suspect it will be here too.