A Disaster Of Mega Proportions Brewing In Gulf

[mikegideon]

This! My concern all along.

This talk of failsafes in earlier posts brings up a great question. Just who checks these valves to see that they are operational and how frequent? Why not install more than one inline?

The Exxon Valdez was a single layer hull design. Nobody required the double hull at that point. Why? Why do we wait until after a disaster to add safety precauctions?

SCOTUS' decision in 08 sided with Exxon. This very desicion may leave the people of the Gulf holding empty pockets also. Just ask us how well that went.

A jury decided in 1994 that Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. In 2006, a federal appeals court cut that verdict in half. In June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court set punitive damages at $507.5 million. That was divided among 35,0000 claimants!

Exxon didn't destroy the Redneck Riviera, and this probably will. Not marginalizing the Alaska spill at all, but this could be huge. REAL damages could be in the billions.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

This! My concern all along.

This talk of failsafes in earlier posts brings up a great question. Just who checks these valves to see that they are operational and how frequent? Why not install more than one inline?

Hindsight is always 20-20.

Oh! It's BP's fault. Let's sue the hell out of them!

Let's ban offshore drilling. It's dangerous!

There's something called risk in everything. You can't

anticipate everything that's going to happen. It's always

convenient to blame things on a Exxon or BP, but if

you're willing to drive your car, drink out of your plastic

container, you ought to understand this luxury comes from

somewhere and someone placed a risk to get it to you.

BP didn't intentionally cause anything to happen.

Who is to blame if some ELF sabotage caused it?

What about the risks of working in deep water? I'm sure BP

will be paying the price for this problem for a long time

and we will be paying at the pump forever. And if you

want to be taking sides with the government on this

one, we will paying at the pump much longer. Do you folks

really think BP wanted this to happen?

Accidents happen! I'm sure BP will pay dearly.

[mikegideon]

This! My concern all along.

This talk of failsafes in earlier posts brings up a great question. Just who checks these valves to see that they are operational and how frequent? Why not install more than one inline?

Hindsight is always 20-20.

Oh! It's BP's fault. Let's sue the hell out of them!

Let's ban offshore drilling. It's dangerous!

There's something called risk in everything. You can't

anticipate everything that's going to happen. It's always

convenient to blame things on a Exxon or BP, but if

you're willing to drive your car, drink out of your plastic

container, you ought to understand this luxury comes from

somewhere and someone placed a risk to get it to you.

BP didn't intentionally cause anything to happen.

Who is to blame if some ELF sabotage caused it?

What about the risks of working in deep water? I'm sure BP

will be paying the price for this problem for a long time

and we will be paying at the pump forever. And if you

want to be taking sides with the government on this

one, we will paying at the pump much longer. Do you folks

really think BP wanted this to happen?

Accidents happen! I'm sure BP will pay dearly.

If they stop offshore drilling they're crazy. If you could hold your nose and listen to Obama for two minutes. you would have heard it from the horse's mouth.

Of course BP didn't want this to happen, but they very well could have been negligent. If that proves to be the case, yes, they will get sued and lose. They would deserve it.

If I were to drive my truck through the front of your house because I was being reckless, you would sue me.

This really could have been an unpreventable accident. The failsafe could have been damaged during the accident. But, if they had sloppy or nonexistent maintenance procedures on their safety systems, then they need to pay for it.

Hindsight is 2020 doesn't cut it. They had the foresight to put the valve on top of the well. The ONLY question is why it didn't work.

It surprizes me that you think hating oil, and not appreciating where our "luxiries" come from have anything to do with it. It's all about responsible engineering, and the consequences for the lack thereof.

Maybe I was quick to jump on BP. Need to wait for the investigation. I'm upset about this. I have ties to that area.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I have friends that live on the coast, also. BP has already

responded about their responsibilities and willingness to

repair damages, which may not be enough, but they did,

anyway.

And, of course I would expect lawsuits to appear. That's the

only way some of this will get settled. On surface wells, those

valves are called blowout preventers, or something similar to

that. I don't know enough to say anything about deep drilling

but I imagine it is riddled with more unknowns and I'll bet there

are quite a few things that can go wrong other than what

happened here.

With all of the politics of offshore drilling in the last

several decades, you can rest assured the "Greenpeace,

EPA, etc" crowd will slam the door shut because of this.

That's a shame.

The amount of money invested in that project, just to get

it to flow oil is enormous and I bet heads will roll inside

BP and their contractors. The money will flow for years

before oil is recovered. It is tragic about the after effects

of a spill.

The only difference between that one and a volcano is one

involved man. Man makes mistakes and man pays.

I'm more worried about the future of oil production than

I am about the liability because the liability will be settled.

Our economy depends on that black liquid and our economy

is fragile enough.

Just so you know, I listen to every word he says, and I don't

hold my nose:D I didn't accuse him of anything.

I'm just saying new technologies always have risks.

Remember the Challenger? That bridge in Washington state,

Galloping Gerty? Stuff happens.

Peace, brother;)

Edited May 1, 2010 by 6.8 AR

[Guest KarlS]

Exxon didn't destroy the Redneck Riviera, and this probably will. Not marginalizing the Alaska spill at all, but this could be huge. REAL damages could be in the billions.

No Not taken that way and I agree. I have zero ties to the Gulf states but rather share a concern through experience. Exxon destroyed pristine wilderness and lives. This is much different and quite honestly it has the potential of becoming a mega disaster like we've never seen. How the hell do you clean oil out of deltas and bayous? How many citys could this one effect? Depending on winds that oil can run around the Gulf from Florida all the way to Mexico.

In my mind there are three factors that will determine just how bad it could be in the end.

1. How fast they stop the oil flow

2. Weather..The wind must remain calm and out of one direction as long as possible.

3. How well the administration handles this. This is BP's ballgame. They are responsible for cleanup. They have the expertise along with private spill companies. If the feds will just want to find someone to blame and get in the way then we're screwed. I will stand by and wait on this one. Somehow this part of the equation has me worried.

[mikegideon]

I have friends that live on the coast, also. BP has already

responded about their responsibilities and willingness to

repair damages, which may not be enough, but they did,

anyway.

And, of course I would expect lawsuits to appear. That's the

only way some of this will get settled. On surface wells, those

valves are called blowout preventers, or something similar to

that. I don't know enough to say anything about deep drilling

but I imagine it is riddled with more unknowns and I'll bet there

are quite a few things that can go wrong other than what

happened here.

With all of the politics of offshore drilling in the last

several decades, you can rest assured the "Greenpeace,

EPA, etc" crowd will slam the door shut because of this.

That's a shame.

The amount of money invested in that project, just to get

it to flow oil is enormous and I bet heads will roll inside

BP and their contractors. The money will flow for years

before oil is recovered. It is tragic about the after effects

of a spill.

The only difference between that one and a volcano is one

involved man. Man makes mistakes and man pays.

I'm more worried about the future of oil production than

I am about the liability because the liability will be settled.

Our economy depends on that black liquid and our economy

is fragile enough.

Just so you know, I listen to every word he says, and I don't

hold my nose:D I didn't accuse him of anything.

I'm just saying new technologies always have risks.

Remember the Challenger? That bridge in Washington state,

Galloping Gerty? Stuff happens.

Peace, brother;)

They're called blowout preventers in this case too. I'm gonna use a Rush term... The environmentalist whackos don't need to shut down oil production. With that said, the technology needs to be safe. Then, the feds need to make sure they do what's right.

I want expansion of nuclear power as well, but I wouldn't leave the safety/engineering decisions up the the bean counters at the power companies that own them. So, I want nuclear power that's overseen by the NRC.

The engineering needs to be done right with anything that carries that much risk. It needs to be overseen by engineers that aren't bound to the whims of bean counters.

[MCSCOTT]

On another note, all this flooding we're currently getting is going to eventually flow into the Mississippi and out into the gulf. How bad, if at all, will all of this affect the efforts going on down there right now? Or is all this rain mother nature's way of trying to keep that oil away from land down that way?

Kinda far fetched thought, but there sure has been more rain falling out there than I've ever seen in some of these areas.

[mikegideon]

On another note, all this flooding we're currently getting is going to eventually flow into the Mississippi and out into the gulf. How bad, if at all, will all of this affect the efforts going on down there right now? Or is all this rain mother nature's way of trying to keep that oil away from land down that way?

Kinda far fetched thought, but there sure has been more rain falling out there than I've ever seen in some of these areas.

It will only help. They have already opened some dams to increase the flow of the Mississippi to help push against the oil.

[MCSCOTT]

It will only help. They have already opened some dams to increase the flow of the Mississippi to help push against the oil.

That was what I was thinking. Good ol mother nature always has her way of cleaning up our messes, even if means creating some smaller messes like we have in this area right now.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

Kind of a side note, but ... I had no idea we had folks on TGO who knew so much about the petroleum industry. I know almost nothing about it.

It's very interesting to hear your opinions. Rock on.

Edited May 2, 2010 by oldsmobile98

[Oh Shoot]

That was what I was thinking. Good ol mother nature always has her way of cleaning up our messes, even if means creating some smaller messes like we have in this area right now.

Her best solution is to clean homo sapiens up, which is going to happen before we hit our projected 9 billion, IMNSHO.

- OS

Edited May 2, 2010 by OhShoot

[mikegideon]

Her best solution is to clean US up, which is going to happen before we hit our projected 9 billion, IMNSHO.

- OS

Look on the bright side. At least we were able to save BP from having too much government in their lives. Also IMNSHO

Guess I should back that up...

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/30/1914996/us-report-found-failure-of-offshore.html

Edited May 2, 2010 by mikegideon

[Oh Shoot]

Look on the bright side. At least we were able to save BP from having too much government in their lives. Also IMNSHO

Guess I should back that up...

U.S. report found failure of offshore rigs' blowout preventers common - KansasCity.com

By "US" I meant people, not United States.

I edited my post to make it clear.

- OS

[mikegideon]

By "US" I meant people, not United States.

I edited my post to make it clear.

- OS

I got it the first time. Reading about blowout preventers. There is a CFR spec. All the regs may actually be in place.

BTW, the valve that failed was manufactured in France. Take that anyway you want

[Oh Shoot]

I got it the first time. Reading about blowout preventers. There is a CFR spec. All the regs may actually be in place.

BTW, the valve that failed was manufactured in France. Take that anyway you want

I'm unclear about the one valve but 3 leaks; like they are all three past the failed valve? I guess the end of the main pipe that went up to the rig is broken off and is one of them?

- OS

[mikegideon]

I'm unclear about the one valve but 3 leaks; like they are all three past the failed valve? I guess the end of the main pipe that went up to the rig is broken off and is one of them?

- OS

The way I read it, the leaks are all in the tube. The BOP is actually (according to the CFR) a stack of several different valves. They have different functions depending on the state of the well. Some are there to stop blowout during drilling. Some for once the well is operational.

30 CFR 250.442 - What are the requirements for a subsea BOP stack? - Code of Federal Regulations - Title 30: Mineral Resources - vLex

[inspecting1]

I'm not the tree-hugger type, but this 210,000 gallon-a-day oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is disgusting and sad.

I'm actually more than a little shocked at the fact that these companies are not required to implement precautionary measures to prevent something like this from happening.

I know a situation like this is out of the ordinary, but they should have expected the unexpected. They sure as hell make enough money to do so.

They do have valves installed in the line so that they can shut the line down if something like this happens, but when the rig sank it damaged the line below the vavle. That is why they could not shut the line down. It is one of those things that does not happen. As they say hind sight is 20/20 there are numerous things that could have been put in place to stop something like this from happening but it was not so what are you going to do. I hate to say this but maybe this will generate some more work for my line of work.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Kind of a side note, but ... I had no idea we had folks on TGO who knew so much about the petroleum industry. I know almost nothing about it.

It's very interesting to hear your opinions. Rock on.

I don't know squat about the petroleum industry. My brother was a state geologist for oil and gas in TN. There are several producing and test wells in TN. Interesting stuff. I got to see a few of them. There are lots of safety

devices in the business, but still, stuff happens, just like

driving down the road.

[seez52]

Where's Katrina when you need her? Hurricane season is coming, boy that's gonna be a mess.

[leroy]

All:______________

Check this out:

Linked From Here

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Conspiracies Abound: North Korea Blows Up Oil Rig

From The Right Guy Show who re-posted from What Does It Mean?

US Orders Blackout Over North Korean Torpedoing Of Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

Link here:Libertarian Republican

Interesting read.

Food for thought.

Leroy

[kb4ns]

All:______________

Check this out:

Linked From Here

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Conspiracies Abound: North Korea Blows Up Oil Rig

From The Right Guy Show who re-posted from What Does It Mean?

US Orders Blackout Over North Korean Torpedoing Of Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

Link here:Libertarian Republican

Interesting read.

Food for thought.

Leroy

Well, that would better explain the "SWAT Teams" Obama sent to the Gulf...

[Guest KarlS]

I Holy Sh*@ batman!! I know these days we all look for truth in media coverage, but this would be something I'd like to see more on. We started doubting media awhile ago so an article like this is hard to hold water. But if it's true... Wow. It would explain some weird things.

[MCSCOTT]

I Holy Sh*@ batman!! I know these days we all look for truth in media coverage, but this would be something I'd like to see more on. We started doubting media awhile ago so an article like this is hard to hold water. But if it's true... Wow. It would explain some weird things.

X2 on all of that, especially on the holy ! part.

[MCSCOTT]

BTW, the valve that failed was manufactured in France. Take that anyway you want

Not sure how much that would matter, as there are very few valves made in the US anymore. There's a good possibility that this specific type of valve is only made overseas.

[Guest KarlS]

In a quick search I find nothing from any credible news source. It's all conspiricy and bloggers for the most part. I'm puzzled sometimes at complete media silence though. Don't worry, Gibsy will step up to the podium and give it too us straight.

This was the best I found and it wasn't anything more than theories.

Did North Korea sabotage Gulf oil rig, and did Obama cover it up?