Gulf Oil Leaking from well head
Isn't there a thread on this yet?
"Gulf Oil Leaking from well head"
The promises made by oilmen about offshore drilling safety, and probably what Pres. Obama heard as he approved offshore drilling in the USA, is that they have "so many backup safety mechanisms in place that virtually no big leaks are even possible". The oilmen use words such as "state of the art", and "best practises" like they are gaurantees of no big spills, but as we now see, it wasn't and isn't so good after all.
Regulations are tougher in a lot of places in the world, so offshore drilling in the USA is NOT "state of the art".
And oil engineers are basically cowboys with a big brain and a good education. The so-called "blow out preventer that can never fail" turned out to have a fatal flaw that showed up in this spill in the Gulf.
What happened is that the pipe coming from the well head to the surface came loose [when the rig exploded] and that causes the weight of that pipe to seriously harm the blow out preventer. 1000s of tons of pipe above it, writhing around as the rig burns and shifts around, is a totally FORSEEABLE problem for blow out preventer.
My point is that they really do not have adequate safety mechanisms that will prevent big oil spills and leaks. They should have, and could have, done better.
For one thing, they could have had the big cowl they plan to drop over the well head now to contain the oil flow so it can be collected in place before they ever drilled into the oil.
Then it would have gotten destroyed with the rest of the rig
My point is that they really do not have adequate safety mechanisms that will prevent big oil spills and leaks.
I think they do. It is called a backup blowout preventer. But that costs to much money for corporations that can make in excess of a billion dollars profit every couple of weeks.
In the 52-page exploration plan and environmental impact analysis, BP repeatedly suggested it was unlikely, or virtually impossible, for an accident to occur that would lead to a giant crude oil spill and serious damage to beaches, fish, mammals and fisheries.
Oops!
Thank you Doug.
And here is another bit from Truthout about how BP has not been keeping up on safety documentation and related equpment inspections.
Link> http://tinyurl.com/29tefl6 "Whistleblower: BP Risks More Massive Catastrophes in Gulf"
As for my silly idea about the cowl, thanks to FM for correcting me. Perhaps there is no safe way to get oil from under 5000 feet of ocean!!
From Noah's linked-to article above:
The whistleblower, whose name has been withheld at the person's request because the whistleblower still works in the oil industry and fears retaliation, first raised concerns about safety issues related to BP Atlantis, the world's largest and...
Very few public or private sector whistleblowers have fared well in English speaking countries. And I really do believe it's due to our obsolete and uncompetitive electoral system and democracy gap that has become a canyon in general. The vicious Anglo-American empire is supposed to be above corruption and culture of entitlement, but it clearly isn't so.
The oil may be leaking at a rate of 25,000 barrels a day instead of 5,000:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/05/02-0
Someone on CBC said yesterday it's just a matter of time before a serious accident happens with an oil well off Canada's coasts, and especially so in the Arctic where colder water prevents quick breakdown of oil - and that Canada is woefully unprepared for a spill like the Exxon Valdez or like that in the Gulf.
Obama's Katrina?
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/obamas-katrina/
"If 100,000 gallons is considered a 'major spill', what are we to make of the discovery that the BP platform has been dumping 210,000 gallons per day since April 20?
Either the human race gets rid of capitalism, including its wasteful and destructive dependence on greenhouse emission fossil fuels, or the system will get rid of us.."
Warning Shots
http://www.countercurrents.org/mcpherson300410.htm
"How many do you need...?"
having no cable tv, and rarely watching the snake oil salesmen (cbc/ctv/global/etc) available with rabbit ears, i must wonder what is the msm (the pig) media saying about the mess? The stock market finally is 'loosing stream' i see, and, now that george 'who' bush aka the Youngster and the rightwing tapeworm he fronted for is almost gone/forgotten thanks to the Houseboy getting in front of them; is the reactionary message still getting put out when a collective socialist type response might serve the pig better (as they own the shorelines that are in danger)?
It could well get much worse than it is now -
A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster in the Gulf makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.
"The following is not public," reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28. "Two additional release points were found today in the tangled riser. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."
In other words:
capitalism goes or we do
Haliburton is one of the contractors involved in this. The oil slick could even wash up on the beaches of the Atlantic Coast. What happened to emergency response, and what is emergency response for something like this?
Hint: Capitalism isn't going away any time soon. Better get used to it.
capitalism goes or we do
I guess that means we go. So the trend lines suggest, anyway.
Haliburton is one of the contractors involved in this. The oil slick could even wash up on the beaches of the Atlantic Coast. What happened to emergency response, and what is emergency response for something like this?
There is an emergency response. From what I'm reading though what's happening is the one of the worst of the worst case scenarios that anyone could think of and what response that existed pales relative to what is needed. It started off bad because the extent of the leak wasn't noticed for a couple of days. Most of the initial response was dealing with trying to rescue the workers and deal with the results of the initial explosion. There was a slick from the explosion which I guess is typical but the stuff from the well head didn't make itself really known at the beginning because it's something like 5000 ft down. It popped up to the surface and everyone went woah, crap and then set about shutting it off. Problem is the shut off mechinisms that did exist were destroyed as well and any other supposed failsafes were useless with the type of damage that occured or were just generally useless relative to what happened. They thought they could get something down there to cap it but that hasn't worked. There's other solutions like drilling some sort pressure release hole but that will take several months. There's a couple of other things in the works like some sort of dome cap thingy but they actually have to build the darn thing first because I guess it doesn't actually exist. Right now the talk is that it may take at the earliest a month before they can hopefully shut off the flow.
Meanwhile the initial estimates of the amount of oil pouring out were wrong. Part of the problem in getting a handle on the amount is that since it's emerging so far down it's dispersing in tentacle like lines on the way up to the surface. They either did and or still are trying to burn some of it off but that can only be done in small contolled areas at a time. They're using some sort of dispersement chemical thing or some sort of chemical that makes the oil collect into globby balls that can be scooped up but some of the latest things I'm reading the world supply of that stuff isn't enough for what they need. There are fears that it will run out before more can be produced. There are also reports of boom containment shortages. Equipment that can suck up the oil is being shipped in from all over the place. They do have that sort of stuff there but it is no where near enough to deal with the amount of oil.
What it looks like is that what's happened is so big and so crazy that it is overwhelming any response plan that is in existence and there seems to be an element 'making things up as we go' in relation to shutting it down. The main issue which is unlike, say the Valdez spill is that there isn't a set amount of oil that has to be dealt with. Until they figure out how to shut it off or in the absolute horrifying scenario the deposit runs itself out (no one is talking seriously about that but it's still a possibility) , then any 'clean up' will be just like using bandaids and paper towels on a gaping wound over an artery.
Want to Prevent Oil Spill Disasters? Stop Driving:
http://www.alternet.org/environment/146694/want_to_prevent_oil_spill_dis...
"An ecological disaster of enormous magnitude is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico...
A submerged oil well is spewing a river of oil toward Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Birds and fish will die, wetlands and beaches will be ruined--all because we drive cars..."
The Gulf Oil Spill: An American Chernobyl
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/pers-m03.shtml
"The disaster is already the worst spill on record in the continental US. If efforts to cap what one observer described as 'an undersea oil volcano,' the flow could continue until the entire pool of oil hit by the drill rig is exhausted, making the spill the largest in history.."
Saw a report on CBC about Extreme Spill Technology and how noone was interested in NA and Europe.
http://www.spilltechnology.com/about.html
Will any lessons be learned as a consequence of this disaster?
Has Palin commented on this situation yet?
I saw a link yesterday that said Palin has yet to comment.
I do not know if you would class this as a response or comment - it is more a quip, an immediate thought than a considered response.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/palin-weighs-in-on-louis...
It would be nice if this would open some eyes as to who are the real terrorists.
All kinds of resources to built nuclear submarines, but an undersea vacuum cleaner to vacuum up a spills at source is not available it seems.
The defence department needs better risk assesment people.
The right wing believes that eco-terrorist sabotage is behind this. Because if there's nothing ecoterrorists love more than releasing thousands of cubic meters of crude oil into a threatened ecosystem. Besides, it's a much more plausible explanation than corporate malfeasance or incompetence. That's just silly talk.
the media is rightwing and will run point guard for whoever is stuck with the blame- suggesting terrorism did it would be a good idea, so they'll probably hint at the possibility the corporate culture at BP was infiltrated by 'liberal/ lefties' or martian alciaduhs, or wtf. The big issue on planet earth right now is the death grip the reactionary right has on mass media. They're thus torn between a) hiding from consequences of creating the eco-disaster-friendly atmosphere that exist worldwide at present by downplaying the gravity of the disaster, or b) the opposite 'all hands on deck' approach in effort to deal with mess (which is 100 times worse then anything in history, a Chernoble-on-the-mississippi) and enlist everthing/body in battle to save the situation.
love to watch the greasy rightwing pigs squirm. no matter how it ends up, they can go to hell.
I'm waiting for Hillary to say "No one could have forseen such an occurance".
Do you remember that halfwit in the United States a few years back, who felt that SUVs were destroying the environment? So to fight back, he and some ELF chums destroyed about 130 SUVs and set about a dozen or so of them on fire, thereby creating demand for 12 new SUVs, and also releasing about a tonne of toxic gases and other pollutants into the air?
I mean, you'd think it would be pretty obvious, but evidently not.
So you do think it was ecoterrorists in a secret luxury submarine provided by Kim Jong Il, funded by the New York Times?
Any other explanation defies logic.
No, I definitely think that a trip to the sea floor would be a sizeable barrier to even the angriest eco-terrorist. But the idea that eco-terrorists wouldn't do something that could harm the environment doesn't wash is all.
So you do think it was ecoterrorists in a secret luxury submarine provided by Kim Jong Il, funded by the New York Times?
Any other explanation defies logic.
Probably just those Taliban Teapsrtiers that planted the car bomb in New York.
Sarah Palin - "I kills more birds every year than this oil slick. Oil occurs naturally in the oceans. It's just like water. Anyway, what's the big deal? A few dirty beaches? Wear sandals. This is just the price we pay to live in a free country. Stop whining. Drill, baby, drill!"
clandestiny, "Houseboy" is a racial slur and contrary to babble policy. I have already warned you in another thread about using oppressive language: it's got to stop. Be more judicious when chosing your words. Consider this a warning.
The Journal's report doesn't come out and say this, but the environmental lawyer, Mike Papantonio, said on the Schultz show in an interview you can watch here that it was Cheney's energy task force - the secretive one that he wouldn't say much about publicly - that decided that the switches, which cost $500,000, were too much a burden on the industry.
America still getting screwed by the big Dick
Because things were sucky enough already, hurricane season officially starts on June 1:
"If you want a real disaster scenario, imagine this: a big hurricane--say Category 4 or 5, enters the Gulf and heads straight for New Orleans again, and blows out the levees again. Last time, there was a fairly toxic stew of water covering much of the city. This time it would be water mixed with millions of gallons of crude oil." http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff05032010.htmlHas Palin commented on this situation yet?
What could be keeping her? She saw an oil spill from her house once, so she should know all about it.
BP leaks more than oil - insider reveals critical safety and engineering documentation was not maintained
the whistleblower, who was hired to oversee the company's databases that housed documents related to its Atlantis project, discovered that the drilling platform had been operating without a majority of the engineer-approved documents it needed to run safely, leaving the platform vulnerable to a catastrophic disaster that would far surpass the massive oil spill that began last week following a deadly explosion on a BP-operated drilling rig.
BP's own internal communications show that company officials were made aware of the issue and feared that the document shortfalls related to Atlantis "could lead to catastrophic operator error" and must be addressed.
Future drilling in the waters of Canada's Arctic is being considered. PM Harper sounded very sure there would not be a problem like in the Gulf right now. He is merely taking the oilmen's word for it, as they did in the Gulf.
It should NOT go ahead, but it probably will. If so, drilling rigs in the Arctic should have to have a standby platform or floating dock with equipment capable of stopping leaks at the well head. This equpment is being invented right now for the Gulf leak.
Of course, if there is 10 feet of sea ice, they won't be able to get down to it. So they should have a underwater facility capable of capping a blow out.
A spill in the winter in the Arctic could leak for several months, and there is no gaurantee that it won't be a real gusher - the Gulf spill is mysteriously slow for a well with an open hole at the top of it - if it had much pressure behind it there would be a lot more oil in the water [maybe it is the depth of water on top of it?].
Spills will happen, be it 10 or 20 years between spills they will happen. When one happens in the Arctic we can only do our best to minimise it... but BOY is it going to be a mess up there - picture crude on snow. Can we stop them??
Here's part of BP record in Canada.
Canada’s Chemical Valley exposed to enforcement
I suspect a reason for the Cons' enthusiasm for drilling the Beaufort is the insane profits to be made and that is why oversight was shifted to the NEB instead of the environmental watchdogs. A NEB representative was interviewed on CBC last night and he gave the usual 'checks and balances' speech blah blah blah about safety of the environment being their number one priority. After watching that segment, I think the Beaufort is f*cked.
Get ready for bad news from the Arctic in the future.
Has Palin commented on this situation yet?
What could be keeping her? She saw an oil spill from her house once, so she should know all about it.
ms palin will be the subject on The (rightwing) Agenda, with steve pakin, tonight, TVO at 8 pm....might be interesting
Just watched CBC Newsworld cover a pastor down south asking for divine intervention to drive the oilslick south of Louisiana. Then the CBC anchor came n said 'well, they may as well ask for divine intervention, nothing else seems to be working'.
Question: if "divine intervention" actually does move the slick south, doesn't it just become someone else's problem???
From the the "trees cause acid rain" folder...
As the government deals with what may prove the worst oil disaster in the history of the country in the Gulf of Mexico, oceanographer and chemical engineer Rush Limbaugh has gone public with his theory that “enviornmental wackos” may be responsible and that pouring oil into the ocean is something that the ocean can handle naturally with intervention by the government. He also insisted that oil spills are natural and should not cause undo concern.
Question: if "divine intervention" actually does move the slick south, doesn't it just become someone else's problem???
Who cares? God blesses America, remember?
I saw that interview too and remarked to my friend - "that guy doesn't believe a word that he's saying".
I saw that interview too and remarked to my friend - "that guy doesn't believe a word that he's saying".
Exactly. The Beaufort is screwed.
Yes it does - and here it comes. It looks like the oil slick will move toward currents that will take it to Florida and the east coast.
FYi. This morning on CBC radio at 7 am, the reporter said 'BP is putting a huge devide on the leak that was caused by 'last month's explosion', and they said if it takes 2 months to cap the leak, it might be 'bigger mess then the exxon valdes' was, darn it! i immediately called 416 205 3311 ext 3 etc and left a message that they were too obviously playing down the disaster, trying to make it seem quite normal- while at same time playing up the commemorations of the liberation of Holland, with the bush thug Stevie harper front row centre! Last week, the CBC featured a Viet refugee boat person on 35 anniversary of 'the fall' of Saigon' when the Vietnamese call it the liberation of the city. The CBC calls the Afghani resistance movement the 'enemy' right out right in the open now.... likwe Orwell said, language dictates the understanding of the truth. Our tax money at work.
Obama's Katrina?
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/obamas-katrina/
"If 100,000 gallons is considered a 'major spill', what are we to make of the discovery that the BP platform has been dumping 210,000 gallons per day since April 20?
Either the human race gets rid of capitalism, including its wasteful and destructive dependence on greenhouse emission fossil fuels, or the system will get rid of us.."
Warning Shots
http://www.countercurrents.org/mcpherson300410.htm
"How many do you need...?"
Use of dispersants is the main method currently being used to "clean up" the most recent oil spill.
"There's research out there that shows that dispersed oil is more toxic than the oil itself, and then there are studies that say it's the same," she said. "The big questions are what are the long-term or delayed effects, and how will the different routes of oil exposure due to dispersant use affect exposed organisms?"
Are there effective alternatives that will not contribute further to the destruction of species upon the earth - including the human species? Of course.
The Coverup: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmental Disaster
http://blogsplosion.com/entry.php?w=margamit&e_10=466085
"We have been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum which pumped $71,000.00 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign--more than John McCain, Hilary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a mega-disaster.."
British Petroleum's Oil Spill is Latest Crime in a Criminal History
http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2/15369342221?page=NewsArticle&id=13985&n...
"Far from being a 'good corporate citizen' BP is a corporation that has made its huge profits through a history of crimes around the globe..."
Are there effective alternatives that will not contribute further to the destruction of species upon the earth - including the human species? Of course.
As there are environmentally-friendly alternative methods of powering the world there are environmentally friendly and technologically advanced methods of dealing with the most devastating consequence of using a toxic and primitive power source such as crude oil.
I will highlight some of these environmentally friendly products created by humanity that should be used to protect all lifeforms upon the earth from poisons unleashed by the most destructive life-form - the human.
http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/tag/aeroclay/
"...An ultra-lightweight sponge made of clay and a bit of high-grade plastic draws oil out of contaminated water but leaves the water behind.
...The aerorgel can be made in granular form, in sheets or in blocks of almost any shape and is effective in fresh and saltwater or on a surface. Because absorption is a physical phenomenon, there is no chemical reaction between the material and oil. If the oil is otherwise not contaminated, it can be used.
Oil spill experts on both coasts say that the ability to squeeze out and conserve the oil is an advantage over other products currently available."
First, I'm sorry about the slur....it's just nobody seems to notice that Obama's main effect thus far has been to buy bush etc time to disappear. And, while i love seeing the rightwing punks get hoisted on their petard etc regards the Gulf (unlike Katrina, which destroyed City of NewO, enriching the racist rightwing in the process!) the horrific effect of spill upon the innocent peoples- even given that lotsa them vote for the RW Defectives- and the wildlife ...i recall leaving on chem tanker from Mobile Ala. 25 years ago and being surprised at the several days enroute to shipping lane south when never saw a goddam ship or light once outta sight of land! It seem there be mucho traffic in the gulf, but like most of the time, the 'Halco Transport' was totally alone for 16 days til Brazil. The pig wishes the spill took place further away from US shore, and on radio I hear their liars saying 'oil floats, so it isn't that bad' so far etc (the oil leak is almost a mile down, and the sea weighs so much most spillage stay down and outta sight- a fact the pig is toasting with expensive champagne as we speak) Obama could turn on the reactionary right, and probably should for his career/family name, sake, but notice how hard he's working for mr pig? No terrorist attack in history, not even 911 (let's say it was really a hit on the WTC and not inside job that it actually is) could strike a nation as catastrophically as this...Chernoble was fender bender in comparison. They'll (the pigs) eventually be forced to use nukes to try stop the gusher, and ...well mr pig is truly hoisted on his idiotic spear....and it couldn't happen to a more evil demon then the oilers of western capitalism ('happy capitalism' is the greeting of lew skezis(?) on AM 640- who blames the government for mess for not enforcing enviro/safety rules!) iow, hypocrisy is just another TOOL for the RW!
Wrecking the Gulf
http://www.counterpunch.org/farago05112010.html
"Deepwater Horizon represents the first instant largescale defeat in the era of climate change hopelessness. Capitulations to come will bring far deeper misery and chaos; a real-time slaughter of the lambs..Filaments of the (Gulf) Loop Current are within tens of kilometres of the oil spill..The Everglades is a test. If we pass we may get to keep the planet.."
Before anyone begins to feel warm and fuzzy because the spill is in the Gulf of Mexico ....
Chevron Canada begins drilling deepest offshore wellhttp://www.worldoil.com/Chevron_Canada_begins_drilling_deepest_offshore_well.html?LS=EMS393712
fron World Oil:
"The exploratory well in the North Atlantic, a prospect known as Lona 0-55,
is set to establish a new record in Canada with water depth at 2,600 meters,
Chevron said. The Stena Carron drill ship is sinking the well.
This is one kilometer deeper than the well that was being drilled by the Deepwater Horizon
rig before it ruptured, gushing an estimated 210,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico each day."
But don't worry, be happy ... the current will take any spills north and bother them pasky Danes in Greenland.
I find it hard to comprehend that an immediate moratorium of all deep see drilling isn't being implemented but then that would require someone to actually care about poisoning eco-systems and fucking with millions of peoples lives.
Do You Really Think BP is Trying to Save the Gulf Environment? Or that the Oil Volcano is Only 5,000 Barrels A Day? (and vid)
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Do-You-Really-Think-BP-is-by-Rob-Kall-1...
"The 5,000 barrels a day CNN and other news organizations are using as the flow rate is the lowest of the low estimates. Others say it could be 25,000 barrels OR OVER A MILLION GALLONS A DAY..."
Sorry if this has been posted allready, but here is the link to the Al Jazeera article "Oil spill blamed on safety lapses"
Quotes:
there were at least "four significant problems with the blowout preventer".Modifications done: "one of the preventer's ram drivers had been changed so it could be used for routine testing and was no longer designed to activate in an emergency.
"a large leak coming from a loose fitting",
a key safety system ... had a hydraulic leak and a failed battery that probably prevented it from working as the final safeguard
the documents also indicated conflicting pipe pressure tests should have warned those on the rig that poor pipe integrity may have been allowing explosive methane gas to leak into the well.
"Significant pressure discrepancies were observed in at least two of these tests, which were conducted just hours before the explosion,"
it appeared clear that there were problems with the blowout preventer before the accident and confusion almost right up to the time of the explosion over the success of a process in which cement is injected into the well to temporarily close it in anticipation of future production.
---------------
That paints a picture of wrecklessness on the part of BP and the operators. This was from that hearing where the three companies' CEOs all blamed each other... meaning none of them are "responsible"? Not responsible enough to drill in the Arctic, I say, but that is just a play on words. The reality is much uglier. Reducing the amount of oil we use would go a long way to reducing these catastrophic "hydrocarbon horrors" - WHERE IS MY ELECTRIC CAR??
The video BP released is evidence - though they don't admit it - of the spill being much worse than 5,000 barrels per day.
Steven Wereley, an associate professor at Purdue University, analyzed videotape of the sea-floor gusher using a technique called particle image velocimetry.
A computer program simply tracks particles, and calculates how fast they are moving. Wereley put the BP video of the gusher into his computer. He made a few simple calculations and came up with an astonishing value for the rate of the oil spill: 70,000 barrels a day — much higher than the official estimate of 5,000 barrels a day.
The method is accurate to a degree of plus or minus 20 percent.
BP's CEO reassures us that the spill is very small compared to the whole ocean
That's the limit! Time to outfit this guy with concrete shoes and a toolbox, tell him to fix it, and shove him overboard at the appropriate location.
Time to boycott BP. Seriously.
BP Accused of Using Gulf of Mexico as 'Toxic Testing Ground'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/05/15-6
"Louisiana officials have accused BP of turning the Gulf of Mexico into a toxic testing-ground after winning permission for experimental chemcial methods of fighting the oil slick. 'We don't have any data or evidence behind the use of these chemicals in the water. We're now basically using one of the richest ecosystems in the world as a laboratory,' complained Alan Levine, the head of Louisiana's Dept of Health and Hospitals.."
mygod, why don't they send in the cops? The rightwing curse humanity has always suffered under is getting very dreary....where are the goddam law and order crowd when their country is getting intoxicated? Guzzling tea, mayhaps?
Gulf Oil Leak Could Gush For Years
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100513-science-environme...
"We don't have any idea how to stop this," expert says"
The video BP released is evidence - though they don't admit it - of the spill being much worse than 5,000 barrels per day.
Steven Wereley, an associate professor at Purdue University, analyzed videotape of the sea-floor gusher using a technique called particle image velocimetry.
A computer program simply tracks particles, and calculates how fast they are moving. Wereley put the BP video of the gusher into his computer. He made a few simple calculations and came up with an astonishing value for the rate of the oil spill: 70,000 barrels a day — much higher than the official estimate of 5,000 barrels a day.
The method is accurate to a degree of plus or minus 20 percent.
The difficulty with his analysis is that he's basing his calculations on the assumption that the oil is coming from a 21 inch pipe. A 21 inch marine riser does not equal a 21 inch drill pipe. If you adjust the calculations to reflect the fact that the drill pipe is actually 9 inches you get a much lower answer - still a significant multiple of the "official" 5,000 bbl number but a lot less than the estimate that NPR seems to have latched onto. There's also the question of what exactly is coming out of the pipe - adjusting for the fact that the actual flow consists of a mixture of oil and gas the number has to be lowered again.
It's still a horrendous mess but it does highlight the fact that you have to take the calculations offered by both sides with a serious grain of salt.
Scientists Find Vast Unreported Leak From Deepwater Horizon
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article71279...
"A plume of oil 10 miles long, three miles wide and 300 feet thick is pouring into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon oil rig..After studying footage of the gushing oil scientists on board the research vessel Pelican, which is gathering samples and information about the spill said it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day, or 3.4 million gallons a day.."
Hiding BP's Colossal Mess
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48780/
"Is it at all possible that BP is trying to hide the size of this mess by spreading it around so thinly we can never get a handle on it..?"
Well, the pig hid the fact hitler won WW2. They blamed 'iron curtain' and 'cold war' on the USSR-to deny Soviet (workers) Union a part of marshal plan post war rebuilding of europe. Indeed, they FORCED the brutalised Soviet Union to rebuild Eastern Europe by themselves, while thretening Gensec Stalin with nukes! Thankfully, enuff western scientists/diplomats etc helped USSR get nukes by early 50's.....in light of endless lies about hushtory (history, once) the opil spill disaster seems almost karmic....poor old Soviet Union, murdered in cold blood, by us
BP: Criminal Negligence
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/05/despite-knowing-it-had-damaged-bl...
"Despite knowing it had a damaged blowout preventer, BP STILL cut corners by removing the single most important safety measure.."
Looming Environmental Catastrophe: Gulf Oil Being Pulled into Loop Current
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19218
"On Sunday, researchers said computer models show oil has already entered the loop current that could carry the toxic goo towards the Keys, the third-largest barrier reef in the world.."
Liability Caps, From Oil Spills to Nuclear Meltdowns
http://www.counterpunch.org/wasserman05182010.html
"As BP destroys our priceless planet, its lawyers gear up to save the company from paying for the damage...Our economy, our planet, our bodies cannot handle more public-funded corporate suicide.."
Really, it's nothing....
Quotes by famous Right Wing Americans playing down the Gulf oil leak:
The "Its not the fault of the Oil Industry" Crowd:
Michael Brown (as in "Brownie, you're doin' a heckuva job") -
"Obama wanted the oil spill to happen in order to turn public opinion away from drilling"
Gov. Rick Perry -
“From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented," ... "therefore this spill is no reason to shut down oil drilling in the Gulf" ; "That chocolate milk looking spill starts breaking up in smaller pieces ... It is tending to break up naturally"
Tony Hayward, CEO of BP -
"What the hell did we do to deserve this?"
{Psssst, Tony - how about not complying with safety regulations, lobbying for softer, 'voluntary' safety reports as opposed to proper oversight, and a history of negligence and accidents}
Rush Limbaugh -
"... what better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants, than by blowing up a rig? I'm just noting the timing here."
{hinting that Environmentalists probably blew up the oil rig}
The "Its not a problem" Crowd:
Representative Gene Taylor (D-MS) attempted to downplay the severity of the oil leak -
"I would remind people that the oil is twenty miles from any marsh. ... That chocolate milk looking spill starts breaking up in smaller pieces ... It is tending to break up naturally."
Kenneth Arnold -
"we are not seeing these 5000 bbls per day in the Gulf because Microorganisms in the water column eat the oil and the more oil there is means it is a FEAST for these microoganisms and they multiply" {so its all good}
Rush Limbaugh -
"The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there," Limbaugh said. "It's natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is."
{Pssssttt, Rush - Arsenic, lead and mercury are also natural}
Finally, David Letterman came up with a funny:
"BP's Top 10 Excuses for the Oil Spill" -
"someone at Goldman-Sachs said it would make money".
Size of spill questioned -
"BP officials said in a May 4 briefing to members of Congress that the high end of the spill could be as much as 60,000 barrels a day"
"Scientific analysis of a video of the leak, released Wednesday [May 12] by BP, put the rate closer to 70,000 barrels a day"
Noah - The oil on the surface might be 5000 bbls a day, but there is a lot more than that coming out of the pipe. In fact, any well worth drilling in that depth of water would be over 50,000 barrels a day. Many oil wells produce 20,000 bbls per day, but that is controlled flow and this spill is just gushing out.
Quote:
"Typically, a very good well in the Gulf can produce 30,000 barrels a day, but that's under control. I have no idea what an uncontrolled release could be," said Stephen Sears, chairman of the petroleum engineering department at Louisiana State University.
The formation that was being drilled by Deepwater Horizon when it exploded and sank last week is reported to have tens of millions of barrels of oil.
Noah - Besides the flow, there is talk of bringing in the Army Corp of Engineers. And, where are the manned submersible craft? Don't the ocean scientists have those?
I think that BP does not want any outside help, as in government or military, because that would hint at NATIONALISING THE OIL INDUSTRY. Nations that have nationalised their oil industry have seen those oil profits go to government instead of to shareholders, as natural resources should be benefitting the public, eh?
Yuck.
There was one commentator on the CBC message boards which followed one of their articles who suggested that the underwater pipe be plugged with BP executives. Personally, I find the suggestion falls far short of a long term solution, what with decomposition and all.
It's another case of the private sector doing it better. They've extracted all the easy to access and most profitable oil and gas the world over. Now it's time to drill in deep and dangerous places, we can bet they'll whine to the taxpayers for even more handouts and citing the need to "research" and even for "exploration" There will be bailouts all around and taxpayers footing the bills for expensive pipelines and cleaning up their environmental disasters as usual.
Why no international boycott of BP products yet? This is ecocide.
Posted by a friend on Facebook: Seize BP: Campaign Statement and Petition
excerpt:
BP's Unmitigated Greed
This was a manufactured disaster. It was neither an "Act of God" nor Nature that caused this devastation, but rather the unmitigated greed of Big Oil's most powerful executives in their reckless search for ever-greater profits.
Under BP's CEO Tony Hayward's aggressive leadership, BP made a record $5.6 billion in pure profits just in the first three months of 2010. BP made $163 billion in profits from 2001-09. It has a long history of safety violations and slap-on-the-wrist fines.
And speaking of Facebook: Boycott BP
Environmental Activists Stage BP Boycott
Coast Guard: "These are BP's rules. These are not our rules."
Contacts in Louisiana have given me numerous, unconfirmed reports of cameras and cell phones being confiscated, scientists with monitoring equipment being turned away, and local reporters blocked from access to public lands impacted by the oil spill. But today CBS News got it on video...
And (I'm basically cribbing shamelessly from the discussion at BnR) the response from the Coast Guard:
Well isn't that nice! I guess American journalism is as healthy as ever!
Embeds in America. That's what a free media is all about.
We used to have a good laugh at the way the Haliburton crews would show up to service a well site - they would announce "the men from Halliburton are here!!" in a thick Scottish accent. They understood very well that time was money, and that they had to get in and get out as fast as possible. They never needed to be pushed.
BP bosses on the Horizon deepwater rig wanted to save a few $million by pushing "the Men from Haliburton" to hurry up and finish the concrete plug job, despite the fact that the blowout preventer was not functional. They knew it wasn't functional, there were protests from some of the crew but they were quickly shut up {i.e. - "do you want to walk home from here?"} .
BP is losing a lot of money by trying to save a few $million, but much worse than that they risked, and did cause, this huge mess, by trying to save a few $million.
Private industry does it better [making a mess of things, that is].
"An underwater camera provides a live view of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico":
http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=2
McClatchy News
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010
Low estimate of oil spill's size could save BP millions in court
....
The size of the spill has become a high stakes political controversy that's put the Obama administration and the oil company on the defensive. In congressional testimony Wednesday, an engineering professor from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said that based on videos released Tuesday he estimated that the well was spewing at 95,000 barrels of oil, or 4 million gallons a day into the gulf....
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/20/94581/low-estimate-of-oil-spills-s...
Published on Thursday, May 20, 2010 by Agence France Presse
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government Thursday ordered BP to use a less toxic dispersant on the expanding Gulf of Mexico oil slick, as fears mount over the scale of the environmental disaster off the southern coast.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave the British oil giant 24 hours to identify a new dispersant and a further 72 hours to start using it to break up the slick....
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/05/20-9
Media Ignores Goldman Sachs' Ties to Corexit Dispersant
http://www.picassodreams.com/picasso_dreams/2010/05/media-ignores-goldma...
"BP is using the %100 toxic, 54 percent effective dispersant Corexit to clean up the oil when 12 other dispersants proved more effective in EPA testing...As for Goldman Sachs, I find it interesting that they have such a large stake.."
Sick Fishermen and Oily Smells On The Gulf Coast
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-solomon/sick-fishermen-and-oily-s_b_5...
"People complained of the oily smells when the wind is blowing off the water, and listed symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds, asthma attacks, cough, nausea and vomiting. Those who had been out on the water said it was worse out there.."
Slick Operator: The BP I've Known Too Well
http://www.truthout.org/slick-operator-the-bp-ive-known-too-well59178
"the way BP caused devastation in Alaska is exactly the way BP is now sliming the entire Gulf Coast.."
the left has no future anyway, so....fukk this planet! All them greasy lil doe eyed innocents everybody cares for turn in to greedy reactionarky racists as soon as they grow up anyway....so let the spill grow- until it's utterly spent! (god will take care of the lil critters immersed in it, i betcha, and make sure their suffering is tolerable to mr pig and his piglets; meaning the cries will be drowned out by the crowds cheering over them super bowlers)
Yes, unfortunately the spill appears to be much bigger than originally estimated [suspiciously lower!!]. BP and government scientists now say this well could be spewing "somewhere between 840,000 gallons a day and 4.2 million gallons a day."
[between 20,000 bbls and 100,000 bbls].
A US government estimate on May 1st said that the flow could be as high as 4.6 million gallons (or 110,000 barrels) per day. At that spill rate, 32 million gallons of oil would enter the Gulf every week. By comparison, the entire Exxon Valdez spill was about 11 million gallons.
Potential for Canfield Oceans?
They are finding large plumes of oil beneath the surface - one plume measured 10 miles long, three miles wide, and 300 feet thick in places -and that was just one of many plumes. They are at depths of 2,300 feet, while the deepest was near the seafloor at about 4,200 feet. It is believed that the dispersants used by BP have caused the oil to be less bouyant, so some of it does not float to the surface [as untreated crude usually would].
Quotes:
[Dr. Joye] -
"While the oxygen depletion so far is not enough to kill off sea life, the possibility looms that oxygen levels could fall so low as to create large dead zones, especially at the seafloor."
Noah - What Dr. Joye is talking about is the potential for the oceans to become depleted of oxygen if enough oil is spilled into it. That scenario has been a reality in the ancient history of the oceans where they became what is known as "Canfield oceans" [named after the scientist who described this condition].
Wiki - "The Canfield ocean is a sulfidic partially oxic ocean existing between the Archean and Ediacaran periods"
Essentially, it is a thick, soupy, ocean of bubbling sulpher gasses almost devoid of oxygen. Only anerobic life exists there, such as oil eating bacteria.
Of course, it would take millions of years for the oceans to change from it's current state to an anoxic [lacking oxygen] state, but if we believe that the oceans are so huge that we could not possibly mess it up, we would be wrong. We also thought that about the great forests of the world, which are now 1/3 removed by humans. We thought that about the atmosphere, which is now burdened by an excess of human produced CO2 and has a large hole in the ozone layer over the south pole.
Resilient yes, but fragile too. Human activity can and does have disasterous effects on all the earth's systems. Hopefully we will not discover a profit potential in the earth's core [which acts to shield the planet from the sun's radiation].
If enough oil is allowed to pour out of the Horizon well, the Gulf of Mexico could become anoxic, devoid of all aerobic life. A bubbling mass of suphurous gassed perhaps?
It would become a horrid place to visit, and nothing would live there.
.
White House Covers Up Menacing Oil 'Blob'
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19267
"US Navy submarines deployed to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast have detected what amouts to a frozen oil blob from the oil geyser at the destroyed Deep Horizon off-shore oil rig south of Louisiana. The Navy Submarines have trained video cameras on the moving blob, which remains frozen at depths of 3,000-4,000 feet.
"Fema and Corps of Engineers employees are upset that the White House and the Pentagon remain tight-lipped and in coverup mode"
Oil Spill to Reach Europe, Arctic
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127353§ionid=3510203
"The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is gradually finding its way toward Europe and the Arctic.."
So why haven't BP executives, and the appropriate US government officals who allowed this disaster to take place been charged yet?
FOREVER FOULCleaning Louisiana's Sensitive Wetlands May Be Impossible, Scientists Say
WTF?
That's the last cent I ever donate to this organization!
World's Largest Environmental Group Has Ties To BP
Nature Conservancy faces potential backlash from ties with BPWhat De Leon didn't know was that the Nature Conservancy lists BP as one of its business partners. The organization also has given BP a seat on its International Leadership Council and has accepted nearly $10 million in cash and land contributions from BP and affiliated corporations over the years.
"Oh, wow," De Leon said when told of the depth of the relationship between the nonprofit she loves and the company she hates. "That's kind of disturbing."
The Conservancy, already scrambling to shield oyster beds in the region from the spill, now faces a different problem: a potential backlash as its supporters learn that the giant oil company and the world's largest environmental organization long ago forged a relationship that has lent BP an Earth-friendly image and helped the Conservancy pursue causes it holds dear.
Indeed, the crude emanating from BP's well threatens to befoul a number of such alliances that have formed between energy conglomerates and environmental non-profits. At least one conservation group acknowledges that it is reassessing its ties to the oil company, with an eye toward protecting its reputation.
"This is going to be a real test for charities such as the Nature Conservancy," said Dean Zerbe, a lawyer who investigated the Conservancy's relations with its donors when he worked for the Senate Finance Committee. "This not only stains BP but, if they don't respond properly, it also stains those who have been benefiting from their money and their support."
Some purists believe environmental organizations should keep a healthy distance from certain kinds of corporations, particularly those such as BP, whose core mission poses risks to the environment. They argue that the BP spill shows the downside to what they view as deals with the devil.
On the other side are self-described pragmatists, such as the Conservancy, who see partnering with global corporations as the best way to bring about large-scale change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/23/AR201005...
No wonder we're fucked.
"Anyone serious about doing conservation in this region must engage these companies, so they are not just part of the problem but so they can be part of the effort to restore this incredible ecosystem," Conservancy Chief Executive Mark Tercek wrote on his group's web site after criticism from a Conservancy supporter.
---------
Conservancy officials say their approach has allowed them to change company practices from within, leverage the influence of the companies and protect ecosystems that are under the companies' control. They stress that contributions from BP and other large corporations constitute only a portion of the organization's total revenue, which now exceeds a half billion dollars a year.
And the Conservancy is far from the only environmental nonprofit with ties to BP.
Conservation International has accepted $2 million in donations from BP over the years and partnered with the company on a number of projects, including one examining oil extraction methods. From 2000 to 2006, John Browne, who was then BP's chief executive, sat on the board of Conservation International.
In response to the spill, executives at the nonprofit said they plan to review the organization's relationship with the company, said Justin Ward, a Conservation International vice president.
"Reputational risk is on our minds," Ward acknowledged.
The Environmental Defense Fund, which has a policy of not accepting corporate donations, joined with BP, Shell International and other major corporations to form the Partnership for Climate Action, which promotes "market-based mechanisms" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
And about 20 energy and environmental groups, including the Conservancy, the Sierra Club and Audubon, joined with BP Wind Energy to form the American Wind and Wildlife Institute, which works to protect wildlife through "responsible" development of wind farms.
On May 1, Tercek posted a statement on the Conservancy's site, writing that it was "difficult to fathom the tragedy" that was unfolding but adding that "now is not the time for ranting." He didn't make any mention of BP.
Nate Swick, a blogger and dedicated bird watcher from Chapel Hill, chastised Tercek on the site for not adequately disclosing the Conservancy's connections to BP and not working to hold the company accountable. Swick said in an interview that he considered BP's payments to the organization to be an obvious attempt at "greenwashing" its image.
Obama Sounds 'Un-American' For Criticizing BP Over Gulf Oil Spill (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/rand-paul-obama-sounds-un_n_584...
OMG, how could it be? The US Government in bed with big oil. This is just shocking I tell you, shocking!
Obama's in bed with big oil, Palin says
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Obama+with+Palin+says/3063725/story....
Just imagine what this would be like if it happened off a Canadian coast. This oil spill will give a huge boost to the Alberta tarsands.
Oil soaks 12 miles deep into Louisiana marshes
Gulf Oil Spill: 75 Miles Of Louisiana Coastline Impacted By Oil
On Green-Bashing
Of all the wrongheaded ideas proudly trumpeted by America's right, anti-environmentalism occupies a unique position: it is at once the most devoid of a rational or moral foundation and the most dangerous. It is selfish, crass, illogical, willfully blind, a denial of the undeniable reality that humans are pillaging irreplaceable natural resources and spewing filth into the air and water and soil at unsustainable rates. Green-bashers stubbornly negate what is directly before them. There is no moral imperative underlying their belief (or lack thereof). It's about unbridled hostility at the suggestion that we must all make shared sacrifices. It's about refusing to acknowledge that the environmental movement has been right to sound the alarm. It's about laziness. And greed. And irresponsibility. And colossal shortsightedness. Green-bashing exposes the rot at the core of modern conservatism.
http://www.undispatch.com/node/9631
The Great Shame: America's Pathetic Response to the Gulf Catastrophe
Enviros Go Veal Pen 2.0 With BP's Money
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/52523
"...these groups should not be raising money from the public to act as watchdogs of the oil [or Timber] companies and then take money from the oil [or Timber] companies to rubber stamp their green washing efforts and shield them from criticism when they richly deserve it.
It's known in common parlance as a 'scam'."
BP and the Audacity of Greed
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff05242010.html
"BP is demanding that Canada lifts its tight rules for drilling in the icy Beaufort Sea portion of the Arctic Ocean..In an incredible display of arrogance, BP is claiming that a current safety requirement that undersea wells drilled during the newly ice-free summer must also include a side relief well, so as to have a preventive measure in place that could shut down a blown well, is 'too expensive' and should be eliminated'.."
BP's new slogan: screw the environment.
Blue Bayou
excerpt:
"And now we're paying the tragic consequences," said Cohen. "Our civilization has been and continues to be built on fossil energy. As a consequence of that mindless development, humans have trashed their environment."
More like a brown bayou.
Masking the Extent of the Disaster
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19325
"The worst has yet to be revealed.."
Big Oil, Big Money and Offshore Drilling
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19317
"It is important to understand why these oil giants have the power to get high risk offshore leases approved even after the April 22 leak.."
continued over here