The Oil Spill
 

I am surprised there is nothing on the site anywhere about this yet. It has the potential to be much worse than the Valdez spill.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...oil-spill.html

Personally, I can't believe that BP is not able to cap the well. I know the well is about 1500m below the surface, but you would think that all drilling companies would have a contingency plan or a way to stop the flow in the event of an emergency. IMO, the number one thing right now is to cap the god damned well. They can't wait 3 months for this to happen, this must be a priority.

The spill is getting worse by the moment and threatens a very delicate area of the coastline, not to mention that there is a good possibility that the oil could get caught up in the gulf stream and wrap around to the Atlantic coast.

Re: The Oil Spill
 

Jings posted a thread about this a while ago - with some pictures.

BP and Transocean will have some explaining to do when they've sorted this mess out. I saw a report that suggested that this could cost BP several billion dollars, but then went on to say they made $20B in profit last year. They've got deep pockets, they can afford the clean up operation - if they get it done in a reasonable time frame.

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I agree that BP should be responsible. But this 3 month BS for capping the leak is no effing good. They need to make that a priority. the size of the ecological disaster depends on shutting off the leak.

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Yes. I don't really understand why it's such a big deal. There must be a few who work in the oil industry that post on here (there were a couple of diving related threads recently) - would be interesting to here their take.

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^^ Me too.

Anyone?

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The problem is that the contingency measure is the one that has failed. There is a complex valve/well control system on the wellhead on the seabed called the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) and it is this which has failed. BP are using ROVs (submarine robots) to try to manually control the BOP, but as a BP spokesman said, "It's like trying to do open heart surgery at 5,000 feet using robots."

I read that BP have now fabricated a huge steel dome which they plan to lower over the entire wellhead to contain the oil coming out of the well and pipe it to the surface in a controlled manner. It will still be a week at least before this is ready to be tried.

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BP has a 65% interest in the field with Anadarko Petroleum (APC) holding a 25% stake and Japan's Mitsui, 10%. Transocean (RIG) owned the deep-water Horizon rig,

BP had not even touched the well before this happened it was all done by Transocean (the largest ocean drilling company in the world) and had not been handed over to BP yet as completed.
All the news is blaming BP yet none seems to blame Transocean or Cameron International the makers of the failed BOP or Halliburton the company which cemented the well.
Like I said these 3 companys all worked on the failed well which had not been handed over to BP and there partners. Yet BP is the only one in the news.

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Thanks for both posts.

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I think legally BP are liable as Transocean are subcontracted by them; however they may be able to sue Transocean if it's their incompetence of malfeasance that caused it (from what I read on news sites)

Ultimately that will be decided when they've sorted this out - right now who's to blame shouldn't really be anybodies concern.

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Transocean have $500million dollar isurance on that rig and they only have $700million insurance for enviromental incidents so i dont think that will cover the costs. BP and its partners will pay for the clean up but it irritates me when all the news report thats it BP fault when there are alot more companys involved and BP are the ones being shown as the bad guys.

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I wouldn't let it bother you. BP (and of course Halliburton) are the only companies involved which the non-specialist press and the public have ever previously heard of. BP is also the one (and of course Haliburton) with the deepest pockets to take on the fix.

The lawyers will make their millions later on sorting out the details.

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BP seems to think they are responsible, at least judging by their press releases and actions. I don't doubt that there are others who will bare the brunt as well.

Also, the amount of the spill was severely underestimated which doesn't look good from a PR perspective. It gives the impression of lying or incompetence. It is almost as if the well went out of control a number of days after the explosion that sank the rig.

Re: The Oil Spill
 

I haven't wanted to talk about it because the whole thing makes me insane.

I saw doco about Alaska, 30 years after Exxon. It has not recovered. Very sad.

I'm hoping they can sort their shit out before the oil hits the coast. :fingerscrossed: because the alternative is, gah. :(

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BP might well be playing a longer game PR wise - be seen to react strongly now, but proved (they hope) not their fault later on.

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I wish they could suck some of it up. I thought they had machinery for that?
I know this is a big spill though, so perhaps it would be like pissing in the wind.

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Last report I saw were that there was 70+ vessels attempting to contain the spill. That would include 'skimmers' designed to collect oil from the surface of the water. Trouble is, the scale of this leak makes it rather like pissing in the wind.

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More here: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

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BP has said they take full responsibility and will pay for all the costs.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...oil-spill.html

BP has vowed to pay "all necessary and appropriate clean-up costs" resulting from the blown-out oil well that has caused a massive slick that continues to swell in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a fact sheet posted to the company's website on Monday, BP PLC said it accepts responsibility for the response to the Deepwater Horizon spill and "we will clean it up."

The document says that in addition to clean-up costs, the British-based multinational company will pay compensation for "legitimate and objectively verifiable" property damage, personal injury and commercial losses.

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I was sent this today. I have no idea how true it is

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Do try to keep up, AC...!!!

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Apologies. I am usually the last to find out about most things:p

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Not wanting to scare everyone, but this guy does have a rather pessimistic stance (backed up with some numbers). Admittedly he's got a very clear VI.

http://pesn.com/2010/05/02/9501643_M...Earths_oceans/

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:eek:

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I'm not saying the gulf situation isn't very serious, but pesn are a bunch of nutjobs,

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http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6424#more

(which is probably more credible than a site that promotes anti-gravity and perpetual motion;))

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Yes - they are total crack pots. But I got sent the link and thought I'd post it.

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I've been reading some of the articles on this disaster on 'rigzone', an industry website. One editorial makes interesting if chilling reading:

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=92780

...unless the drill crew never had time to press the close button. The seawater and drilling mud is roaring out of the hole and has covered the rig floor lights; the noise is so loud you cannot hear yourself scream. You are effectively blind and deaf, covered in oil-based mud...now go close the BOPs

The BOP (Blow Out Preventor) being the piece of equipment that should have closed off the well in the event of a problem. (I hasten to add I am no expert on this subject, I'm sure others such as Jings can comment better than I).

More first hand accounts of what happened that night here:

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=92823

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If the USA does stop coastal drilling in its own waters here is another possible location to where it can export its pollution .........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10100769.stm

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Love how BP words it, anyhow, legally the liability on a spill for a company is only 75 million dollars.

Some democrats want the cap raised to 10 billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0520909320100505

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About the Exxon Valdez spill? If so do you mean 20 years, only ask because it happened in 1989, so 21 years ago.

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I'm not pedantic enough for this forum. :p

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Firstly, I'm not sure that's the case - I'll bet BP end up pay up many billions of dollars for this. Oil companies typically self-insure for many costs, so there may not be insurers to fall back on.

But, if the law were capped at 75 million liability (would be interested to see if that was actually so?), why would BP be obliged to pay more? That's the whole point of setting liability limits... the law (State? Federal?) has considered the whole risk scenario, and set X as the limit that it believes oil companies will absorb before they just end up offering less for licence rights.

So, as always a balance between risk and reward, for the oil companies and the taxing States.

But I think BP has had quite enough bad press recently, after the Texas explosion and now this, that it would not be a wise decision to start trying to limit its clean up liabilities to $75 million - with 70+ boats and countless aircraft and helicopters on station, 4,000 beach crew 'volunteers' who BP are paying $10/hr, add in the costs of shutdown drilling on other wells, plus thousands of salivating American lawyers waiting to be fattened, I reckon that $75 million is about 2 hours of BP's costs.

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The dome may not work :(
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...ment-dome.html

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The dome may not work... first time.

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BP going to try a second dome, will take until the end of the week to get in place. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...pill-0510.html

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They are trying all sorts of things. The BBC are reporting some plan involving firing bits of tyre and old golf balls at the BOP to get it working. The risk being it breaks and the leak gets 10 times worse.

This story has slipped down the news recently even though this has the potential to be the biggest story for a generation.

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I saw that too. It made me think of the "chicken cannon" on whatever that CBC comedy show was.

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Metaphorically, what they need is a little Dutch boy with a big finger and the ability to hold his breath for a really long time.;) Failing that, I believe the Junk Shot is firing stuff down the pipe into the BOP to clog it up rather than at the thing.

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These will help also.

No sense leaving them on the shelf.