oil disaster

[hig4s]

A radio comment up here stated that during the design of buildings an evacuation plan is required, in order to get people to safety similar to the Air plane industry. However they commented that the rules and regulations for a disaster of this type does not have the same safety or planning regulations. If this comment is true then it makes no sense to me.

 

I do not understand drilling but I would think they should or could possibly drill a potential relief well and cap it and in the event of a failure they can remove the cap and use this as a relief instead of waiting months for a new relief well to be drilled.

 

Obviously this may be and initial and substantial cost to the oil company but oh well, it's just the price of doing business. In the case of an accident it is very small price to pay, comparing it to the clean up cost.

 

I never lived by the water but I can not even imagine the mess and destruction this will cause people and the wild life. Very sad indeed and This should change all the present rules and regulations regarding oil drilling.

 

All the best to those that will be affected by this.

 

Brad

 

 

It takes about 100 days to drill, at about a million dollars a day, and the same for a relief well. So as long as it is not required they won't.

[Rocket]

It takes about 100 days to drill, at about a million dollars a day, and the same for a relief well. So as long as it is not required they won't.

 

If I'm correct, by Cdn Regs, the relief well is drilled at the same time. I had read something to that effect, but I'm not entirely positive about it.

[BradT]

It takes about 100 days to drill, at about a million dollars a day, and the same for a relief well. So as long as it is not required they won't.

 

I know they won't unless they had too. But If they have too, then they would do it and still make money.

 

However In the event of a disaster they will be happy they had too. It only takes one major problem to change the rules and hope they (government) learns from the these types of mistakes.

 

Brad

[M61A1MECH]

If I'm correct, by Cdn Regs, the relief well is drilled at the same time. I had read something to that effect, but I'm not entirely positive about it.

 

I have heard the same thing, I would hope that would be one of the regulations that comes out of this tragedy.

 

One additional thing that could have helped on this is the use of wet-mate electrical connectors for the valve controls. It is my understanding that this particular BOP was installed with dry-mate connectors, that is the connections are made before the BOP is submerged and they cannot be disconnected or reconnected while they are submerged.

 

The industry has wet-mate electrical connectors that can be disconnected and reconnected while submerged by ROVs. If wetmate connectors had been used, there could have been a possibilty to remove the original connectors and deploy an emergency control harness to connect into the BOP to close the valves using a power system from a workover boat.

 

Wet mate connectors have been succesfully tested at pressures upto 10,000 psi nearly 5 times the pressure at 5000 ft.

 

I also hope that the use of redundant or emergency control systems are also mandated as a part of this learning experience. Many lessons to be learned here, that should make the industry better in the coming years.

[Zfrebird4]

Hopeless. Hasn't affected gas prices in Fort Collins, CO yet.

 

JackZ

 

:thumbdown:beginning to think they are all amatures! Jz

[KB2RWW]

The bottom line for me about this mess is the long term clean up of this, there still cleaning up the Valdez mess today with no compensation to the people that wear affected "US".

It will not mater how many hoops thay have to jump thru to drill or how cheep thay can buy the valves and piping from other countries and hope that thay meet the MINIMUM requirements to use. Remember SAFTY THERD.

 

Hears one for ya, What would we do if no one was drilling there and there was an earthquake that opened up a fisher there and oil started coming out? We'd still have a mes with no one to blame.

 

At least that guy on DIRTY JOBS can retire if he did the clean up.

[MiCarl]

My question is this, If they can cut off a pipe underwater(a mile deep) using hydraulic shears, why can't they use the same equipment to pinch the pipe closed or at least slow the flow down to a trickle????? I hope to God I'm wrong about this but I really think someone is just dragging their feet!!!

 

I was wondering the same thing. Last night I watched the shearing operation and the pipe began to leak at the shears before it began to significantly pinch. I realize that if you were trying to pinch you'd use something blunt rather than a cutting edge, but I wonder if the pipe wall is so thick it cracks before it will pinch closed. That would also explain why it is leaking at the tight bend above the BOP.

 

I can't imagine why they'd be dragging their feet. Every extra hour this leaks is costing them millions.

 

OK its a round pipe, so why cant they have a deflated balloon made of heavy rubber kinda like the fire dept uses to lift cars,just long and straight. then slide it into the pipe and inflate? Maybe a temp fix but it would give time to make a perm repair! IMO

The pressure in the pipe is 15,000PSI. In a 6 inch pipe that's 424,000 pounds trying to push the balloon back out. Not a small problem to overcome I think.

[hig4s]

It only takes one major problem to change the rules and hope they (government) learns from the these types of mistakes.

 

Apparently they don't learn and/or it takes more than one. Because this exact same thing happened in 1979 on an Mexican owned oil well in the gulf, and it leaked 30,000 barrels, (over a million gallons) of oil a day for nine months until the relief wells were finished.

[BradT]

Apparently they don't learn and/or it takes more than one. .

 

Hopefully they will learn after the second time.

 

Brad

[KB2RWW]

I was told third time's a charm, lets hope it never happens.

[hig4s]

I was told third time's a charm, lets hope it never happens.

 

 

Can I get an Amen from the choir!!!

[hig4s]

Since the spill I have bypassed every BP Station and went to other stations. I can not believe people are still going to BP Stations.

 

I too am avoiding BP stations, but I have been avoiding them since their Alaska pipeline "accident" in 2006, not the one that just happened. In reality I doubt it does any good. Most stations are independent and buy gas from who ever has it, so if BP stations aren't selling BP gas, BP will just supply to other stations.

[BradT]

Since the spill I have bypassed every BP Station and went to other stations. I can not believe people are still going to BP Stations.

 

Not sure I unerstand this one. If they don't sell fuel, then it will be tough for them to make money to fight this problem. If they went bankrupt who would pay to fix this problem ?

 

I too hope they do not make the money they are used too and to watch them stuggle finacially while they foot the bill for the cleanup.

 

Brad

[Flyinfool]

Since the spill I have bypassed every BP Station and went to other stations. I can not believe people are still going to BP Stations.

 

Here in WI there are over 600 BP gas stations. Not a single one is owned by BP. They are all mom and pop independent owners trying to feed their family's. By boycotting BP stations you are only hurting the station owner. BP will not sell one drop less gas due to you boycotting the BP stations. As Hig4s said, BPs gas will just be at some other station.

 

As was explained to me by someone that works at a gas storage facility.

There is a point in the system where all of the brands come together into one giant blend. The additives that differentiate the brands are added at the time the gas is transferred from the storage tank to the delivery truck.

 

That is why boycotting the station will only hurt some local family and BP will not lose one penny in sales. You are still buying the same amount of gas and it could very well be BPs gas at that other branded station.

 

I always watch the gas prices and buy from whomever has the lowest price. I still prefer to go to BP stations because I know they are locally owned and not corporate as many other brands are.

[Guest scarylarry]

Here in WI there are over 600 BP gas stations. Not a single one is owned by BP. They are all mom and pop independent owners trying to feed their family's. By boycotting BP stations you are only hurting the station owner. BP will not sell one drop less gas due to you boycotting the BP stations. As Hig4s said, BPs gas will just be at some other station.

 

As was explained to me by someone that works at a gas storage facility.

There is a point in the system where all of the brands come together into one giant blend. The additives that differentiate the brands are added at the time the gas is transferred from the storage tank to the delivery truck.

 

That is why boycotting the station will only hurt some local family and BP will not lose one penny in sales. You are still buying the same amount of gas and it could very well be BPs gas at that other branded station.

 

I always watch the gas prices and buy from whomever has the lowest price. I still prefer to go to BP stations because I know they are locally owned and not corporate as many other brands are.

 

I agree don't hurt the mom and pop or the kid that work part time trying to make summer cash..

The kid could have been on the street, getting in trouble.

I buy my gas from American own stations and that is getting to be a trick within itself.

[hig4s]

I always watch the gas prices and buy from whomever has the lowest price.

 

I use to do that, but now I go almost exclusively to Daily/Shell stations because we generally grocery shop at Winn Dixie, the Daily station is right next to Winn Dixie, and if you have a Winn Dixie card, for every $50 you spend at the grocery you get five cents off the current price of gas. It is limited to 20 gallons per discount, and my Jeep has a 20 gallon tank. Just works out.

[dunvilsteev]

Sheeesh ... how do you expect those poor oil companies to make any money if your out there using discount cards?

[TEW47]

If you don't want to buy BP, then you dah better check who is the bulk supplier for your area. Here in Mobile BP is the only supplier for gas for at least 60 miles, so thats the only brand of gas you can buy no matter what brand station you buy it from. All I know is there are plenty of ways to get ridd of the oil in the Gulf, BUT the Goverment is saying no to them all, its BPs problem. They have some ships to suckup the oil, and a few people picking up tar balls and that IT. If they won't help,GET OUT OF THE WAY,and let us fix the problems.

 

tew47

[Guest human4m]

I don't understand why they aren't using microbes to clean up the surface oil. On top of that, the dispersant chemical is borderline straight poison... It makes no sense to me... They should stop using flaots and skimmers, break out the microbes, and it will in turn HELP the environment... It costs 1/10th of what they're doing now...

 

Oh wait... It's not profitable. My bad.

[dunvilsteev]

I can only think of one reason for the government not jumping in with both boots and sticking BP with the bill .... because they know BP ain't gonna have the do-re-mi to do this, and I don't think it is "doable". I already heard rumours today if BP goes under, so will Britain's stock market. There's bigger things afoot than just ruining the Gulf! And I think BP and Obama were BOTH hip to it from the get go!! IMO

[hig4s]

I don't understand why they aren't using microbes to clean up the surface oil. On top of that, the dispersant chemical is borderline straight poison... It makes no sense to me... They should stop using flaots and skimmers, break out the microbes, and it will in turn HELP the environment... It costs 1/10th of what they're doing now...

 

Oh wait... It's not profitable. My bad.

 

 

I've been wondering that too. Off the coast of Santa Barbara there is a crack in the ocean floor that leaks about 20 tons of oil a day and has for the last several hundred thousand years. The naturally occurring microbes there take care of the majority of it, why wouldn't it work in the gulf???? I also wonder why they haven't come up with some way of collecting that oil?

[Guest Swifty]

I work in the industry. This is a disaster. I HATE it happened more than anyone. I am very sadden by the loss the folks that died and thier families. They may never get closure cause in reality they may never find the bodies of the missing.

I am hoping the damage from the spill will be light as possible to the enviroment.

No one in this industry wants to disaster like this to happen. We do all we can to prevent it. Our companies spend millions and millions of dollars in spill prevention and pays big money also for contengency crews to stand-by in event this does happen. That is where all these oil booms came from and were on site immediately. Money is no object to prevent this from happening. The oil companies empoyees all have kids and do not want to ruin the enviroment for future generations, although that is not what most think.

It is seems they had equipment that is tested regularly fail. This equipment failure caused all this to happen. It is not like you can swim down 5000 feet to fix it. You might as well be working on the Moon. It is going to take a while to get a handle on this leak. You would not believe the safety proceedures in place daily on one of these operations. Sometimes it takes 3-4 hours to do all the safety processes before you can start work. This is a dangerous industry.

The press is spewing a lot of mistruth about the situation. They find the worst sistuations they can and report on it. I wish they would at least stop verify and report the facts and stop the stipulation.

The weather last week and weekend did not help things at all. With the winds and seas we had, the sheens were rolling over the oil booms making them useless. The seas were washing the entire booms up on the beach along with the oil.

Now that the goverment is on sean...now there is more kaos than you can imagine. Different departments of the goverment barking orders that contradict what the first one said. BP is trying to please the goverment agencies but doing everything possible to contain and clean this up. Most of the goverment agencies on site do not know BEANS about oil spills or clean up operations. Most of them are hindering the operation more than they are helping due to thier ignorance. BP is responsible and trying to take care of it. If the goverment would help instead of trying to run the show...I think all would go a lot quicker and smoother. 1 outfit needs to be incharge and direct the entire operations.

Lots will be impacted by this...fishermen with possilble decrease catches and lost revenue, tourism dollars, wild life of all kinds, plants, and of course we can expect more regulations from Uncle Sam, some probably worth wild and some sinceless I am sure.

One more thing...oil companes do not set prices on oil or gasoline. It is traded on the market and the market sets the prices. Just like PVC, and copper for example. The markets react to incidents like spills or WAR in the middle east. If it is not profitable to produce they will not bother spend all that money to drill or produce the oil. Why would you sell your Venture for $5000 if the market was bringing $10000 for it?

...uhhhh because it's a 2nd gen?

[dunvilsteev]

I'm hooked on this nightly Anderson Cooper recap on whats going on. Poor people down there seem to be coming up against red tape now. You can see and hear their frustration!

[FuzzyRSTD]

That's my opinion!

 

Ya, me too ... Yet so dog gone stupid. And shame on the rest of them that do not have a way of shuting it off. Shame on our leaders for allowing this to happen. They should not be allowed to drill with out ways of shutting down. I heard just the other day, that the other major oil companys do not have adequate ways of rendering this. I also saw where some old country gentelman invented a way of cleaning some of the stuff from a top the water with a drag he had made from PC pipe and some kinda cloth material. They where putting it in to mass production ASAP.

[Trader]

I saw where a "good ol boy" did a demo using straw and hay to clean it up. The oil stuck to the floating bio-mass then they just have to scoop up the oil/hay and take it for processing...either reclaiming the oil or perhaps burn it as fuel.

 

It worked in the demo...hardly any oil left over.

 

Labour intensive, heavy work to scoop up the goop....but effective!