oil/gas.....I'm not saying don't drill..... i never said that.... I just said it sucks how it's going to ruin so much stuff.....
It's a lot easier to take in when it's a natural disaster... nobody has control over that. When millions of people are effected by another humans malfunction.... that's what sucks
I also live on the gulf coast. Horrible accident and I'm sure the effects of this will be around for years, but if you live on the gulf coast this industry is feeding our economies.
I have a feeling this is gonna be a huge setback to deep water drilling...could set the industry back 10-20 years.
Lost revenue.....the amount of tax revenue the state of La ( along with many gulf coast states) generates off these E&P ( and the mid stream and down stream) companies is not even comparable to other industries.
It's a double edged sword...
I just hope BP is doing all they can to stop the leaks.
From what I've heard it happened so fast the blow out prevneters couldnt' be activated. They were already plugging the well at the time and There may have been issues with the concrete casing not setting properly.
i agree H2O it does suck.
Think about this though. Now people will be all up in arms about why this shouldn't have happened. They will point the finger and say that we need to have better safety measures and more people making sure no rules are being broken.
These same people will then bitch about the price of gas. Double edged sword.
Off shore drilling isn't the only way to get oil, and yes i know what my boat and car run on. Off shore drilling is likely the most profitable for the oil companies, so yes, prices will likely go up, regardless of what new precautions or changes may take place.
One thing to keep in mind is that this was a contractor for BP. For whatever reason it was them that this unfortunate event was created, Not BP. Its so easy to pin the tail on BP in the media. I can tell you that BP works very hard to keep a clean image and with the enviroment in all of its operations. There are so many regulatory rules and crap they have to follow its unreal. I can tell you that up here on the North Slope Alaska they dont fool around at all or take any chances. I suspect theres going to be some more changes and inspections going on. (not there aint enough to be had up here already!)
Ive heard that theyre already possibly sending some of the S.R.T (Spill Response Crew) from up here to help out down there.
I do feel bad for those of you that this is affecting, hopefully it wont be that bad.
BP already said this morning that they would take care of claims filed because of this, so they are definitely staying on top of this if for nothing else than image control (not saying thats their only rason).
And TransOcean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon, which BP contracted is also the largest drilling company owner of oil rigs in the world. They would have no problem to make right on this incident, the real question is will they step up
Hopefully they sort it out quicker than the West Atlas spill we had here off the Kimberly coast last August. Took ten weeks to plug while spewing up to 2000 barrels a day into pristine enviroment.
I just got back from New Orleans where I saw Pearl Jam play.... Eddie Vedder was pissed about the oil spill... it was funny. He went off about how the higher up people in BP.... that their kids will probably want to visit a nice beach this summer... so they should come on down and enjoy the beaches....(while they are messed up) then he said while they are here.... the can help clean up the F'in mess... if it's correct or not.... it was funny.....
Again, Like I said, BP didnt create this Mess, But everyone wants to blame them. They know that theyre getting a black eye when it wasnt their fault. Funny when clueless people go off on a tangent for a publicity stunt or out of frustration and dont know the facts.
Beaches arnt the only thing that will be affected by this. The local economy for the area will be as well, Job losses to some possibly the state wont be getting revenue off of the lost product and or future product, that in turns hurts the citizens more as well.
How is it not any of BP's fault? I don't by any means want to argue about it. This is kinda the way I see it... and I could be wrong....so let me know if it goes differently than this...
BP was leasing the Oil rig right? You lease a car...your responsible for the maintenance..... same thing goes for BP right?
They were a hired contractor, that rig is owned and operated, maintained by them, not BP. Exxon, BP and whoever may stakes in that well, however it was the hired contractor that for whatever reason created/resulted what happened. As if I hired you to come do some work on my septic tank and for whatever reason you skipped a safety procedure, took a shortcut to save you time and you created the perfect scenario of igniting some methane resulting in the death of your coworker and blew the crap out of my house. I just wanted my plumbing fixed, you were the Licened regulated specialist who knew how to do the work safely and in an efficiant manner and blew it.
The cost of maintaining equipment is $$ it's cheaper to contract that out with others at time. I can bet you that Bp and others are doing some check ups on other rigs right now looking for violations or potential safety concerns.
H20, that was a good question by the way, and I'm not one to argue, and I do hope I didn't come across that way. I'm no expert, on all of the ins and outs of drilling, but I've been learning. I'm sure there are some here that know more about it and could explain it better than I. I work in a field, but I'm not tied in with the rigs. I do think there were a series of events that did lead one into the other that did magnify this into what it is.
If I hear anything that may be of interest I'll gladly share and post.
ahhh ok.... that makes since. I had it all wrong. I appreciate the correction..... there was no part where I thought you were arguing.....there are so many stinking threads where everything seems like arguing.... I dont want to be one of those :-)
H20 I hear ya bro! I do hope the best for all of you this is affecting, Hopefully its not that bad. I have a tough time with when the media reports an oil spill that took place up here and they made it seem like acres and acres and a bazillion barrels and in actuallity it was 100 times smaller .There was a an Inspector for the State of AK trying to find more contaminated snow cause he was sure there had to be more and that BP was hiding it and truth was there wasnt any. The advantage up here is that during the winter time when its -30F the ground is frozen and the oil turns to sludge and it cleans up quite nicely. I understand that this one is alot different.
Latest Press release from BP
Release date: 30 April 2010
BP today continued to ramp up its response to the oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico. Over 2,500 personnel are now involved in the response effort and well-advanced preparations are being made for a major protection and cleaning effort on the shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. A fourth onshore command centre, in Mobile, Alabama, opened yesterday.
"In the past few days I have seen the full extent of BP's global resources and capability being brought to bear on this problem, and welcome the offers of further assistance we have had from government agencies, oil companies and members of the public to defend the shoreline and fight this spill," said Tony Hayward, BP Group Chief Executive. "We will be judged by the success we have in dealing with this incident and we are determined to succeed."
Work is progressing to install marine protection booms along the coast. As well as almost 220,000 feet of boom already in the water, an additional 300,000 feet is staged or in the process of being deployed, with more on the way.
The onshore activity is focused on five locations in the potentially affected states: Venice, Louisiana; Pascagoula and Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida. Staging posts are in place stocked with people and material, including about 100,000 feet of boom, to protect the shoreline in each area. In addition, a sixth staging post is now being set up in Port Sulphur, Louisiana.
Hayward added: "BP is fully committed to taking all possible steps to contain the spread of the oil spill. We are taking full responsibility for the spill and we will clean it up, and where people can present legitimate claims for damages we will honour them."
The oil spill follows the sinking of Transocean's drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Mississippi Canyon 252 block.
BP continues to attack the spill on many fronts – making continuing attempts to prevent oil escaping from the subsea well, 5,000 feet below the surface; collecting and separating the oil which enters the water; deploying innovative technology to disperse the oil at its seabed source; and drilling a relief well to permanently isolate and secure the leaking well.
In parallel, at the surface, BP's response is expanding to mobilise shoreline protection teams and equipment, and numbers of community liaison staff, while planning for in-situ burning several miles offshore. BP has called on expertise from other companies including Exxon, Shell, Chevron and Anadarko to help it activate the blow out preventer, and to offer technical support on other aspects of the response.
Preliminary estimates indicate that current efforts to contain the spill and secure the well are costing the MC252 owners about $6 million per day. This figure is expected to rise as activity increases.
Press enquiries:
U.S. Coast Guard Joint Information Center 985-902-5231
BP Press Office London +44 20 7496 4076 www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
Matt, I know we are a long way from you guys and operate under different laws ( Western Australia), but the analogy you brought up re a householder hiring someone to work on their property not being responsible in the event of a mishap doesn't hold here. An example would be if I had contractors in to install a pool and they excavated an area causing subsidence to a neighbours property then I am responsible as well as the contractor.I was made aware of this by my local council. I would wait and see who will cop the blame before defending one party over another.
Matt, I work for a midstream company, we own offhore platforms (not drilling) but do work with producers. I audit joint ventures, mainly on shore , but have done a few offshore. Granted I have not read the operating agreement, but there are usually indemnification clauses written just for stuff like this, to limit Transocean's liability. The majority of the liability will fall on BP.
Adam, I agree with ya. Like most I'd like to get the whole story to understand it, ( too many just assuming, heck I could be one too) the investigations will come out soon enough. Ultimately it's Bp that's got to fix it and make it right. This wil be affecting oil exploration in years to come. Also glad you chimed in, you have/had a better info on the dealings than I in your field.
This could have been prevented by a $500k device that is required in most other countries that conduct offshore drilling. Accoustic triggers were successfully lobbied against in the US by....
While I appreciate the article, this is again like the game telephone. THe article actually said that it may have helped and even in the article the in the same sentence, they pretty much contiridict themselves.
While they are not required with rigs offshore the U.K., BP elects to deploy them there. BP chose not to equip oil rigs off the coast of the U.S. with acoustic triggers because U.S. regulations enacted in 2003 do not require companies to do so.
They tell you in two places where they are not required (UK and US), but, BP chose to deploy them in one but not the other. It was not because of Dick Cheney, it was BP's choice and in some cases they chose to do so. Obviously it was not a money issue since they do it voluntarily in some cases, so wonder why they did not use such a device here? Is it the depth of the well?
^^^^ Not international waters. All the developement in the gulf that I know of still has to get leases approved by the MMS ( Minerals Mgt Service) Which is a US agency. Those ( deepwater) rigs are not that far offshore...maybe 40-50 miles??
You have to be really far offshore for international water...maybe 200+
I'm not following you. That quote does not confirm nor contradict whether the device could have helped. It does however raise the huge question why BP would choose not to use additional safety devices for areas outside the UK.
I have to question the figures at the bottom of the article, though. You'd think an offshore drilling rig costs a bit more than $1/2M.
The blowout preventer is designed to pinch off the pipe and stop it. That failed for whatever reason. I heard they were sealing perforations in the well with cement when it happened. Pressure may have "burped" on the outside of the well or inside of the pipe or both. Regardless the Blowout valve didnt work.
On the positive side, bad experiences due bring about better and safer conditions by recognizing obviously failed procedures / equipment.
Why would I joke about my comment? Id bet the farm that every state that has offshore operations currently and future operations along with the governent, and all the agencies are giving a a second look and starting the paperwork for better changes. (BP included) whether its their equipment or their Contractors.
Recently some guy up here at work was in 4 low, got out of his truck, walked out infront of the truck to look at some pipework and turned around right in time for his vehicle to pin himself to a vertical support pipe crushing/killing him. BP came out with a new mandatory policy of when stopping/parking put the vehicle in park AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF for as not to repeat the scenario again. It all depends on whether a company willingly tries to better itself and safety or not doesnt it Jeremy? Weve had a fair share of miners death not to long ago due to neglegence at Crandall Canyon Mine http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14836856
That was my point. You stated that bad experiences bring out better and safer conditions. I simply pointed out that is not always the case. In many cases, higher profits outrank safer procedures.
^^^^ Please dont' believe everything you read in the media. While I can't speak to other industry's I can speak to tthe large oil and gas companies. I have toured many facitlities and the importance put on safety is borderline ridiculous to me. I got my ass handed to me at a shell refinery for not backing into a parking space. It literally took a call from a superior to allow me stay.
There's always gonna be a bad egg out there, and machinery will sometimes fail. But I can assure you these guys working for the larger O&G companies are force feed saftey from day one. And those policies are pushed down from the top. Most of the operations guys are getting decent sized bonus based on the safety record.
Every plant I've been at has mandatory safety meetings once a day.
Its funny to me that libs want to make everyone think that BP purposely skated saftey requirements. First off, it wasn't BP, it was TransOcean. Second, I am sure they wanted to loose the billions of dollars in lost revenue as well as spend the billions its going to take to clean it all up.
I have seen the "spill baby spill" comments, and it makes me sick. Anyone who thinks that Republicans are to blame for this unfortuante ACCIDENT have their head up their a$$. Just because they support opening up more drilling, doesn't have a thing to do with what happened.
I have seen the "spill baby spill" comments, and it makes me sick. Anyone who thinks that Republicans are to blame for this unfortuante ACCIDENT have their head up their a$$. Just because they support opening up more drilling, doesn't have a thing to do with what happened.
That's right. This doesn't have anything to do with offshore drilling. It's probably the result of killing whales and clubbing baby seals.
That's right. This doesn't have anything to do with offshore drilling. It's probably the result of killing whales and clubbing baby seals.
I see the ability to comprehend diminishes with old age.
How long have we been drilling offshore? How many disasters have we had as a result of those platforms? Just because you support the drilling, it has no correlation to not supporting safety measures to prevent such accidents. As I stated before, its in the companies best interest.
I see the ability to comprehend diminishes with old age.
I'm not the one that claimed off shore drilling or the support for it has nothing to do with off shore drilling accidents.
What safety measures were all those supporters asking for that they didn't get? I'll answer... none. Because they didn't ask for any or have any clue as to what were needed. The best way to reduce accidents like these is to reduce our demand for oil. The second best way to to add more safety measures. The failed mechanism on the bottom of the ocean was exclusively a safety measure. But it didn't prevent the accident.
I didn't claim offshore drilling had nothing to do with the accident. Of course it did. If there was none, it wouldn't have happened.
Supporters were asking for more exploration. What saftey measures are required has nothing to do with them. I didn't hear anyone chanting "drill as cheap as you can, f*&K the environment" If you don't know what the difference is, then its useless to explain it. You just hate oil companies and their huge 6.9% profit margins.
And reduce our demand for oil? YOUR president authorized more exploration!
Where did I ever write I hate oil companies? This oil spill doesn't impact me any more than it does most everyone else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by psudy
Supporters were asking for more exploration. What saftey measures are required has nothing to do with them. I didn't hear anyone chanting "drill as cheap as you can, f*&K the environment"
You don't hear the pigs at the trough asking where their food came from either.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as clean energy, Consumption always has a cost and most of us like the luxuries that oil--and all energies--provide.
Why has the Obama Administration not called for a national emergency, allowing the Administration to take control of the crisis and force more accountability and transparency from BP?
From what I saw on the news last night, the Coast Guard Admiral in charge of the operation has consulted the other big oil companies and all of them recommended to keep BP involved due to their equipment, manpower, etc. The other oil companies have also said they would do the same things that BP is doing. My understanding is that the US govt is not prepared to handle this sort of crisis. I was watching the interview with the CEO of BP as they were walking the shores of the beaches in the area and all I can think to myself is this guy looks sorry, but is it because of all the lost profits he sees washing up on the beach, or does he actually give a crap about the ecological disaster that his company is responsible? My guess is it concerns the lost profits.
I would put most of the blame on the Obama administration. His team of spaz balls have no idea hoe to play in a big boy world!! What is Obama up to today? Last i heard he is trying to get Le Bron James to the Chicago Bulls.....
dennis, what should he be doing? Should he pick up a bucket and scrub down a pelican? Should he kick BP out and take care of the spill with government resources (of which there are none and never have been)? Maybe they can tell that big bad oil well to stop acting like a pissed off teenager! I just want to know what exactly you propose the government do?
Pointing blame at any political party is ludicrous, blame is squarely on the business that did not have a plan for solving their worst case scenario. The fact that it has been flowing for a month is ridiculous.
I saw the same thing Jeremy did, the people in charge are doing everything they can. BP has the best ability to deal with it, unfortunately that is what the gulf is stuck with.
dennis, what should he be doing? Should he pick up a bucket and scrub down a pelican? Should he kick BP out and take care of the spill with government resources (of which there are none and never have been)? Maybe they can tell that big bad oil well to stop acting like a pissed off teenager! I just want to know what exactly you propose the government do?
Pointing blame at any political party is ludicrous, blame is squarely on the business that did not have a plan for solving their worst case scenario. The fact that it has been flowing for a month is ridiculous.
I saw the same thing Jeremy did, the people in charge are doing everything they can. BP has the best ability to deal with it, unfortunately that is what the gulf is stuck with.
"blame is squarely on the business that did not have a plan for solving their worst case scenario. The fact that it has been flowing for a month is ridiculous."
That is the bottom line.
BP and the contractors they hire are responsible for exposing themselves to a situation they possibly could not control.
Delta hoosier said "it was BP's choice and in some cases they chose to do so. Obviously it was not a money issue since they do it voluntarily in some cases, so wonder why they did not use such a device here?"
The fact that there was a available redundant safety device that BP uses on some rigs points to the fact that an issue like this is a known possibility.
BP's choice to not use a redundant safety measure on a rig whos depth makes it virtually impossible to get down and repair in a timely fashion was a gamble that the company lost.
Regulations or not, BP did not have the foresight to use all available preventative measures. The money they saved not researching or preventing an accident like this would have rolled right into the companies profits without a hitch had everything gone well.
Unfortunately that money they saved has come back to bite them.
If the company cannot handle the results of their own equipment failing, they have no business being allowed to operate that equipment.
I do feel that Le Bron would win a championship under coach Riley because he is most like Magic Johnson.. I do believe BP is doing all they can . 32 days since the spill. Who is counting ? Not the administration. I think Obama could get Pat Riley to Chicago. What do you think stephan?
I think LeBron is nothing like Magic. Magic was a facilitator that made everyone around him better, even on the largest stage. I think Chicago could do better than Pat Riley.
I also think that the gubment should declare the gulf region a federal disaster. I also think that the 60-70% chance (according to BP) that this kill shot deal works, is not very comforting. I think this could go on for months.
I also think that crunchy peanut butter is better and rum is the preferred method when "firing for effect".
This has gone on over a month . According to the clean water act the government must step in and take control. What is Obama doing? I know yesturday he was busy making a trafic jam here on 880. Busy doing nothing!!
Ok, my views have changed a bit. I do believe the federal government could be doing much more. I think relying on BP to stop the leak is their only option. However, in regards to cleanup the government can and should do more.
I was watching Anderson Cooper last night and he was interviewing the LA Governor and the president of one of the local parishes. They were saying that they got good support directly from Obama and after their discussion they had a direction, the O even followed up the next day, but the direction has not been implemented. As with anything that gets too big, it gets in the way of itself and s--t doesn't get done.
What pissed me off the other day was the administrationcame out to publically say "We have our boot on BP and are going to hold them responsible". Come on admiistration ! It seems to me that BP is the only one trying to do anything. This mess is just as big as Katrina and after one month all you can muster up is that.. We should have progressed further then this. I am glad that they are doing something whatever it is.
I have changed my mind. I don't think you can compare Le Bron to Magic... I am not so sure that Le Bron makes everyone else on the court better. Magic may be closer to Michael then to Le Bron.
It seems to me that BP is the only one trying to do anything.
Unfortunately the oil companies are the only ones who have the capacity to shut these wells off, and they haven't convinced me that they really know what their doing. Meanwhile are oceans are being sacrificed for many years, all for the potential of big $$$$.
It would be nice for the government to declare it a natural disaster, but that is just more debt for the government to get itself into. BP & other companies are doing all they can, it just is not producing good results yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Employee Communications, US
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 5:38 AM
Subject: Message from US Employee Communications: Responding to media assertions
To all US BP employees:
Many of you have asked about assertions made by various commentators on cable television news and comment programs. Here are some responses to the allegations:
BP never had a clean-up plan
The rig explosion occurred on April 20th, and our incident response team was immediately activated. This included the activation of our oil spill response plan (OSRP) that had previously been agreed with the US Government. Two USCG cutters, four helicopters and one rescue plane was deployed. Within a matter of hours we began subsea activation of the BOP.
On April 21st, the administration began holding meetings and regular calls with BP leadership to discuss BP’s response effort, as well as federal oversight and support.
On April 25th, we started work on a relief well and reached out to potentially impacted Gulf States. By this date, we and the Joint Incident Command had:
More than 30 response vessels deployed;
21,340 ft of boom deployed;
500 personnel responding.
We continued to build up our response effort, which currently includes:
more than 20,000 people from government and industry;
over 11,000 volunteers;
over 900 vessels including 46 skimmer vessels;
over 1.8 million ft of boom deployed with;
57 aircraft, 18 fixed wing delivering 216 dispersant flights.
The government has acknowledged our timely response. In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said:
“I will say that British Petroleum leadership ... were in Washington very quickly. They were immediately assuming responsibility...They were in the command centers and in the staging areas. They have been working in terms of cleanup and hiring, for example, local fisherman to deploy boom and the rest”
Interior Secretary Salazar said this about the response plan:
“… in terms of a worst-case -- …[the plan] anticipated the resources available to cover a 250,000-barrel-per-day spill over a 30-day period, …. So in terms of spill response, there was and is a robust plan that is now being implemented.”
BP doesn’t want to educate the public
The Joint Incident Command (JIC) (BP, the US Coast Guard, Transocean and MMS), as called for in the response plan, has established a joint communications effort to be accessible to media, responsive to information requests and informative to the public.
The JIC issues press releases daily, holds near-daily press conferences, posts all information on the incident website, uses Twitter and Facebook to disseminate information, and employs press officers through the Gulf region to respond to media inquiries;
There have been more than 27 million hits on the UAC website;
BP supplements that effort, with its own press releases, dedicated web pages, twitter feeds, videos, and Facebook page;
We have community support teams in 21 counties across the region: 8 parishes in Louisiana, 8 counties in Florida, 3 counties in Mississippi, and 2 counties in Alabama;
Tony Hayward, Doug Suttles or Bob Dudley has appeared on every major media network, and other BP representatives are available for television, radio and print interviews across the region daily.
BP is not listening to ideas from outside the company on how to tackle the leak and the spill
We have asked the best and brightest from across the industry to join us in this unprecedented challenge. There are over 90 companies working just in the Houston office
Industry: Petrobras, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Anadarko, Marathon, Hess, ENI & others
Service Providers: Oceaneering, Schlumberger, Cameron, Transocean, Wild Well Control, Boots & Coots, Cudd Well Control, Halliburton, GE
Academia: LSU and U Texas faculty
The Unified Command integrates BP, Transocean, US Coast Guard, Dept. of Interior, NOAA, EPA, DHS, MMS, DOD, US Fish & Wildlife, National Park Service, Dept. of State, USGS, CDC, and OSHA
We are receiving huge numbers of offers of support and help from the public (over 63,000).
Nobody from BP has voiced concern for the people and communities in Louisiana
In Louisiana alone, we have 1,800 people working to minimize the impact of the spill and protect the shoreline. We've deployed 450,660 ft boom, 399,790 ft sorbent boom, 426 vessels, and 19 skimmers. Our people are reaching out to local communities to put in place a claims process that is quick and effective so families can make their house payments and put food on the table.
Tony Hayward was in Louisiana on April 28, just days after the leak was discovered. He has been there more than 5 times since this incident began, speaking with those who are on the front lines of the response, meeting with the fishermen and others whose lives have been impacted, meeting with state and local officials to continuously improve our efforts to help affected individuals, and speaking to the people of Louisiana through television and radio interviews.
We have processed $8.3 million claims so far, and are welcoming additional claims every day.
BP has issued a block grant of $25 million to Louisiana along with an $15 million to reinvigorate tourism.
H20 that sucks man, Im sorry to hear that. I was so hoping that this was going to fixed sooner What a crap deal for all, Everyone where I work is quite concerned with whats going on and how this is going to affect us as well. (BP cutting Budgets to throw $ at this). Just sucks