Does anyone else feel hopeless about the oil well in the gulf?

[Ryan Stewart]

Why don't they simply build a large box around the leak, at the base, it may take a few days. THEN, WHEN IT IS FINISHED, SIMPLY CAP IT. A valve could even allow to keep on pumping oil...

Damn it. It ain't difficult.

They tried, ice built up in the box and basically filled it before they could get it placed and it failed. Get this, shit is hard to do under the ocean.

[quickervicar]

Is it terrible that it happened? Absolutely. Is BP failing at everything they're trying right now? Seems to be so. Does BP have a backup plan? Yup. Several. They're on #4 right now. (don't forget that they've been drilling relief lines since the first days of May) Do I feel helpless? Yeah. Does BP feel helpless? I think so.

Some graphics to help you to understand. http://jalopnik.com/5548376/will-bps...l-process-work

[structured]

I don't feel helpless at all. This is a natural substance that the earth can deal with. A Hurricane would be great, stirring up the mess and distributing it better throughout the ocean. Call me an idiot or an ass, but this happens with oil. It could have happened to one drilling offshore.

Yes, keep telling yourself that. While your at it, go eat some e. coli infested beef. Or better yet, go down in your basement and inhale some of that carbon monoxide for an hour or two. After all, it's natural.


The fact of the matter is that these substances do not occur naturally in this environment*, at least not in large concentrations. The environmental and health effects of this will be huge. The economic implications for the region could be devastating.

*By "this environment" I mean the surface of the earth.

[JGood]

They are cutting it right now....

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

[Lof8]

Does BP have a backup plan? Yup. Several. They're on #4 right now. (don't forget that they've been drilling relief lines since the first days of May) Do I feel helpless? Yeah. Does BP feel helpless? I think so.

I guess what I meant is...I can't believe they didn't have a back up plan that was thoroughly prepared/modeled/tested and known to fix a fucking leak....something that could be implemented quickly.

2 weeks in and... "lets try golf balls and shredded tires." A month later and this shit is still spewing.

When you undertake something like deep-sea drilling, it would make sense to have a legitimate plan for when things go wrong. Without a sufficient back-up plan, noone should have been drilling out there. They are choking the ocean to death due to a severe lack of preparation or foresight. It is disguisting.

I have no sympathy or respect for BP or any of its decisionmakers. I am wishing physical harm on these motherfuckers.

[quickervicar]

As I understand it, two of their safety devices have failed, thus the cause of this mess. Like having your car catch fire, only to pull the trigger on the fire extinguisher and have nothing happen. Now what? Passers-by are screaming at you "Your car is on fire!!" You realize this and frankly don't need to be reminded of it. You didn't want it to happen. You even had a safety backup plan. It didn't work. Now what?

My question is: how does one simulate/test a blowout suppression under these circumstances without having/risking a blowout in these circumstances?

However, it does seem a bit ridiculous that a company of this size & means didn't have Plans A-F being readied simultaneously.

[europeanplates]

I do not understand why the goverment does not hire in another firm to handle this. BP has a interest in keep the well working while another company may actually get this thing stopped?

I am also suprised the US people are not boycotting BP fuel stations, etc.

Ty

[SamE30e]

Just keep in mind that the 1979 Mexican side spill in the gulf dumped 140m gallons. We have been through worse in the Gulf.

Conspiracy Theory time, Katrina didn't work, so they blew the top off this well. They gonna get the poor folk outta the south one way or another. ;)

(I'm only half serious)

Oh god, have you heard some of these conspiracy theories. One of them is, Korea sent a remote submarine from 150 miles away to break the well. Same people who are all about this Haarp radio telescope causing Haiti.

And you can't just cap this thing, it's 6800psi of pressure, people are saying drop a heavy weight on it, it won't work like that.

[LBJefferies]

Oh god, have you heard some of these conspiracy theories. One of them is, Korea sent a remote submarine from 150 miles away to break the well. Same people who are all about this Haarp radio telescope causing Haiti.

And you can't just cap this thing, it's 6800psi of pressure, people are saying drop a heavy weight on it, it won't work like that.

Something is heavy enough to cap it.

[z31maniac]

It's amazing how ideological and based in fantasy most of you are.

Really.

[ldsbeaker]

It sucks, period.
Two things I think about now:
I just have to wonder how the hell the thing blew up in the first place. Seems AWFUL convenient, being that we were contemplating more off-shore drilling right before this happened.

... and BP is a UK company right? I wouldn't hurry if I were them either. But if the shoe were on the other foot... (Get off my lawn, kid.)

[Lof8]

Like having your car catch fire, only to pull the trigger on the fire extinguisher and have nothing happen. Now what? Passers-by are screaming at you "Your car is on fire!!" You realize this and frankly don't need to be reminded of it. You didn't want it to happen. You even had a safety backup plan. It didn't work. Now what?

yeah, its similar to this only the consequences of each are so vastly different. A spewing oil well in the Gulf is going to have much more devastating effects in comparison to a burning car.

It is the severity of the aftermath that makes REAL backup plans a necessity. There should have been 5 or 10 legitimate plans prepared BEFORE the accident. They should have been researched and tested PRIOR to a blowout AND be sitting prepared to react at a moment's notice.

The fact that this shit was so lightly regulated makes me want to literally drown politicians and oil execs in this oil bath. These money-hungry fucks are killing so much animal life and ruining some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Not many things in life have pissed me off to this level.

[mrsleeve]

OK for fucking Christ sakes The all knowing GOVT IS NOT THE ANSWER. They cant even follow their own laws regarding this happenstance. The FEDs by They're own laws and regulations are Supposed to have an Environmental Protection plan and supplies in Place so if this kind of thing did ever happen the oil could be kept out to sea or at the very least off most of the beeches. They dont have the equipment or the expertise to do this. BO has lost nearly a dollars in clean up alone of this they have the most vested interest in getting it under control. They have some of the best engineers in the word in this field working on the problems. Its not like its easy to do everything with remote controlled DSRV's and the working pressures of both well bore and the Ocean pressures. Its not like you can jamb and cork into it.

Now the fucking govt has a hard with doing anything well other than collecting money and telling people what they can and cant do. The gov of LA was threatened with arrest and prosecution, if he ordered sand burm's built and long booms anchored to keep the oil off the wetlands and off the beeches. By who do you ask THE FUCKING EPA because they didnt know what the environmental impact would be and needed to study it. WTF over???? The EPA and the FEDs have been micromanage the situation and political grand standing about making sure BP feet are held to the fire on this.


THEY DONT CARE about saving the well it was never never intended to be a production well it was a Wild Cat (exploratory). This was just to see if the formation that was down there had oil in it, and if it was worth punching a production well into it.

Boycotting a BP stations is a futile effort, as you are prolly buying BP at the shell or mobile stations. Its all one big shipment from the refiner to the distribution hub. Put a 100k Barrels into the line with 4 other oil companies do the same you get to pull out 100k barrels of the 500k total barrels in the line at the distribution hub dose not mean its your 100k barrels. Also by boycotting the stations and products all you are doing at that point is hurting your local business owner.

I do not understand why the goverment does not hire in another firm to handle this. BP has a interest in keep the well working while another company may actually get this thing stopped?

I am also suprised the US people are not boycotting BP fuel stations, etc.

Ty

The fact that this shit was so lightly regulated makes me want to literally drown politicians and oil execs in this oil bath. These money-hungry fucks are killing so much animal life and ruining some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Not many things in life have pissed me off to this level.

Lightly regulated WTF ARE YOU ON. The oil/gas industry is one of the most highly regulated industry in the country and world. You really need to shut you mouth you are expounding on topics you obviously know little to nothing about.

[structured]

First of all, I think that it's time to move this thread into the political forum...


As for your comments, mrsleeve, I take a few issues:

The FEDs by They're own laws and regulations are Supposed to have an Environmental Protection plan and supplies in Place so if this kind of thing did ever happen...

I'd be interested to see these "laws & regulations". Not that I doubt you, just want to be informed.

BP has lost nearly a (insert number) dollars in clean up alone of this they have the most vested interest in getting it under control.

Not sure how the fact that they have lost tons of money cleaning this up makes them the most likely to want to do it right. Their only motivation is to do just enough to salvage their already damaged public image. This point is reinforced by your statement about the well being for exploratory purposes only, not actually for production (ie. not a money maker so no motivation to save it really).

The gov of LA was threatened with arrest and prosecution, if he ordered sand burm's built and long booms anchored to keep the oil off the wetlands and off the beeches. By who do you ask THE FUCKING EPA because they didnt know what the environmental impact would be and needed to study it. WTF over???? The EPA and the FEDs have been micromanage the situation and political grand standing about making sure BP feet are held to the fire on this.

I certainly wasn't alive before the EPA existed but I doubt that you were either. I have on the other hand read a lot about those times and I don't want to go back to a point when big industry controlled environmental protections (if you could call it that). The fact is that the majority of Superfund and Brownfield sites which are polluted with volatile organic compounds (degreasers and other industrial biproducts) were first polluted because there was little or no environmental regulation preventing it.

But those VOCs shouldn't be a problem. After all, they are natural and mother earth can certainly take care of it.

THEY DONT CARE about saving the well

Well, you sure said it best.

Boycotting a BP stations is a futile effort, as you are prolly buying BP at the shell or mobile stations. Its all one big shipment from the refiner to the distribution hub. Put a 100k Barrels into the line with 4 other oil companies do the same you get to pull out 100k barrels of the 500k total barrels in the line at the distribution hub dose not mean its your 100k barrels. Also by boycotting the stations and products all you are doing at that point is hurting your local business owner.

I'm with you 100% on this one. Whatever symbolic gesture there may be, hurting a franchise owner for the failings of their parent corporation is dumb.

[Lof8]

Lightly regulated WTF ARE YOU ON. The oil/gas industry is one of the most highly regulated industry in the country and world. You really need to shut you mouth you are expounding on topics you obviously know little to nothing about.

Admittedly, I know nothing about the specific regulations for drilling. I do, however, know that they've created a giant fucking oil spill that is killing lots of plant and animal life and thousands of peoples' livelihood.

Whatever regulations and safety plans were in place were obviously insufficient.

It does not take an expert to see that BP was ill-prepared.

Millions of barrels of oil in our oceans is a serious problem. There needs to be many many layers of protection and planning in place to keep it from happening.

If you can't see this as a problem, your opinion doesn't mean shit to me.