Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Initially Reported

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AndyH

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http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/05/gulf_oil_spill_more_than_10x_g.html

"NPR's Richard Harris has learned that much more oil and natural gas, 70,000 barrels a day or more than ten times the official estimate, is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon pipe, based on scientific analysis of the video released Wednesday.

That's the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez tanker full every four days."


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14oil.html

"Two weeks ago, the government put out a round estimate of the size of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico: 5,000 barrels a day. Repeated endlessly in news reports, it has become conventional wisdom.
But scientists and environmental groups are raising sharp questions about that estimate, declaring that the leak must be far larger. They also criticize BP for refusing to use well-known scientific techniques that would give a more precise figure.

The criticism escalated on Thursday, a day after the release of a video that showed a huge black plume of oil gushing from the broken well at a seemingly high rate. BP has repeatedly claimed that measuring the plume would be impossible.

The figure of 5,000 barrels a day was hastily produced by government scientists in Seattle. It appears to have been calculated using a method that is specifically not recommended for major oil spills."



There's a video clip from the sea floor that shows the flow of gasses and oil from one of the pipes. It's been posted on YouTube as well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFYVNvgg-A[/youtube]
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Rush Limbaugh said most of it would just settle on the bottom in a pile near the well.

[sarcasm]Yeah. I'm sure he's right.[/sarcasm] I nominate him to spend the next 12 months at the well head to conduct the settle study.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Rush Limbaugh said most of it would just settle on the bottom in a pile near the well.

He's a lying douche bag. Drug-addled-gas-bag. :twisted:

According to him Prince William Sound is pristine again and it was all done by mother nature. Ask all the people who were there cleaning up birds if they didn't do anything, and simply watched nature take care of itself.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Rush Limbaugh said most of it would just settle on the bottom in a pile near the well.

Ofcource - who ever heard of lighter matter like oil float over water ?!
 
chijayhawker said:
LTLFTcomposite said:
Rush Limbaugh said most of it would just settle on the bottom in a pile near the well.

He's a lying douche bag. Drug-addled-gas-bag. :twisted:

According to him Prince William Sound is pristine again and it was all done by mother nature. Ask all the people who were there cleaning up birds if they didn't do anything, and simply watched nature take care of itself.

Supposedly there's still a lot of oil just below the surface in a lot of places in PWS. Natural processes probably have done and will continue to a lot, but it's been what, 20 years, and it could be another 20, or maybe 100, or a 1000. Probably still be some residual effects the day an asteroid destroys everything on earth.
 
BTW, In TOD they have been talking about this.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6464

Consenses seems to be that 70K is a little high - but 5K is too low.

Here is the original source - they have been calculating the rate using satellite photos for a while. Their estimate is some 26,000 bbls a day.

http://twitter.com/SkyTruth

http://blog.skytruth.org/

From TOD (Alan's comment), here is some "rumor" that is sure to agitate everyone, if true.

BP contracted Schlumberger (SLB) to run the Cement Bond Log (CBL) test that was the final test on the plug that was skipped. The people testifying have been very coy about mentioning this, and you'll see why.

SLB is an extremely highly regarded (and incredibly expensive) service company. They place a high standard on safety and train their workers to shut down unsafe operations.

SLB gets out to the Deepwater Horizon to run the CBL, and they find the well still
kicking heavily, which it should not be that late in the operation. SLB orders the
"company man" (BP's man on the scene that runs the operation) to dump kill fluid down the well and shut-in the well. The company man refuses. SLB in the very next sentence asks for a helo to take all SLB personel back to shore. The company man says there are no more helo's scheduled for the rest of the week (translation: you're here to do a job, now do it). SLB gets on the horn to shore, calls SLB's corporate HQ, and gets a helo flown out there at SLB's expense and takes all SLB personel to shore.

6 hours later, the platform explodes.

Pick your jaw up off the floor now. No CBL was run after the pressure tests because the
contractor high-tailed it out of there. If this story is true, the company man (who
survived) should go to jail for 11 counts of negligent homicide.
 
Oil does indeed settle out over time -- it degrades to asphalt. But nowhere near as fast as Rush is postulating.
 
Transocean LTD filed a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 8-K on April 22nd as required by SEC rules. The 8-K included the following press release:

TRANSOCEAN LTD. PROVIDES UPDATE ON
SEMISUBMERSIBLE DRILLING RIG DEEPWATER HORIZON
ZUG, SWITZERLAND—Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) provided an update today regarding a fire and explosion onboard its semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon and reports that the rig sank late in the morning, today. The combined response team was not able to stem the flow of hydrocarbons prior to the rig sinking, and we are working closely with BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and the U.S. Coast Guard to determine the impact from the sinking of the rig and the plans going forward. The U.S. Coast Guard has plans in place to mitigate any environmental impact from this situation.
The incident occurred April 20, 2010 at approximately 10:00 p.m. Central Time in the United States Gulf of Mexico. The rig was located approximately 41 miles offshore Louisiana on Mississippi Canyon block 252.
The cause of the fire and explosion is unknown at this time. An investigation into the cause of the incident and assessment of the damage will be ongoing in the days or weeks to come.
Statements regarding any future aspect of the incident on the Deepwater Horizon, the effects, results, investigation, damage assessment relating thereto mitigation of environmental impact, as well as any other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These include but are not limited to results of searches, investigations and assessments, actions by the Coast Guard and other governmental agencies, actions by customers and other third parties and other factors detailed in Transocean’s most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated.
Transocean is the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor and the leading provider of drilling management services worldwide. With a fleet of 139 mobile offshore drilling units plus three ultra-deepwater units under construction, the company’s fleet is considered one of the most modern and versatile in the world due to its emphasis on technically demanding segments of the offshore drilling business. Its worldwide fleet is more than twice the size of the next-largest competitor. The company owns or operates a contract drilling fleet of 45 High-Specification Floaters (Ultra-Deepwater, Deepwater and Harsh-Environment semisubmersibles and drillships), 26 Midwater Floaters, 10 High-Specification Jackups, 55 Standard Jackups and other assets utilized in the support of offshore drilling activities worldwide.
For more information about Transocean, please visit our website at www.deepwater.com.
 
It is getting fairly clear that Obama governement (and BP) are not interested in finding out about the extent of the spill and the undersea plumes.

Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48816
 
Transocean LTD filed another SEC 8-K on May 13 that included a fleet update.

The Discoverer Enterprise, operating in the Gulf of Mexico, is leased to BP thru Feb 2011. Her scheduled 'day rate' is $523,000.

The Deepwater Horizon is listed in footnote 10:

"(10) On April 22, 2010, the Ultra-Deepwater Floater Deepwater Horizon sank following a fire and explosion while operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and has been declared a total loss."
 
evnow said:
It is getting fairly clear that Obama governement (and BP) are not interested in finding out about the extent of the spill and the undersea plumes.

Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48816

We really need real journalists again. :( Bloggers are not (necessarily) journalists or investigators.

It is common for government agencies and those employed by government agencies to have restrictions on dealing with the press. Every single member of the military, for example, has to give up some of their civil rights when on active duty. They can't talk to the press without permission because they're seen by the civilian world as representing the entire branch of service or the entire military.

Same for the folks on this boat. They likely have discovered plumes - and likely are absolutely correct. But because of the nature of the investigations, their samples are now likely evidence that will be used in federal hearings and any number of legal actions against BP, Haliburton, and Transocean. They have a new set of rules - not just science now - they get to play with lawyers and chain of custody.

I can also see the government wanting to keep the data out of the press for the moment so that BPs lawyers can't have spin prepared in advance...

The crew's life just got a whole lot more 'interesting'...
 
evnow said:
It is getting fairly clear that Obama governement (and BP) are not interested in finding out about the extent of the spill and the undersea plumes.

Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48816

If the government is interested (not likely), I'm sure the US Coast Guard could get those researchers onsite, without too much difficulty. Those giant plumes are going to eventually break up, and keep surfacing as more and more surface oil, looking like the spill is still continuing

But hey, at least BP is getting their oil now via the 4" pipe to the ship above the destroyed well.
and after all, that is what's most important right? to hell with the environment.

maybe they can come up with some way of vacuming up those giant plumes and filtering out the seawater, hey, more oil to sell right? or more likely they can make pavement out of it.
 
mitch672 said:
If the government is interested (not likely), I'm sure the US Coast Guard could get those researchers onsite, without too much difficulty. Those giant plumes are going to eventually break up, and keep surfacing as more and more surface oil, looking like the spill is still continuing

But hey, at least BP is getting their oil now via the 4" pipe to the ship above the destroyed well.
and after all, that is what's most important right? to hell with the environment.

maybe they can come up with some way of vacuming up those giant plumes and filtering out the seawater, hey, more oil to sell right? or more likely they can make pavement out of it.

Where's the anger coming from, Mitch? The MMS and lease rules came from the previous administration - last changed in I think 1990. If you need someone to be angry at - yell at me. I've used $90 worth of diesel so far this year. :(

I hope BP can vacuum the slicks and plumes - I don't care (within reason!) what they do with it as long as they get it out of the water. :(
 
AndyH said:
They have a new set of rules - not just science now - they get to play with lawyers and chain of custody.

Sorry - doesn't sound like that at all. They are not sending other vessels to collect data either. Doesn't pass the smell test - what happened to all the transparency that Obama promised.


BP withholds oil spill facts — and government lets it

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/18/94415/bps-secrecy-keep-facts-on-gulf.html#ixzz0oLbRCQYQ

20100518_Current_OILSPILL.small.prod_affiliate.91.jpg
 
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