Several points nobody seems to have thought about...the first hurricane of the season that enters the Gulf of Mexico may become more powerful than ever expected, due to the oil on the water. The oil will block the natural release of heat from the water into the atmosphere during the nightly cooling cycle, and retain the heat in the water. Hurricanes feed upon heat and just a few degrees of water temperature increase may have a tremendous increase in the power of a hurricane. That has been a concern in past hurricane forecasting; wonder why nobody has been thinking of that here?
There has been talk about the oil being driven onto beaches and roads near the coast in the event of hurricanes or severe storms. But, nobody seems to have given thought to the fact that a hurricane picking up the oil laden water will drive it far inland mixed with rain, and as the water evaporates, will leave the oil as a combustible layer on everything it touches, severely raising the fire potential. Vegetation and frame dwellings will become highly combustible and any fire, unless immediately quelled, may lead to a conflagration of immeasurable proportion, one that could make the California wildfires look tame in comparison. And perhaps in highly populated areas as well!
Sometimes I think the government wants to assure we're treated like mushrooms. Kept in the dark and fed lots of bull crap. In that manner you get the Alfred E. Newman syndrome and don't worry about what might happen. Same with the gusher. Most have never been apprised of the really catastrophic potentials if this thing goes further sideways than it is. As bad as it is now, it's nothing compared to what could happen if they fracture the cap on that deposit. How about the other plumes that BP and the government don't seem to be talking about or accounting for? Are they other leaks from the same deposit? How bad did the release of "toxic dispersants" foul the Gulf waters when it broke down the oil into smaller particles, and how will that be cleaned up? Or will it simply poison the food chain as it slowly makes its way through the layers of the Gulf? Why does the Department of Energy contradict the government's own engineers and scientists when it comes to the amounts flowing into the Gulf? And contradict civilian scientists and engineers also? Because they don't want anyone to know the true scope of what's happening and how bad it really is.
The "light ahead" that Obama sees may well be the headlight of a runaway locomotive that's coming out of the tunnel headed our way, or it may be the fickle flame starting to ignite a 25,000 PSI gas and oil explosion that will be unlike anything we've ever seen on this earth.
We can all hope and pray that the light is nothing more than the click of a Zippo lighter as someone relaxes and lights up a Lucky Strike, saying the problem is solved. That would be a relief to every American, no matter where you live, and to the world too.
Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BP Louisiana Gulf Oil Spill
The following comment was on Yahoo regarding the amount of oil flowing at a rate much higher that the figures given. It was published today, June 10 and was credited to a writer who used the handle Exxon1. I tried to contact them to assure they were the originator but was unsuccessful. In the interest of scientific information, I wanted to share this viewpoint, whether it is all too real or just conjecture. At least we know it's not being mouthed by BP or the government, so we can remove those lies from the mix.
Exxon1
"WARNING: DEPRESSING Not to scare anyone, but from someone familiar with spills like DH, including the magnesium blocks and risers, this is the way I see it. First, the problem started when an axial drill bit system was moved while the seal was in a ''closed'' position. This damaged the rubber seal and pieces of that seal came to the top in the mud used for drilling. When the engineers saw that, the tested the blowout preventer with a pressure test. OK, no problem, but the test they used was based on a 1960's patent using an algorithm that never though humans could drill 5,000 feet underwater. Took 8 hours for pressures to equalize, BP rushed everything, and the top blew off. Whooops.
They go out where the ocean is about 5,000 feet deep and drill another 18,000 feet into the crust of the earth. This it right on the edge of what human technology can do. Well, this time they hit a pocket of oil at such high pressure that it shot up through several seals and barriers before exploding, causing the rig to sink. Take a moment to grasp the import of that. The pressure behind this oil is so high that it destroyed the maximum effort of human science to contain it. Pressure estimates are 15,000 psi for the BOP and 21 inch riser. Some speculate the pressure in the area where they dilled (Mississippi Block 252 aka Macondo Prospect) could be a multiple of 10x, incredible pressure that can move about anything on earth. This is a HUGE deposit, Natural Gas and Oil is leaking out of the deposit as far inland as Central Alabama and way over into Florida and even over to Louisiana almost as far as Texas. If things break apart, it could be like the Yellowstone Caldera, except from below a mile of sea, with a 1/4-mile opening, with up to 150,000 psi of oil and natural gas behind it.
That would be an extinction event.
A junk shot or similar mud/heavy cement measure might bust open additional weaknesses they don't know about (or blow the thing wide open), hence their attempt to x-ray the remaining visible pipe before attempting the next "guess." Even the "relief" well is not a sure thing, that's why BP is drilling TWO reliefs in case the 1st doesn't work. Some countries require 4 relief wells.
Matthew Simmons told Dylan Ratigan that "there's another leak, much bigger, 5 to 6 miles away" from the leaking riser and blowout preventer which we've all been watching on the underwater cameras. Was this bigger leak caused by destruction of the well casing, or caused by some opening of a larger natural "fracture" oil seep? This might explain the strange red plumes of oil a few hundred feet under the surface.
For the relief well to succeed, the bore hole must precisely intersect the damaged well. If it misses, BP will have to back up its drill, plug the hole it just created, and try again.
If we can't cap that hole that oil is going to destroy the oceans of the world. It only takes one quart of motor oil to make 250,000 gallons of ocean water toxic to wildlife. Not toxic to whales, but the smaller organisms that begin the food chain. Are you starting to get the magnitude of this?
Imagine what happens if that oil keeps flowing until it destroys all life in the oceans of this planet. Who knows how big of a reservoir of oil is down there.
Not to mention that the oceans are critical to maintaining the proper oxygen level in the atmosphere for human life.
The only piece of human technology that might address this is a small nuclear bomb. I'm not kidding. Google "russian nuke oil spill" I pray the 1st relief well works in August! By then the Gulf will be black, but hopefully the east coast can be saved. If they put a nuke down there in the right spot it might seal up the hole. However, the nukes worked to seal the oil channel from a LAND rig, it's never been tried under 5000 ft of pressure on a sandy bottom, but still, nothing short of that will work."
Again, this is NOT my scenario or my scientific opinion, but I did find it interesting in any event. Scary as hell, but interesting. I'd love to hear from factual, actual scientists with opinions on this. The nuke theory is unnerving to say the least. If it went wrong....
Exxon1
"WARNING: DEPRESSING Not to scare anyone, but from someone familiar with spills like DH, including the magnesium blocks and risers, this is the way I see it. First, the problem started when an axial drill bit system was moved while the seal was in a ''closed'' position. This damaged the rubber seal and pieces of that seal came to the top in the mud used for drilling. When the engineers saw that, the tested the blowout preventer with a pressure test. OK, no problem, but the test they used was based on a 1960's patent using an algorithm that never though humans could drill 5,000 feet underwater. Took 8 hours for pressures to equalize, BP rushed everything, and the top blew off. Whooops.
They go out where the ocean is about 5,000 feet deep and drill another 18,000 feet into the crust of the earth. This it right on the edge of what human technology can do. Well, this time they hit a pocket of oil at such high pressure that it shot up through several seals and barriers before exploding, causing the rig to sink. Take a moment to grasp the import of that. The pressure behind this oil is so high that it destroyed the maximum effort of human science to contain it. Pressure estimates are 15,000 psi for the BOP and 21 inch riser. Some speculate the pressure in the area where they dilled (Mississippi Block 252 aka Macondo Prospect) could be a multiple of 10x, incredible pressure that can move about anything on earth. This is a HUGE deposit, Natural Gas and Oil is leaking out of the deposit as far inland as Central Alabama and way over into Florida and even over to Louisiana almost as far as Texas. If things break apart, it could be like the Yellowstone Caldera, except from below a mile of sea, with a 1/4-mile opening, with up to 150,000 psi of oil and natural gas behind it.
That would be an extinction event.
A junk shot or similar mud/heavy cement measure might bust open additional weaknesses they don't know about (or blow the thing wide open), hence their attempt to x-ray the remaining visible pipe before attempting the next "guess." Even the "relief" well is not a sure thing, that's why BP is drilling TWO reliefs in case the 1st doesn't work. Some countries require 4 relief wells.
Matthew Simmons told Dylan Ratigan that "there's another leak, much bigger, 5 to 6 miles away" from the leaking riser and blowout preventer which we've all been watching on the underwater cameras. Was this bigger leak caused by destruction of the well casing, or caused by some opening of a larger natural "fracture" oil seep? This might explain the strange red plumes of oil a few hundred feet under the surface.
For the relief well to succeed, the bore hole must precisely intersect the damaged well. If it misses, BP will have to back up its drill, plug the hole it just created, and try again.
If we can't cap that hole that oil is going to destroy the oceans of the world. It only takes one quart of motor oil to make 250,000 gallons of ocean water toxic to wildlife. Not toxic to whales, but the smaller organisms that begin the food chain. Are you starting to get the magnitude of this?
Imagine what happens if that oil keeps flowing until it destroys all life in the oceans of this planet. Who knows how big of a reservoir of oil is down there.
Not to mention that the oceans are critical to maintaining the proper oxygen level in the atmosphere for human life.
The only piece of human technology that might address this is a small nuclear bomb. I'm not kidding. Google "russian nuke oil spill" I pray the 1st relief well works in August! By then the Gulf will be black, but hopefully the east coast can be saved. If they put a nuke down there in the right spot it might seal up the hole. However, the nukes worked to seal the oil channel from a LAND rig, it's never been tried under 5000 ft of pressure on a sandy bottom, but still, nothing short of that will work."
Again, this is NOT my scenario or my scientific opinion, but I did find it interesting in any event. Scary as hell, but interesting. I'd love to hear from factual, actual scientists with opinions on this. The nuke theory is unnerving to say the least. If it went wrong....
Saturday, June 5, 2010
THE Oil Spill
It's been a month and the undersea gusher continues. As the oil fouls everything seen and unseen, the anger grows at the destruction of not only wildlife and sensitive marshland and coastline, but of peoples' livelihoods. Now and for the foreseeable future.
What happened here wasn't a simple "oops" in a mechanical failure. According to all accounts, it was management exercising its usual "screw your rational judgment...do as I say at all possible costs" pressure on a drilling operation. The drilling crew knew the high potential that removal of the heavy drilling fluid would allow gas and oil to escape from the well. They also hoped the "pinchers" referring supposedly to the "blowout preventer" would work in the case of an emergency. As we know, it didn't. In the ensuing failure, 11 lives were lost and the worst ecological failure of an oil company property came to be.
Add to this debacle the missed inspections by the Minerals Management Service, the Federal agency that was supposed to safeguard lives and the environment on this and all oil rigs. 12 missed inspections out of 60 so we are told? Sounds like what happens in mines when MSHA doesn't do its job and a mine explodes killing numerous miners. They either inspect too infrequently, or cite the mines and allow the citations to be contested forever, while the safety violations go unabated! Then we have OSHA which allows some of the states to handle some of their inspections and I don't even want to go down that road with what I have witnessed personally.
Obama is making more trips to the Gulf region as the beaches become fouled and the summer tourist season gets into full swing. The jobs lost, the toll on the economy, the loss of livelihoods, damage and death to wildlife and wetlands will never be mitigated. He waited too long before jumping in with both feet and ordering the federal government to pour all necessary support into this catastrophe, without waiting to see if BP could solve its own problem.
Why don't we have a plan for such catastrophies? Why not have a warehouse full of oil eating microbes ready to ship out to places like this when disaster strikes? Why not have a pollution task force that can handle this? Where are the hundreds of oil skimmers and vacuum barges that should be descending on this from all over the globe? Like Katrina, this is a dollar short and a day late in execution by the government. Waiting until it's too late and hoping someone else will take care of it. Did contributions by big oil dull the response?
No, I'm not an environmental activist. I know we need the oil and energy, but we don't need to destroy out coastline and wildlife to do it. Nor do we need big oil to run the show while the most powerful government in the world sits on its hands wondering if this will turn out okay. Putting the Coast Guard in charge is fine except they have been hamstrung for decades with budget constraints on equipment. They should have had a fleet available for issues just such as this, if not their own, at their beck and call.
Watchful waiting is not the answer. Because, like some cancers, it grows beyond control and kills everything in its path before it can ever be stopped.
What happened here wasn't a simple "oops" in a mechanical failure. According to all accounts, it was management exercising its usual "screw your rational judgment...do as I say at all possible costs" pressure on a drilling operation. The drilling crew knew the high potential that removal of the heavy drilling fluid would allow gas and oil to escape from the well. They also hoped the "pinchers" referring supposedly to the "blowout preventer" would work in the case of an emergency. As we know, it didn't. In the ensuing failure, 11 lives were lost and the worst ecological failure of an oil company property came to be.
Add to this debacle the missed inspections by the Minerals Management Service, the Federal agency that was supposed to safeguard lives and the environment on this and all oil rigs. 12 missed inspections out of 60 so we are told? Sounds like what happens in mines when MSHA doesn't do its job and a mine explodes killing numerous miners. They either inspect too infrequently, or cite the mines and allow the citations to be contested forever, while the safety violations go unabated! Then we have OSHA which allows some of the states to handle some of their inspections and I don't even want to go down that road with what I have witnessed personally.
Obama is making more trips to the Gulf region as the beaches become fouled and the summer tourist season gets into full swing. The jobs lost, the toll on the economy, the loss of livelihoods, damage and death to wildlife and wetlands will never be mitigated. He waited too long before jumping in with both feet and ordering the federal government to pour all necessary support into this catastrophe, without waiting to see if BP could solve its own problem.
Why don't we have a plan for such catastrophies? Why not have a warehouse full of oil eating microbes ready to ship out to places like this when disaster strikes? Why not have a pollution task force that can handle this? Where are the hundreds of oil skimmers and vacuum barges that should be descending on this from all over the globe? Like Katrina, this is a dollar short and a day late in execution by the government. Waiting until it's too late and hoping someone else will take care of it. Did contributions by big oil dull the response?
No, I'm not an environmental activist. I know we need the oil and energy, but we don't need to destroy out coastline and wildlife to do it. Nor do we need big oil to run the show while the most powerful government in the world sits on its hands wondering if this will turn out okay. Putting the Coast Guard in charge is fine except they have been hamstrung for decades with budget constraints on equipment. They should have had a fleet available for issues just such as this, if not their own, at their beck and call.
Watchful waiting is not the answer. Because, like some cancers, it grows beyond control and kills everything in its path before it can ever be stopped.
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