Explosion – Deep Water Horizon Drilling Rig in GOM, USA

[Andy Shiers]

What do all these have in common ?
Exxon Valdez
Sea Empress
Westchester
Eagle Otome
Odyssey
Mega Borg
And finally Piper Alpha ( The worst Oil disaster to happen in British waters with the loss of BRITISH Lives )
I will give you a clue They begin with an A !
When talking about Oil Disasters and whose to blame , It will all come out in the wash eventually. The finger pointing ain’t gonna help ’cause it’s too much of a newspaper read. Maybe the lesson will be learned this time that ‘Gung Ho’ attitudes offshore causes lives as well as economic and environmental issues.I sincerely hope that "British Petroleum" ( Not Transocean or Haliburton ) manage to stem the Oil spill in a months time.

[James McLauchlan]

James,

First let me start off by saying it was all of Europe that wanted Obama… You’ve gotten what you asked for. Maybe next time Europe won’t try to get involved in US politics… 😯

As far as BP goes, they are going to be maligned (rightfully so) long after this disaster is over. They have FUBAR’d on so many different fronts its not even funny. From the CEO saying "I want my life back" to his dismal performance in front of the congressional inquiry, it ‘s been one sorrid mistake after their fatal one…

Maybe next time, they’ll think about doing what’s right first.

Chief

Chief,
Whether Europe appeared to want Obama or not it’s clearly the US voters that voted him, in not Europeans.
Do you think that if we’d wanted Hilary Clinton our feelings would have made any difference to the outcome?
So in that respect the USA got what it voted for…. Obama!
I would suggest that Europe might stop getting involved in US politics when the US stops getting involved in European politics.. neither will happen in our lifetime.

Back to BP – GOM
BP, Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, you name it, are all pretty much of the same ilk in the way they approach things. My point earlier was that BP should not be viewed as any different than the other operators. Some would have us believe that BP is a bad egg and all the others are angels and therefore lets break BP. The whole system clearly needs a shake down, and yet there are a few operators out there that seem to be giving off vibes that they are the good guys when it comes to deep water drilling practices. Oh… we’d not do it like that, BP screwed up etc. as if it would never happen to them!

As oil executives testified at a House of Representatives hearing

Another Congressman, Edward Markey, told the House energy and commerce sub- committee that Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell all have identical response plans to BP.

But the executives sought to distance themselves from BP, telling the politicians they would not have drilled the Deepwater Horizon well in the same way as BP, suggesting some of BP’s design decisions and actions may have jeopardised well integrity.

All very easy for them to say that in hindsight when they are not the operators of the well that crashed and burned.

BP has had a major problem. They were most likely operating the same way as the bulk of the industry does.. i.e. what they were doing was pretty much standard practice in the offshore industry. That does not mean it’s the safest method.. but the methods are probably in common use on a global scale by a multitude of operators.

It needs fixing, but let not be naive enough to believe that it’s all BP’s fault.

[Andy Falconer]

American Oill Spill hits Hampshire Coast..

Not quite the same impact, but maybe it’ll stop the Americans and their brit-bashing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/10366153.stm

Although wasn’t Tony Hayward in the vicinity over the weekend?

[Craig Thorngren]

James,

I think you guys (Brits specifically, and European’s in general) are being played by your own media like a fiddle… Make no mistake, people here in the states hate BP (just like we hated Exxon after Valdez), but not because they are "British", but because it appears that they cut some serious corners that cost 11 people their lives, thousands their jobs and created an ecological disaster that is unprecendented on our shores.

Tony Hayward bashing, BP bashing, absolutely it happens on a regular basis. British bashing, nope, nada, doesn’t happen like your media portrays it.

Look at ROVWork’s post… He’s actually trying to compare a 20 barrel spill to a 20 MILLION+ spill.

I think your correct that the rest of the players probably play the game the same as BP. Unfortunately BP’s the one who is going to pay. If the other players have any common sense, they’ll see what’s going on and change their ways. If not, then when this stuff happens to them, they should be hammered twice as hard as BP (for being stupid and not learning from someone else’s tough lesson).

Again, please don’t be so sensitive as to equate bashing BP that were bashing Britian. It just isn’t true.

Chief

[Andy Falconer]

Chief,

Just to point out, the last post was not meant to offend, more of a bit of light-hearted banter, and I’m certainly not comparing "who’s got the biggest spill".

No one’s really accusing anyone of Brit bashing, OK, Obama did it, (probably following his political advisor’s advice) he got a bollocking, apologised, end of.

We all know about the Oil Pollution act placing the blame sqaurely at the door of BP. Pointing fingers at Halliburton, Transocean etc. won’t bring back the 11 people lost in the explosion, or minimise the impact on the environment of all this oil.

[Craig Thorngren]

Andy,

Point taken. I don’t know how much of the US press actually makes it oversea’s, but there are two people that are getting hammered hard over this Deepwater Horizion Disaster… Tony Hayward, and Barrack Obama…

Tony for being the CEO of the company that is responsible for the disaster happening, and Barrack for being seen as being the one in charge of the government effort that has been utterly almost as disastorous as the spill itself.

Chief

[James McLauchlan]

I took Andy’s post in the light hearted manner it was posted in.

People can bash away at the Brits all they like.. but from where I am sitting the Brits (with their built in heavy duty sense of humour) appear to be far less sensitive over that kind of thing than the yanks. However, from this side of the pond, it does not appear that the Obama team realised this…..

So…. Why was Obama harking on about British Petroleum when everyone else on planet earth calls it BP and has done for years? What was his point? Because as sure as eggs are eggs his team would have sat down and worked that ‘shallow’ little number out before hand. If that’s the best they can come up with……
It’s that kind of thing that makes many consider that he and his team were attempting to make sure that it was not an American registered company name being brought to the fore and yet:

• BP America, Inc. produces oil and natural gas in the United States.
• The company, formerly known as BP-Amoco, Inc., is based in Warrenville, Illinois. BP America, Inc.

BP America Inc. sounds like an American registered company to me but it does clearly operate as a subsidiary of BP Plc.

So, who was calling the shots when it all went pear shaped?
Was it the American CEO’s team of BP America Inc. on the rig calling the shots, or was the Deep water Horizon loaded with Brits all calling Tony Hayward for advice on what to do next?
I personally have no idea, but possibly worthy of being mulled over by way of debate.

Yes, we are all fully aware that the GOM is heavily polluted as result of this and nobody would wish that on anyone/area in any lifetime….. but I do sense that BP is now in trouble as a company… it appears that they themselves didn’t seem to think so until about a week back when they came to the realisation that the company itself may have to fight for it’s very existence. Russia is now starting to wonder if BP will survive long enough able to sustain long term commitments in Russia.

So… BP goes under and Governments just don’ have the cash left to support such a massive company (including it’s subsidiaries such as BP America Inc.) … in which case thousand of Americans and Brits can kiss goodbye to their day jobs… does Obama want that on his plate?

I say, back off a little and allow BP to function as a viable organisation not a battered shell. They did wrong, so by all means make them pay but do it over time…. don’t simply shoot the goose that lays the golden egg and then wonder afterwards why offshore production has tailed off.. oil prices have gone up and even more companies go bust in this delicate global recovery phase because they can no longer survive with higher fuel prices!

[Mark DuPriest]

opps!…. 😳 …"Tens of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude."…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/23/oil-cap-removed-oil-spill_n_622663.html

[dandydon]

opps!…. 😳 …"Tens of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude."…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/23/oil-cap-removed-oil-spill_n_622663.html

Classic shift handover quote " Ah wis oan the winch…..honest ah was 😈 "

or

"Ah just nipped ot fur a pish"

Aye we’ve a heard them before eh!!

[James McLauchlan]

Meanwhile, back in the real world – Enterprise had gas alarms and moved off 400 meters resulting in cap moving 40 meters off the BOP.

Sounds far more plausible…

[Rons_ROV_Links]

Mapping the Response to BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico [interactive map]

BBC News:
– On board a Gulf oil spill science ship
– BP shares at 14-year low on funding concerns

CNN: Tropical storm, oil slick equal more fear, uncertainty

[baglimit]

Banned from TV by BP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncvzk…layer_embedded part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC-tY…layer_embedded part 2

from OZ 60 minutes.

[James McLauchlan]

Banned from TV by BP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncvzk…layer_embedded part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC-tY…layer_embedded part 2

from OZ 60 minutes.

The URL contained a malformed video ID. 😕 😕

[James McLauchlan]

Meanwhile, back in the real world – Enterprise had gas alarms and moved off 400 meters resulting in cap moving 40 meters off the BOP.

Sounds far more plausible…

That’ll be because it’s true

Otherwise BP state that Enterprise had to move due to gas alarms and possible risk of explosions….again!!

Much easier to blame the ROVs as per BP (Amoco) ops manual chapter 1 para 1

Given all the crap the guys on the job are dealing with (gas alarms, maintenance in respirators etc.) they’re doing a damn good job

BP / Thad Allan blaming this particular FU on the ROV teams really is taking the piss.

I agree, judging by the way story below has been presented it does appear to be easy enough to blame ROV!

There are differing stories around…
Source: http://www.offshore-mag.com

Deepwater Horizon: LMRP cap back in operation

Published: Jun 24, 2010

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – The lower marine riser package (LMRP) cap is back in place and again sending oil and gas to the Discoverer Enterprise at the BP spill site in the Gulf of Mexico. The flow to the Q4000 via the choke line and manifold was not interrupted.

The LMRP was removed from the BOP yesterday when an ROV inadvertently bumped a vent the carries hot water to the cap to prevent hydrate formation and caused the release of liquids. The containment cap was taken off the BOP to determine what had happened and to forestall having to deal with hydrates in the cap.

In other work, the first freestanding riser pipe now is in place and being tested as part of the plan to bring another production vessel online to increase the amount of oil captured.

How ‘gagged’ are people at the work-site at present? Internet access OK? Phones home working?

[baglimit]

sorry james, try it this time.

and some more from US 60 minutes.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLJHTTOSkpg&feature=related

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skDR0h2EsyU&feature=related

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxFtnQdKwXk&feature=related

And a really powerful speach By that lovely South Carolinian Lady.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYJDI8pK9Y

[Author]

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