Oil Rig Explosion

#251
#251
Interesting.... not sure if true

http://adropofrain.net/2010/05/rumor-schlumberger-exits-deep-horizon-hours-before-blowout/

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.
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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.
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#252
#252
Orangetoes said:
Instead, there was a cascade of failures which included the drilling rig sinking and dropping the riser all over the spill site. Should it have been planned for? Absolutely. Was it? Obviously not. But, believe me when I tell you that it wasn't done because anyone was negligent. It wasn't planned for because drilling rigs just don't sink. Until a month ago...
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I agree with much of your post except for the conclusion about BP's culpability.

From what I've seen it had a number of clues to know that things were going wrong. For example in the 60 Minutes interview a worker on the rig said they found rubber chunks from the BOP before the explosion, yet they didn't stop to fix it.

And there was other missteps.

It all paints a portrait of a management that was rushing to finish a project (for financial reasons) that had taken weeks longer than expected.
 
#254
#254
VolsNSkinsFan said:
Interesting.... not sure if true

http://adropofrain.net/2010/05/rumor-schlumberger-exits-deep-horizon-hours-before-blowout/
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Very interesting...service companies like SLB have to be even more safety conscious than the oil companies, I've been told, and I know that the oil companies are generally already very safety conscious. The guy that was telling me that BP has had some reasonably large safety problems in the past 5 years was a former SLB guy.

Just a note about the safety culture...When I interviewed with Exxon, I was glared at because I didn't grab the handrail on the stairs until the point I was taking my second step, instead of grabbing it before taking my first step!
 
#256
#256
BP is siphoning off 5,000 barrels a day now... and yet it is only a fraction of the oil coming up through the broken well.

Clearly, the spill is much larger than even the secondary report.

BP: Oil gusher bigger than we estimated - CNN.com

Some are beginning to question BP's honesty and transparency at this point. This is going to go bad for them, because this Congress hates "Big" anything, despises "Big Oil," and loves to stick it to and bully corporations. BP is screwed.
 
#257
#257
Also, it's beginning to hit the wetlands of southern Louisiana, and the oil is a lot thicker and sticky than expected.

Our Po boys dressed won't be containing as many shrimp for awhile.
 
#258
#258
IPorange said:
Some are beginning to question BP's honesty and transparency at this point.
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Wow, I wonder why.

It's not just BP, though. Initially, I was willing to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt on how it was handling things. But I don't get it any more.

Here we are, a month after the explosion, and we're just now trying to figure out exactly how much oil is being released? And the EPA is just now telling BP to use different chemical dispersants?

The extent to which the government has become partners in crime with BP in this boggles the mind.
 
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#259
#259
Velo Vol said:
Wow, I wonder why.

It's not just BP, though. Initially, I was willing to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt on how it was handling things. But I don't get it any more.

Here we are, a month after the explosion, and we're just now trying to figure out exactly how much oil is being released? And the EPA is just now telling BP to use different chemical dispersants?

The extent to which the government has become partners in crime with BP in this boggles the mind.
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If you don't expect the government to fail at pretty much everything it tries to do except kill/oppress people, you haven't been paying attention.
 
#260
#260
Velo Vol said:
Wow, I wonder why.

It's not just BP, though. Initially, I was willing to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt on how it was handling things. But I don't get it any more.

Here we are, a month after the explosion, and we're just now trying to figure out exactly how much oil is being released? And the EPA is just now telling BP to use different chemical dispersants?

The extent to which the government has become partners in crime with BP in this boggles the mind.
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Who says they are just trying to figure it out now? How do you measure the flow rate of a fluid? First things you have to do is know what type of fluid it is and that's hard to do when you have gas mixed in with it. The only way to get a known flow rate of the leaks was to run it up to the surface and calculate it. So, now we know it's more than 5,000/day. But, how much more?

FYI, on the dispersants - the one that was being used was working great. It was also on the approved list for use in an oil spill and the the one that BP listed in their application to drill. I hope the next one works as well.

I have no idea what the big wigs do with the politicians. I hate the way politics work today and I pisses me off everytime I think about it. Our government has been for sale for a long time and it doesn't matter who is running the show. But, that is another thread all by itself.
 
#262
#262
Orangetoes said:
First things you have to do is know what type of fluid it is and that's hard to do when you have gas mixed in with it. The only way to get a known flow rate of the leaks was to run it up to the surface and calculate it.
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Didn't they have an idea of what that ratio is before the explosion?
 
#263
#263
Velo Vol said:
I assumed that BP has had an internal estimate, but this is the first time I've seen the government push to have a specific estimate, at least publicly.
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There were guesses but no one really knew or still does know. The well isn't flowing full bore - it's leaking around seals. So, the well test data is worthless for trying to determine the leak rate. There aren't any off the shelf tools today that allows an ROV to check flow rates. We can check flow rates of a known fluid as it is taken into the ROV (it's a little more complex than that but I'm trying not to get too technical) or sent from the ROV but the numbers get completely whacked if you change the specific gravity of the fluid even just a small amount.

As for the government... it's an election year and this is a hot topic. I expect there to be a whole lot of wasted money - I mean hearings and panels on what the flow rate is. I'm sure every congressional committee will have their own panel. For what it's worth - the Coast Guard and MMS are in every single conference call we have and they actually have to sign/approve every step we take. The government knows exactly what BP knows - no matter what they say to the public.
 
#264
#264
Velo Vol said:
Didn't they have an idea of what that ratio is before the explosion?
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Sure - but, it doesn't matter now. The well was supposed to be shut in with no product coming out. From firsthand knowledge, I can tell you that the well is burping gas. By the way, that is why the first top hat failed. Under pressure, when the gas mixes with water, it can freeze. The well burped as they were setting the top hat and iced the whole thing up before it could be used. It was certainly bad luck and set back the containment effort by days.
 
#265
#265
One of the few solid data releases BP did give has been that there's a lot more natural gas coming out than they first estimated.

I'm looking at the flow webcam. I have a hard time making out anything. Where is the insertion tube? I thought it was supposed to be where the bubbles are coming out?
 
#266
#266
Velo Vol said:
One of the few solid data releases BP did give has been that there's a lot more natural gas coming out than they first estimated.

I'm looking at the flow webcam. I have a hard time making out anything. Where is the insertion tube? I thought it was supposed to be where the bubbles are coming out?
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The insertion tube is coming in throught the top of the picture and you can't see it. You'd be able to see it if the ROV were to lateral around to the right or left. I doubt you'd be able to see the gas from this angle.
 
#267
#267
Good grief:

President Barack Obama has named two political veterans to head an independent US commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, amid criticism of the government's response.

They are ex-Democratic Senator Bob Graham and former Republican environment chief William Reilly.

The president said he wanted to make sure such a disaster never happened again.

The panel has six months to compile its report.
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No better way to get to the bottom of this than by establishing a commission run by a couple of retired politicos, both of them no doubt experts on oil drilling.

/sarcasm
 
#268
#268
Velo Vol said:
Good grief:



No better way to get to the bottom of this than by establishing a commission run by a couple of retired politicos, both of them no doubt experts on oil drilling.

/sarcasm
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Truly amazing how predictable and incompetent they are... I have been getting the impression that this accident was caused by not following safety protocols already in place. I fail to see how creating more safety protocols will change the need for them to be followed... As Droski and others said a while ago in this thread, sh** DOES happen.
 
#269
#269
The nuclear industry has been following protocols for years, otherwise they get nailed by the NRC. I don't see why the oil industry can't do that as well.
 
#270
#270
I watched the big news conf. with the head guy from the government (some Admiral) and it's pretty amazing how rhetoric and fact don't mix.

Even the administration is making misstatements when they know better (Salazar). The press is getting things wrong (e.g. the dispersants).
 
#272
#272
Weezy said:
The nuclear industry has been following protocols for years, otherwise they get nailed by the NRC. I don't see why the oil industry can't do that as well.
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Biggest problem in this country is agency capture... Can't have any safeguards when the regulated are the regulators.
 
#273
#273
droski said:
i find it interesting they are saying the dispersants are bad for the environment. surely the oil is worse no?
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who knows but the stories that BP is ignoring the government orders on dispersants appears to be wrong. my understanding is that it is a discussion with the EPA and the EPA approves the use daily.
 
#274
#274
droski said:
i find it interesting they are saying the dispersants are bad for the environment. surely the oil is worse no?
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The oil is probably worse. It makes sense to use the most ecologically-friendly dispersant that is also readily available, though. However, the bigger question to me is not about the dispersant's environmental impact directly, but rather the side effects.

A problem with the dispersant is that it only breaks the oil up and allows it to fall from the surface. They are not certain about what happens to it from there. Does it form plumes in deeper water, or does it destroy the ecosystem at the bottom of the ocean? Ultimately, it may be better for that to happen that for it to stay on the surface, but just because we disperse it certainly doesn't mean it goes away.
 
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