Burning oil rig sinks, setting stage for big spill

[Hot Mega]

On "Earth day" no less...

NEW ORLEANS – A deepwater oil platform that burned for more than a day after a massive explosion sank into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, creating the potential for a major spill as it underscored the slim chances that the 11 workers still missing survived.

The sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, which burned violently until the gulf itself extinguished the fire, could unleash more than 300,000 of gallons of crude into the water every day. The environmental hazards would be greatest if the spill were to reach the Louisiana coast, some 50 miles away.

Crews searched by air and water for the missing workers, hoping they had managed to reach a lifeboat, but one relative said ****** members have been told it's unlikely any of the missing survived Tuesday night's blast. More than 100 workers escaped the explosion and fire; four were critically injured.
Carolyn Kemp of Monterey, La., said her grandson, Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, was among the missing. She said he would have been on the drilling platform when it exploded.

"They're assuming all those men who were on the platform are dead," Kemp said. "That's the last we've heard."

A fleet of supply vessels had shot water into the rig to try to control the fire enough to keep it afloat and keep oil out of the water. Officials had previously said the environmental damage appeared minimal, but new challenges have arisen now that the platform has sunk.

The well could be spilling up to 336,000 gallons of crude oil a day, Coast Guard Petty Officer Katherine McNamara said. She said she didn't know whether the crude oil was spilling into the gulf. The rig also carried 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel, but that would likely evaporate if the fire didn't consume it.

Continued at link.........

http://news.yahoo.com/s//ap/20100422/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion_95/

 

[Red Spyder]

Yup, the irony of it all. On earth day. Happy birthday, ****** earth! (is that what we celebrate on earth day?) This is not just an ecological disaster, but a human tragedy with those missing workers and also all that ****** oil. Like it or not, oil is still the king of energy. I do hope that one day in the not too distant future some kind of renewable energy may be developed so that we humans no longer have to deal with this kind of thing, like maybe finding a way to extract and use methane gas out of... well, ****! Talk about a renewable source!! But until then we have to make do with the energy source we got and not one we would like to have.

 

[bustybbwlover]

^what he said

 

[Hot Mega]

Coast Guard: No oil leak from sunken rig off La.

Better news today....

NEW ORLEANS – No oil appeared to be leaking after a drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said Friday, though officials were trying to contain what spilled from the blast and prevent any threat to the coast's fragile ecosystem.

The search continued for 11 workers missing after the explosion late Tuesday on the Deepwater Horizon, though ****** members said they had been told they probably did not survive.

The rig burned for nearly two days until it sank Thursday morning. The fire was out, but officials initially feared as much as 336,000 gallons of crude oil a day could be rising from the sea floor nearly 5,000 feet below.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said Friday morning that no oil appeared to be leaking from a well head at the ocean floor, nor was any leaking at the water's surface. But she said crews were closely monitoring the rig for any more crude that might spill out.

The crew was finishing the well about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast when the rig exploded. Officials have not said what caused the blast, and the oil they are dealing with now is left over from the explosion and sinking.

Continued at link....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion;_ylt=AkPUoNp0CRSw7je.tebYRQ9H2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTNqNmg3aG1vBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDIzL3VzX2xvdWlzaWFuYV9vaWxfcmlnX2V4cGxvc2lvbgRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNjb2FzdGd1YXJkbm8-

 

[Jagger69]

And worse news today. From Tuesday's Houston Chronicle:

SEAFLOOR LEAK TRIPLES OIL SPILL

Oil and water

Measures under way to control damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill:

BP focuses on using robot subs to shut off well but also works on alternative plans

By BRETT CLANTON and MONICA HATCHER

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

As a major oil spill in waters off Louisiana tripled in area, a growing task ***** led by BP kept trying and failing Monday to plug a leaking well one mile below, damaged when a massive drilling rig sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts remained focused on the quickest fix — using robot submarines to close valves sitting atop the well. BP also said it has made progress with backup plans to build a domelike device to collect seeping oil at the seafloor, which could be installed in as little as two weeks, and with a worstcase plan — possibly taking months — to drill relief wells into the damaged one to stop the ********. “We don’t know which technique will ultimately be successful,” said Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer of exploration and production, in a news conference Monday. “Just like everyone, we want to bring this to conclusion absolutely as fast as possible.” The leaking well was discovered Saturday after the Deepwater Horizon sank Thursday morning about 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. The rig, owned and operated by Swiss-based Transocean and under lease to BP, went down after an apparent blowout sent the hulking structure up in flames the night of April 20. Eleven of the 126 aboard at the time of the blast remain missing and are presumed dead. The situation has cast a glaring light on the physical and environmental risks of offshore oil drilling at a time when the industry is pushing for greater access to domestic oil and gas resources and after the Obama administration recently called for opening more federal waters for energy exploration. And some political opponents of offshore drilling have seen an opening for ******.

“The explosion, ensuing fire and continuing spill raise serious concerns about the industry’s claims that their operations and technology are safe enough to put rigs in areas that are environmentally sensitive or are critical to tourism or fishing industries,” Senate Democrats Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Bill Nelson of Florida wrote in a letter Monday to leaders of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

‘Not an isolated incident’

They requested a hearing on the Deepwater Horizon incident. “This may be the worst disaster in recent years, but it’s certainly not an isolated incident,” they wrote.

Aware perhaps of what could be at stake for the industry, BP has gone to great lengths to ensure the cleanup goes smoothly and quickly.

As of Monday, the British oil giant had tapped an army of more than 1,000 people to brainstorm fixes for plugging the well, and had marshaled a small armada of boats, planes and other resources to fight the spill as far from the shore as possible. Under a 1990 U.S. oil pollution law, BP is required to foot the cleanup bill. The Deepwater Horizon spill now covers an estimated 1,800 square miles, the Coast Guard said Monday, dramatically increasing its estimate of 600 square miles from the day before. But it noted that the slick was not continuous over that entire area, and that 97 percent of it is a thin sheen that dissipates easily, while the rest is thicker oil.

Government forecasters said the spill posed no immediate threat of making landfall, based on three-day weather models.

“Our biggest concern is that it continues to spill,” said Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Coast Guard has been working on contingency plans with state governments in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, which would have ample time to respond if the spill came ashore, said Rear Adm. Mary Landry, commander of Coast Guard District 8.

Employees evacuated

But Chuck Kennicutt, professor of oceanography at Texas A&M University, doubts it will come to that. “This is far enough offshore that at least for the time being the likelihood of it washing up into the sensitive areas on the shore is probably fairly low,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling said it evacuated more than 100 employees from its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig because the oil sheen had moved within a few miles of a well it is drilling for Exxon Mobil.

BP and Coast Guard officials said they remain hopeful of sealing off the well, which is leaking up to 1,000 barrels or 42,000 gallons a day.

Workers were using up to four remotely operated vehicles Monday in an effort to activate shut-off valves on a giant piece of equipment called a blowout preventer that rests on top of the well at the seafloor. None of the multiple attempts to activate the 50-foot stack of valves had been successful yet, BP’s Suttles said.

Separately, the company has begun constructing three of the dome-like oil-collection devices that could be deployed in two to four weeks, he said. Also, BP was expecting the arrival of a rig Monday night to drill relief wells should they be needed, Suttles said.

brett.clanton@chron.com

They can't shut this thing off. The entire Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama gulf coast ecosystems are being threatened. It could take months to get this under control.

Spill, baby, spill?

Link is here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6976990.html

 

[STDiva]

Sad

 

[titsrock]

Does Obama want to rescind the offshore oil "gift" he made, what, 2 weeks ago

This disaster is Exxon Valdez revisited. Tourism, fishing, recreation, natural wildlife...

And to top it off, we're no where closer to weaning our nation off of reliance of this economic and ecological cancer!

 

[Jagger69]

Today BP announced that the oil leak is much worse than originally thought. They have tried to cap the leak(s) without success and have attempted to set the ocean on fire to burn the oil off and now they want the US military to step in.

This is a potential ecological disaster in the making that could make the Exxon Valdez incident appear insignificant by comparison. :eek:

BP welcomes military help for larger Gulf oil leak

By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer Cain Burdeau, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 10 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS – A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is even worse than believed and as the government grows concerned that the rig's operator is ill-equipped to contain it, officials are offering a military response to try to avert a massive environmental disaster along the ecologically fragile U.S. coastline.

Speaking Thursday on NBC's "Today" show, an executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.

"We'll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.

But time may be running out. Not only was a third leak discovered — which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water than originally estimated — but it might be closer to shore than previously known, and could have oil washing up on shore by Friday.

At the same time, there appeared to be a rift developing between BP and the Coast Guard, which is overseeing the increasingly desperate operation to contain the spill and clean it up.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry was emphatic at a hastily called news conference late Wednesday that the new leak was discharging 5,000 barrels a day of sweet crude, not the 1,000 barrels officials had estimated for days since the Deepwater Horizons drilling rig exploded and sank 50 miles off the Louisiana Coast.

Suttles disputed at the same news conference with Landry that the amount of oil spilling into the water had ballooned — or at the company wasn't able to handle the ongoing operation to contain it.

But early Thursday, he said on "Today" that the leak may be as high as the government's new estimate. He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from seeing how much oil makes it to the surface.

"Using the satellite imagery and our overflights, we can now say it looks like it's more than a thousand. It's a range," Suttles said. He said the range was up to 5,000 barrels a day.

The Secretary of Homeland Security has briefed President Barack Obama on this new information and the government has offered to have the Department of Defense use its equipment and expertise to help contain the spill and protect the U.S. coastline and wildlife, Landry said.

"It has become clear after several unsuccessful attempts to determine the cause" that agencies must supplement what's being done by the company, she said.

This all played out at the end of a long day as crews began an experiment to burn off parts of the slick — the latest in a series of high- and low-tech efforts to stop the oil leak, reel in as much of the oil as possible to prevent it from washing ashore and harming the fragile wildlife and plant life that dot the coast.

Landry said the controlled, test burn was successful late Wednesday afternoon. BP was to set more fires after the test, but as night fell, there were no more burns. The burns were not expected to be done at night. No details about when more were planned were given during the news conference.

Crews planned to use hand-held flares to set fire to sections of the spill. They turned to the idea after failing to stop the leak at the spot where a deep water platform exploded on April 20 and later sank. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead and more than 100 escaped the blast, the cause of which has not been determined.

A 500-foot boom was to be used to corral several thousand gallons of the thickest oil on the surface, which will then be towed to a more remote area, set on fire, and allowed to burn for about an hour.

The decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below.

Officials had estimated about 42,000 gallons of oil a day was leaking into the Gulf from the blown-out well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. That would be closer to 210,000 gallons a day with the new estimates. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead and more than 100 escaped the blast, the cause of which has not been determined.

A spokeswoman for a U.S. military base in Colorado Springs, Colo., that provides support to civil authorities during natural disasters said BP has not requested the defense department's help to contain the leak. However, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air ***** Base, were anticipating the request, said Stacey Knott.

"We are looking at how we may be able to offer support if we are asked," said Knott.

As for the burn, Greg Pollock, head of the oil spill division of the Texas General Land Office, which is providing equipment for crews in the Gulf, said he is not aware of a similar technique ever being tried off the U.S. coast. The last time crews with his agency used fire booms to burn oil was a 1995 spill on the San Jacinto River.

"When you can get oil ignited, it is an absolutely effective way of getting rid of a huge percentage of the oil," he said. "I can't overstate how important it is to get the oil off the surface of the water."

When the flames go out, Pollock said, the material that is left resembles a hardened ball of tar that can be removed from the water with nets or skimmers.

"I would say there is little threat to the environment because it won't coat an ******, and because all the volatiles have been consumed if it gets on a shore it can be simply picked up," he said.

Authorities also said they expect minimal impact on sea turtles and marine mammals in the burn area.

A graphic posted by the Coast Guard and the industry task ***** fighting the slick showed it covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its widest point.

"It's premature to say this is catastrophic. I will say this is very serious," Landry said earlier Wednesday.

From the air, the thickest parts of the spill resembled rust-colored ********* of various thickness. The air was thick with the acrid smell of petroleum.

Amid several of the thicker streaks, four gray whales could be seen swimming in the oil. It was not clear if the whales were in danger.

BP says work will begin as early as Thursday to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site, but that could take months.

Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but that will take two weeks to put in place, BP said.

Winds and currents in the Gulf have helped crews in recent days as they try to contain the leak. The immediate threat to sandy beaches in coastal Alabama and Mississippi has eased. But the spill has moved steadily toward the mouth of the Mississippi River and the wetland areas east of the river, home to hundreds of species of wildlife and near some rich oyster grounds.

The cost of the disaster continues to rise and could easily top $1 billion.

More than two dozen vessels moved about in the heart of the slick pulling oil-sopping booms.

Earlier Wednesday, Louisiana State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham told lawmakers federal government projections show a "high probability" oil could reach the Pass a Loutre wildlife area Friday night, Breton Sound on Saturday and the Chandeleur Islands on Sunday.

In Plaquemines Parish, a sliver of Louisiana that juts into the Gulf and is home to Pass a Loutre, officials hoped to deploy a fleet of volunteers in fishing boats to spread booms that could block oil from entering inlets.

"We've got oystermen and shrimpers who know this water better than anyone," Plaquemines Paris President Billy Nungesser said. "Hopefully the Coast Guard will embrace the idea."

Link is here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion

 

[titsrock]

The lawsuits are coming. I'm sure BP has various "out clauses" in its contracts about not being responsible for oil accidents "catastrophic or otherwise" and that they are "a normal hazard for doing business"....

The money that will be needed to clean up this mess is a catastrophic sum.

How could they not have an emergency plan to protect the ocean? Nobody thought to ask, what happens if an oil platform sinks

They literally have no idea what they're doing..

 

[HE1FiNEARTiST]

i smell sabotage! "I can't stand it! I know you planned it!"

 

[Bloodshot Scott]

This is huge news right now on Fox. They say may be bigger than exxon valdize spill. Poor damn critters.

Anybody for a little crude oil marinated shrimp for supper tonight? :tongue:

 

[titsrock]

CNBC was theorizing that this oil could affect the shipping lanes and, whaddya know, halt the importation of oil into the U.S.

Oil has been getting back to W Administration levels...and it's going even higher than what it was then.

 

[Jagger69]

CNBC was theorizing that this oil could affect the shipping lanes and, whaddya know, halt the importation of oil into the U.S.

Oil has been getting back to W Administration levels...and it's going even higher than what it was then.

Just in time for huge summer gas price hikes. Fuck all the dead birds and wildlife and the loss of fishing, shrimp and oyster business. This could be a financial windfall for the oil companies!

It has also been stated that BP will pay for any US government involvement regarding the cleanup effort after this disaster has ****** (which may be some time). They fucking better....and they should be royally sued by the businesses that will be negatively impacted by this. How there cannot be some contingency on their behalf for just such a catastrophe is beyond irresponsible. I hope BP loses billions of dollars as a result of this fiasco.

 

[titsrock]

^
Exactly. Maybe we now know the real reason Obama is mobilizing the troops. BP is dragging its feet hiding behind corporate incompetence....

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

Fuck the troops. What this situation needs is a healthy dose of Bruce Willis.

 

[Sparky Shortz]

This oil spill was planned based on the rescind of the offshore oil "gift" Obama made 2 weeks ago :thefinger

Does Obama want to rescind the offshore oil "gift" he made, what, 2 weeks ago

This disaster is Exxon Valdez revisited. Tourism, fishing, recreation, natural wildlife...

And to top it off, we're no where closer to weaning our nation off of reliance of this economic and ecological cancer!

 

[Jagger69]

Fuck the troops. What this situation needs is a healthy dose of Bruce Willis.

You know. the same thing crossed my mind. Harry Stamper....where are you???

:1orglaugh

 

[girk1]

At least this will temporarily (hopefully permanently)shut up those who foolishly yell "Drill baby drill"! & the knuckleheads that follow them.


Obama included since he is suddenly all for offshore drilling along the Atlantic coast.

 

[~~whimsy~~]

I found this little piece...

A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia’s Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media ******** over North Korea’s torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform owned by the World’s largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean that was built and financed by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., that has caused great loss of life, untold billions in economic damage to the South Korean economy, and an environmental catastrophe to the United States.

Most important to understand about this latest ****** by North Korea against its South Korean enemy is that under the existing “laws of war” it was a permissible action as they remain in a state of war against each other due to South Korea’s refusal to sign the 1953 Armistice ending the Korean War.

To the ****** itself, these reports continue, the North Korean “cargo vessel” Dai Hong Dan believed to be staffed by 17th Sniper Corps “suicide” troops left Cuba’s Empresa Terminales Mambisas de La Habana (Port of Havana) on April 18th whereupon it “severely deviated” from its intended course for Venezuela’s Puerto Cabello bringing it to within 209 kilometers (130 miles) of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform which was located 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of the US State of Louisiana where it launched an SSC Sang-o Class Mini Submarine (Yugo class) estimated to have an operational range of 321 kilometers (200 miles).

On the night of April 20th the North Korean Mini Submarine manned by these “suicidal” 17th Sniper Corps soldiers attacked the Deepwater Horizon with what are believed to be 2 incendiary torpedoes causing a massive explosion and resulting in 11 workers on this giant oil rig being ****** outright. Barely 48 hours later, on April 22nd , this North Korean Mini Submarine committed its final atrocity by exploding itself directly beneath the Deepwater Horizon causing this $1 Billion oil rig to sink beneath the seas and marking 2010’s celebration of Earth Day with one of the largest environmental catastrophes our World has ever seen.

Of course, more here:
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1367.htm

Anyways, thought I would share it, umm... yeah.

 

[sidewinder101]

This BP oil spill and the Coal Miners deaths in West Va and Goldman & Sachs snubbing there nose at the SEC are the results of out of control capitalistic Fanatics.