Gulf Coast Oil Spill

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

What BP doesn't want you to see.



http://acp.repoweramerica.org/page/i...ent=calloutimg

How the hell is this news?
What do they actually think the dispersant does?
It disperses the oil, it emulsifies it and allows it to be diluted into the water column. Of course you're going to get dropplets of oil sinking deeper into the water, that's the whole point, as it's a lot less damaging than having a thick slick on the surface.

I love how at the end the reporter refers to it as "A brand new kind of oily solution". Ah, anyone who has seen any kind of oil/water mixture would beg to differ there buddy. I've seen plenty of water/oil samples, and they look a lot like what this dude is seeing, just on a different scale.

I'm not trying to downplay the magnitude of this diasaster either, I just hate it when I see "Reporting" that is so sensational, and one sided, and rather scientifically inacurate as well.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

How the hell is this news?
What do they actually think the dispersant does?
It disperses the oil, it emulsifies it and allows it to be diluted into the water column. Of course you're going to get dropplets of oil sinking deeper into the water, that's the whole point, as it's a lot less damaging than having a thick slick on the surface.

The fact that a lot of people don't fully realize what the solution is, is what makes it news?
(I haven't seen the reporting in question so I don't know how bad it is... but...)

[DionPlett]

Originally Posted by fotze

There is usually at least triple redundancy, still curious to see how they fataed up a well of this size. Small gas wells you can cut corners because if everything fails you just move a box of apples on top. The drillers on these rigs are the best of the best so who knows. I imagine they function test the BOP's every day and possibly more often than that.

I don't know if this was posted here or not but apparently there were issues with the BOP and they knew about it. There was also a disagreement as how to seal the well and take the mud out between the drilling crew and the BP company man.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

The fact that a lot of people don't fully realize what the solution is, is what makes it news?
(I haven't seen the reporting in question so I don't know how bad it is... but...)

I have no problem with them reporting that the oil isn't just sitting on the surface, and is in fact sinking/mixing into the water column.
What I don't like is the way they presented it. Like this is some big secret, and not at all something that is expected, and that the big evil oil company is trying to keep people from finding out, when in fact, this is exactly what was expected to happen.

Having some dude, say "It's like nothing I've ever seen before" means nothing, unless you preface that with "I've dove into several other oil slicks".
Then using that guy's observation to conclude that this is some unexpected totally new solutiont, is rediculous.
Just becasue I've never seen a cougar doesn't mean if I run into one in the woods that I can claim it's a new species.

As per the bolded part, that certainly is true, the problem is the guy is reporting it like no one knows what this solution is, or worse that only BP knows what it is and they're keeping it quiet. In fact the case is that anyone who is in charge of getting this thing under control knows exactly what this solution is, and they totally expected it because that's the plan.

[DionPlett]

Originally Posted by fotze

Was that the stuff from the roustabout? Thats the janitor. That could be true, but there is more to it than that.

I saw it on HDnet there with Dan Rather.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

James Carville really let Obama have it yesterday for his lack of action.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...16-503544.html

Democratic political strategist James Carville, a resident of Louisiana, slammed President Obama this morning for the "political stupidity" of his response to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

[Byrns]

If this was Bush, everyone would say he's protecting his oil buddies...

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by fotze

when pulling out, but you hopefully have heavy enough fluid in the well to be greater than the bottomhole pressure.

Paging Fotze....errrr...ummm.....

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Byrns

If this was Bush, everyone would say he's protecting his oil buddies...

Shhhh. Such thoughts arent appreciated on Liberal CP

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Having some dude, say "It's like nothing I've ever seen before" means nothing, unless you preface that with "I've dove into several other oil slicks".
Then using that guy's observation to conclude that this is some unexpected totally new solutiont, is rediculous.
Just becasue I've never seen a cougar doesn't mean if I run into one in the woods that I can claim it's a new species.

As per the bolded part, that certainly is true, the problem is the guy is reporting it like no one knows what this solution is, or worse that only BP knows what it is and they're keeping it quiet. In fact the case is that anyone who is in charge of getting this thing under control knows exactly what this solution is, and they totally expected it because that's the plan.

I guess I'll compare it to the moose that was in downtown Calgary the other day. It was new to me and was certainly unexpected. I'm sure it was for a lot of people. I've seen plenty of moose in my time but this was like nothing I had ever seen before.

To other people, in other places, it may not seem all that crazy...

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Byrns

If this was Bush, everyone would say he's protecting his oil buddies...

True.

And, if you're Darth Vader, aka Karl Rove, you're saying today this is "Obama's Katrina."

Cowperson

[CaptainCrunch]

Gary Johnston: OK, a limosine that can fly. Now I have seen everything.
Spottswoode: Really? Have you seen a man eat his own head?
Gary Johnston: No.
Spottswoode: So then, you haven't seen everything.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

True.

And, if you're Darth Vader, aka Karl Rove, you're saying today this is "Obama's Katrina."

Cowperson

Karl Rove is awesome - I hadnt even heard him say that.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by fotze

Was that the stuff from the roustabout? Thats the janitor. That could be true, but there is more to it than that.

There are certain times when things are more risky than others, like when pulling drill pipe, sounding like that is when it happened, you can 'suction' the well up like pulling a plunger when pulling out, but you hopefully have heavy enough fluid in the well to be greater than the bottomhole pressure. There would have had to have been a series of mistakes/failures.

i.e. bottomhole pressure greater than the fluid column, meaning they fataed up. Some sort of thief zone that took the fluid and then it starts to kick. But then they would have had to fata up the bops, the annular first, some sort of stabbing valve for the drill string and ultimately the shear ram would have had to also fail. Maybe they waited to long for the shear ram, maybe the casing was undersized and it blew after the bops were set, which would be a major unforgiveable fata up.

There are many, many things that could have went wrong, the roustabout would likely not have a clue.

I would bet that BP already has a really good idea what happened.

The one report I saw said they had a bunch of rubber bits come back up, which they suspected might have been damage to the annular.

This would make all of their pressure tests junk data and would render all of their mud weight calculations useless, leading to not having enough mud weight when pulling the pipe.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

True.

And, if you're Darth Vader, aka Karl Rove, you're saying today this is "Obama's Katrina."

Cowperson

[Phaneuf3]

http://www.wesh.com/news/23696821/detail.html

New, Giant Sea Oil Plume Seen In Gulf
Plume Stretches 22 Miles Long; More Than 6 Miles Wide

NEW ORLEANS --

Marine scientists have discovered a massive new plume of what they believe to be oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico, stretching 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the leaking wellhead northeast toward Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Spill, baby, spill!

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

How the hell is this news?
What do they actually think the dispersant does?
It disperses the oil, it emulsifies it and allows it to be diluted into the water column. Of course you're going to get dropplets of oil sinking deeper into the water, that's the whole point, as it's a lot less damaging than having a thick slick on the surface.

Really? If it's on the surface you can pick it up.

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Shhhh. Such thoughts arent appreciated on Liberal CP

Why would a forum for a Calgarian hockey team by liberal?

[algernon]

I wouldn't by a liberal membership, if that's what you are getting at.

I think most people on this here forum are liberal-leaning (closer to libertarian, actually)
while, Myk is a redneck, with little tolerance.

[Pinner]

Originally Posted by SebC

Really? If it's on the surface you can pick it up.

They're not picking it up, and it "looks" better if it's underwater contaminating the fish and the seafloor for all the critters.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Pinner

They're not picking it up, and it "looks" better if it's underwater contaminating the fish and the seafloor for all the critters.

That and the speed that it will be consumed by microorganisms is proportional to surface area, thus small droplets are better than large slicks - or so goes the theory.