I hardly watch News anymore but it looks like the gulf is in for a rough time with the oil spill. The fishing and shrimping could come to a stand still for years to come for Ms and La. Even if they come up with a solution the Eco nuts will make life miserable on commercial and recreation.
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#2
huntingal
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 06:47 AM
Rainwater, I was so saddened by this as well, my dad was a shrimper and I know how devestating the impact can be with a disaster like this. And in this time, where oil is such a precious resource, why it was aliow to get to this point. I don't know all the facts, but how? A leaking well cap, someone should be held accountable. That is the trouble with these companies, with this mind set...no one is held accountable and it "Oh, well, oopsie, my bad..." meanwhile the innocent wildlife and folks who make a living from the sea suffer......argh!!!
Edited by huntingal, 01 May 2010 - 07:09 AM.
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#3
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 06:55 AM
You may have heard the news in the last two days about the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which caught fire, burned for two days, then
sank in 5,000 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico. There are still 11 men missing, and they are not expected to be found.
The rig belongs to Transocean, the world’s biggest offshore drilling contractor. The rig was originally contracted through the year 2013 to
BP and was working on BP’s Macondo exploration well when the fire broke out. The rig costs about $500,000 per day to contract. The full
drilling spread, with helicopters and support vessels and other services, will cost closer to $1,000,000 per day to operate in the course of
drilling for oil and gas. The rig cost about $350,000,000 to build in 2001 and would cost at least double that to replace today.
The rig represents the cutting edge of drilling technology. It is a floating rig, capable of working in up to 10,000 ft water depth. The rig is
not moored; It does not use anchors because it would be too costly and too heavy to suspend this mooring load from the floating
structure. Rather, a triply-redundant computer system uses satellite positioning to control powerful thrusters that keep the rig on station
within a few feet of its intended location, at all times. This is called Dynamic Positioning.
The rig had apparently just finished cementing steel casing in place at depths exceeding 18,000 ft. The next operation was to suspend the
well so that the rig could move to its next drilling location, the idea being that a rig would return to this well later in order to complete the
work necessary to bring the well into production.
It is thought that somehow formation fluids – oil /gas – got into the wellbore and were undetected until it was too late to take action. With a
floating drilling rig setup, because it moves with the waves, currents, and winds, all of the main pressure control equipment sits on the
seabed – the uppermost unmoving point in the well. This pressure control equipment – the Blowout Preventers, or ‘BOP’s” as they’re
called, are controlled with redundant systems from the rig. In the event of a serious emergency, there are multiple Panic Buttons to hit,
and even fail-safe Deadman systems that should be automatically engaged when something of this proportion breaks out. None of them
were aparently activated, suggesting that the blowout was especially swift to escalate at the surface. The flames were visible up to about
35 miles away. Not the glow – the flames. They were 200 – 300 ft high.
All of this will be investigated and it will be some months before all of the particulars are known. For now, it is enough to say that this
marvel of modern technology, which had been operating with an excellent safety record, has burned up and sunk taking souls with it.
The well still is apparently flowing oil, which is appearing at the surface as a slick. They have been working with remotely operated
vehicles, or ROV’s which are essentially tethered miniature submarines with manipulator arms and other equipment that can perform work
underwater while the operator sits on a vessel. These are what were used to explore the Titanic, among other things. Every floating rig
has one on board and they are in constant use. In this case, they are deploying ROV’s from dedicated service vessels. They have been
trying to close the well in using a specialized port on the BOP’s and a pumping arrangement on their ROV’s. They have been unsuccessful
so far. Specialized pollution control vessels have been scrambled to start working the spill, skimming the oil up.
In the coming weeks they will move in at least one other rig to drill a fresh well that will intersect the blowing one at its pay zone. They will
use technology that is capable of drilling from a floating rig, over 3 miles deep to an exact specific point in the earth – with a target radius
of just a few feet plus or minus. Once they intersect their target, a heavy fluid will be pumped that exceeds the formation’s pressure, thus
causing the flow to cease and rendering the well safe at last. It will take at least a couple of months to get this done, bringing all available
technology to bear. It will be an ecological disaster if the well flows all of the while; Optimistically, it could bridge off downhole.
It’s a sad day when something like this happens to any rig, but even more so when it happens to something on the cutting edge of our
capabilities. The photos that follow show the progression of events over the 36 hours from catching fire to sinking.
sank in 5,000 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico. There are still 11 men missing, and they are not expected to be found.
The rig belongs to Transocean, the world’s biggest offshore drilling contractor. The rig was originally contracted through the year 2013 to
BP and was working on BP’s Macondo exploration well when the fire broke out. The rig costs about $500,000 per day to contract. The full
drilling spread, with helicopters and support vessels and other services, will cost closer to $1,000,000 per day to operate in the course of
drilling for oil and gas. The rig cost about $350,000,000 to build in 2001 and would cost at least double that to replace today.
The rig represents the cutting edge of drilling technology. It is a floating rig, capable of working in up to 10,000 ft water depth. The rig is
not moored; It does not use anchors because it would be too costly and too heavy to suspend this mooring load from the floating
structure. Rather, a triply-redundant computer system uses satellite positioning to control powerful thrusters that keep the rig on station
within a few feet of its intended location, at all times. This is called Dynamic Positioning.
The rig had apparently just finished cementing steel casing in place at depths exceeding 18,000 ft. The next operation was to suspend the
well so that the rig could move to its next drilling location, the idea being that a rig would return to this well later in order to complete the
work necessary to bring the well into production.
It is thought that somehow formation fluids – oil /gas – got into the wellbore and were undetected until it was too late to take action. With a
floating drilling rig setup, because it moves with the waves, currents, and winds, all of the main pressure control equipment sits on the
seabed – the uppermost unmoving point in the well. This pressure control equipment – the Blowout Preventers, or ‘BOP’s” as they’re
called, are controlled with redundant systems from the rig. In the event of a serious emergency, there are multiple Panic Buttons to hit,
and even fail-safe Deadman systems that should be automatically engaged when something of this proportion breaks out. None of them
were aparently activated, suggesting that the blowout was especially swift to escalate at the surface. The flames were visible up to about
35 miles away. Not the glow – the flames. They were 200 – 300 ft high.
All of this will be investigated and it will be some months before all of the particulars are known. For now, it is enough to say that this
marvel of modern technology, which had been operating with an excellent safety record, has burned up and sunk taking souls with it.
The well still is apparently flowing oil, which is appearing at the surface as a slick. They have been working with remotely operated
vehicles, or ROV’s which are essentially tethered miniature submarines with manipulator arms and other equipment that can perform work
underwater while the operator sits on a vessel. These are what were used to explore the Titanic, among other things. Every floating rig
has one on board and they are in constant use. In this case, they are deploying ROV’s from dedicated service vessels. They have been
trying to close the well in using a specialized port on the BOP’s and a pumping arrangement on their ROV’s. They have been unsuccessful
so far. Specialized pollution control vessels have been scrambled to start working the spill, skimming the oil up.
In the coming weeks they will move in at least one other rig to drill a fresh well that will intersect the blowing one at its pay zone. They will
use technology that is capable of drilling from a floating rig, over 3 miles deep to an exact specific point in the earth – with a target radius
of just a few feet plus or minus. Once they intersect their target, a heavy fluid will be pumped that exceeds the formation’s pressure, thus
causing the flow to cease and rendering the well safe at last. It will take at least a couple of months to get this done, bringing all available
technology to bear. It will be an ecological disaster if the well flows all of the while; Optimistically, it could bridge off downhole.
It’s a sad day when something like this happens to any rig, but even more so when it happens to something on the cutting edge of our
capabilities. The photos that follow show the progression of events over the 36 hours from catching fire to sinking.
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#4
huntingal
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 07:13 AM
This is quite an eye-opener Iron Duke, thank you for the information.
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#5
Old Longhair
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 07:25 AM
Not to mention the lives lost on the rig itself.
Now I'm not much of a conspiracy believer, but there are too many things about all of this that haven't been explained, and sound fishy. The explosion, the late rescue attempt, the timing, the announcement by the Pres, etc...
This administration has everything wired to their adgenda. There was the declaration that we would drill more offshore, which made most of us happy. The kabosh has been put on that now, and the campaign contributing eco-nazi's are now happy. Cap & Tax looked like it was done, but now you can expect that to come racing back to the headlines too. Then there is the unexplained ordering of S.W.A.T. teams being sent to the rigs....
So far, everything that we've been told by this whitehouse for the last 16 months, has been exactly opposite of reality. So when they say that they don't believe this to be a terrorist act.....I don't believe them. It's hard to get re-elected when you put your contributors on trial for domestic terrorizm.
Mark my words. We will see a price hike at the pumps. Not because of any shortage, but "to pay for the cost of cleanup". Which will be presented as a temporary tax, which will never go away, but will only be rationalized to pay for something else that WE did bad. And not one penny will go to the restoration of the livelyhoods of fishermen, shrimpers, or the tourist and recreational boating industries in the effected states.
IMO, there isn't a toilet big enough to flush all the crap that's in Washington. We just have to all pitch in and flush as much as we can from the voting booths over the next 2½ years. And then there will still be remaining floaters.
Now I'm not much of a conspiracy believer, but there are too many things about all of this that haven't been explained, and sound fishy. The explosion, the late rescue attempt, the timing, the announcement by the Pres, etc...
This administration has everything wired to their adgenda. There was the declaration that we would drill more offshore, which made most of us happy. The kabosh has been put on that now, and the campaign contributing eco-nazi's are now happy. Cap & Tax looked like it was done, but now you can expect that to come racing back to the headlines too. Then there is the unexplained ordering of S.W.A.T. teams being sent to the rigs....
So far, everything that we've been told by this whitehouse for the last 16 months, has been exactly opposite of reality. So when they say that they don't believe this to be a terrorist act.....I don't believe them. It's hard to get re-elected when you put your contributors on trial for domestic terrorizm.
Mark my words. We will see a price hike at the pumps. Not because of any shortage, but "to pay for the cost of cleanup". Which will be presented as a temporary tax, which will never go away, but will only be rationalized to pay for something else that WE did bad. And not one penny will go to the restoration of the livelyhoods of fishermen, shrimpers, or the tourist and recreational boating industries in the effected states.
IMO, there isn't a toilet big enough to flush all the crap that's in Washington. We just have to all pitch in and flush as much as we can from the voting booths over the next 2½ years. And then there will still be remaining floaters.
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#6
Iron Duke
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 08:01 AM
Hopefully the photo attachment comes through.
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#7
Rainwater
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 08:06 AM
I agree longhair. The 0"man" and his pathetic incompetence, hating offshore drilling and all of a sudden announces, with smile on face, he would open more to drilling and hours later a drill was burning. Something ain't right folks!
#8
huntingal
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 03:46 PM
Iron Duke, I looked at your attachment on the explosion in fasination, disbelief then dismay. These are incredible photos. And yes, Longhair, it is very sad so many lost their lives. I am sad for their families.
Could our government be so corrupt? I guess I have been reading too many Flynn and Baldacci novels but I agree with you both. Something ain't right.
Ok, years ago, when my dad and I came in from being out in the bay, West Bay, out from Chocolate Bayou ( West of Galveston). We had been shrimping all weekend, setting out trot lines and fishing, we pull up the trot lines, pack up and are heading in as we enter the bayou heading for where we dock the boat, we start noticing dead fish. At first it was just a few but as we went up into the bayou the fish kill increased to hundreds. There was a new Monsanto plant that was built not far from the bayou and my dad and the other shrimpers and fishermen did not like it at all, my dad was really afraid they would pollute the bayou and it looked like that was what was happening. Well ,as soon as we got to the dock, my dad called the game warden. The game warden took hours to come. My dad was so mad he even said something isn't right about how long this was taking. Well the GW finally came and we took him to where we saw the hundreds of dead fish, and guess what.....they had been cleaned up...only a few dozen were left floating around....I had never seen my dad so mad, made worse by the GW telling my dad there was no evidence of a fish kill. My dad died of colon cancer, my mother died of colon cancer, my older brother has cancer.....so far I am clear. But is very scary what our goverment, the people who are suppose to protect us, can do to their own citizens.
Could our government be so corrupt? I guess I have been reading too many Flynn and Baldacci novels but I agree with you both. Something ain't right.
Ok, years ago, when my dad and I came in from being out in the bay, West Bay, out from Chocolate Bayou ( West of Galveston). We had been shrimping all weekend, setting out trot lines and fishing, we pull up the trot lines, pack up and are heading in as we enter the bayou heading for where we dock the boat, we start noticing dead fish. At first it was just a few but as we went up into the bayou the fish kill increased to hundreds. There was a new Monsanto plant that was built not far from the bayou and my dad and the other shrimpers and fishermen did not like it at all, my dad was really afraid they would pollute the bayou and it looked like that was what was happening. Well ,as soon as we got to the dock, my dad called the game warden. The game warden took hours to come. My dad was so mad he even said something isn't right about how long this was taking. Well the GW finally came and we took him to where we saw the hundreds of dead fish, and guess what.....they had been cleaned up...only a few dozen were left floating around....I had never seen my dad so mad, made worse by the GW telling my dad there was no evidence of a fish kill. My dad died of colon cancer, my mother died of colon cancer, my older brother has cancer.....so far I am clear. But is very scary what our goverment, the people who are suppose to protect us, can do to their own citizens.
Edited by huntingal, 01 May 2010 - 03:49 PM.
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"When you were born you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice". Cherokee Expression
#9
Rainwater
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 04:17 PM
Have you seen the documetary about Monsanto? I have not seen it but heard about it. Here is a link. They're trying to keep seeds out of AMERICAN hands by saying they have a patent on all seeds. So I heard.
http://www.organicco...ticle_16844.cfm
http://www.organicco...ticle_16844.cfm
#10
stephen simpson
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 04:53 PM
i'm not buying this conspiracy theory for one nano second. what is happening down there is a God awful disaster that has the potential to destroy a place that teems with wild life. thousands of people may lose there livelihood fishing and shrimping and if they don't cap that thing soon the coast line down there may not come back for years. obama is not a monster and you would have to be one to order up a disaster like this one. something like this weakens the country. bp posted a profit of 3 billion for the first quarter and i am confident they can afford to pay for the clean up. it's a disaster not a conspiracy. i know the people that post on this forum favor the republican party or the tea party but keep in mind we are all americans. nobody likes to see wildlife coated in oil or see the price of seafood go so high only the rich can afford it. it's a coincidence that obama announced he opened up drilling on the east coast and then this happened, not a conspiracy. he loves the country just as much as any one on this forum.
#11
Old Longhair
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 05:32 PM
stephen simpson said:
i'm not buying this conspiracy theory for one nano second. what is happening down there is a God awful disaster that has the potential to destroy a place that teems with wild life. thousands of people may lose there livelihood fishing and shrimping and if they don't cap that thing soon the coast line down there may not come back for years. obama is not a monster and you would have to be one to order up a disaster like this one. something like this weakens the country. bp posted a profit of 3 billion for the first quarter and i am confident they can afford to pay for the clean up. it's a disaster not a conspiracy. i know the people that post on this forum favor the republican party or the tea party but keep in mind we are all americans. nobody likes to see wildlife coated in oil or see the price of seafood go so high only the rich can afford it. it's a coincidence that obama announced he opened up drilling on the east coast and then this happened, not a conspiracy. he loves the country just as much as any one on this forum.
The People's Pill.gif 10.75K
26 downloadsIf you're so right about his general character, then why does he associate with known domestic terrorists? Why does he routinely run around the world, apologizing for the U.S. being the greatest Nation on earth? Why does he continue to tear down everything that made this country the best place on the planet to live?
Sorry. IMO he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. His administration is more dishonest and secretive than Richard Nixon's. And his policies have been more distructive than any president since FDR.
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#12
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 06:14 PM
Express your opinions but do not let this thread turn into personal attacks and name calling.
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#13
huntingal
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 08:33 PM
I took some time to research oil well "blowouts" particularly when it concerns off shore drilling and this particulat platform and drilling technique. There are two safety measures in place, but if the pressure is too great, these procedures can fail. It is the gas that ignites and there must have been a spark. As Stephen stated it appears this was a tragic accident. It remains to be seen how much money BP will contribute to the clean-up and subsequent damage to the enviroment. I am sure the frustration over this catastrophic event has only just begun. But the folks of Mississippi and Louisanna, following on the heels of Katrina and the governemts mishandeling of that will all be in play. Second verse, different administration.
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#14
crowhunter
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Posted 01 May 2010 - 08:52 PM
I think the news media would have blamed Bush for not cleaning it up fast enough .Bud
#15
huntingal
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 07:39 AM
I'm sure they would Bud,it will be interesting to see how it is handled, now and in the long run, our president in going down to the area to inspect. I am waiting to hear what he says the government will do to help.
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mississippibow
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 09:04 AM
I worked offshore in the gulf from 79 till 1983 and I remember doing tons of test on the B.O.P s I cant figure how they failed. Maybe that set on the gulf floor were not tested as much as the ones near the drill floor. All they do is cut off any gas oil or whatever is coming out. They are so strong they will cut the pipe. Im thinking there is more to all of this. Glad to see mr. O coming down a week latter. Cant wait to see him running health care....
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#17
stephen simpson
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 08:43 PM
longhair, FDR is the president who brought us social security and many believe he saved this country from the great depression with his work programs that built hoover dam among other things. i have to go, President Obama is holding hands with bin laden in the rose garden while the First Lady serves tea and cookies. its on fox news. when you get old i'm sure you'll be thinking of what a rat basterd FDR was while you cash your social security check.
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 09:30 PM
FDR is the reason that the depression lasted 12yrs. And WWII ended the depression, not FDR's massive spending, regardless of what he accomplished with cheap available labor.
And as far as Social Security goes, I only hope that I get all the money back out of it that I paid in. That's right...it's MY money, not a gift from the government. And I dare say that I could have done better than 2% on it over the years too.
And as far as Social Security goes, I only hope that I get all the money back out of it that I paid in. That's right...it's MY money, not a gift from the government. And I dare say that I could have done better than 2% on it over the years too.
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#19
stephen simpson
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 09:55 PM
FDR's massive spending kept people from starving to death along with building dams and fixing up our national parks. people starved to death during those years.there were no food banks or food stamps. i had a great aunt who had a years worth of canned goods in her basement just in case it happened again. i will agree that ww11 did drag us out of the depression completely but FDR's policies kept us a float until we entered the war. just out of curiosity who do you consider to be a great president?
#20
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Posted 02 May 2010 - 10:08 PM
The best President in my lifetime? No contest. Ronald Reagan! If only he'd had a majority in both houses of congress.
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