Posted on 05/13/2010 12:49:21 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Managers at oil giant BP PLC decided to forge ahead in finishing work on the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig despite some tests suggesting that highly combustible gas had seeped into the well, according to testimony released by congressional investigators and documents seen by The Wall Street Journal.
The move to start withdrawing heavy drilling fluid that prevents gas from escaping the well, despite some worrisome tests and before a final cement plug could be placed in the well, raises questions about the judgments made on the rig in the hours before an explosion erupted into the night air of April 20, killing 11 and eventually leaving oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The move to start withdrawing heavy drilling fluid that prevents gas from escaping the well, despite some worrisome tests and before a final cement plug could be placed in the well, raises questions about the judgments made on the rig in the hours before an explosion erupted into the night air of April 20, killing 11 and eventually leaving oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach.
Well done again. I’m catching up on my reading. Somebody dropped the ball bigtime.
I just hope that the guys on site and those working behind the scenes are able to get the leak stopped safely and quickly. We will feel the impact of this for the rest of our lives, I’m afraid. Waiting for the call for the public’s help once the cleanup and salvage begins.
bump
Because the deptmt of the interior claims that area of ocean. So, no diff than a forest fire...for which they do have auto steps they go through when a fire starts in a fed forest.
Step two: Repeat step one.
Step three: Hold a Congressional Hearing tying up all the major executives of the companies who are working on the problem, if possible while they are working on it. Use the hearing to prove how much the Government "cares" and to show they are "doing something"....
Oh. You meant something constructive. nevermind
They are spending their time talking about the companies involved. No one is talking about the government’s responsibilities once the spill took place.
I’m wondering if there was an SOP (standard operating procedure) in place, and if there was, where it is. The Department of the Interior’s sub-unit, the MMS, claims responsibility for offshore continental shelf areas and control over drilling. They even collect monies and control that aspect of it very tightly.
Or
I’m wondering if there was not an SOP in place, and why in the world there wasn’t one given that they’ve had decades to put one in place.
You know there was a sudden reorganization of the Governmental Agencies involved with activity offshore....happened after the spill.
At this point, I don’t entirely believe the story from BP managers about this oil spill. The decision to withdraw the drilling mud even though tests showed likely leakage of gas into the well was too reckless of a decision for BP executives to make. I would believe that story if this decision was made by a young upstart oil producer with little experience in offshore drilling, but I don’t entirely believe it from BP. For BP executives, that decision was just too reckless and risky. I suspect that some of the BP managers who have talked to investigators are misleading investigators or at least not telling the whole story.
FBI and congressional investigators should be aggressively questioning BP managers and asking them the same kinds of questions in different ways in an effort to find inconsistent statements or outright lies. I don’t think we’ve heard the whole truth about this disaster yet.
It was right there, in the energy bill...
Chances are the FedGov was caught with its knickers down as badly as FEMA was after hurricane Andrew. That would explain the finger pointing, etc., by the government even better than the bloviating and posturing for the cameras in an election year.
The Coast Guard is lead agency for spill response.
Search for “USCG pollution contingency plan” and you will find tons of info.
There are vessel response plans, area plans, regional plans etc. There is a plan for all scenarios, very detailed. Have fun!
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