Posted on 06/19/2010 12:26:08 PM PDT by kara2008
Until this week, the general impression of the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf has been that the explosion took everyone by surprise, and that neither BP nor a dysfunctional MMS had any idea that the well had reached a critical stage. Two days ago, however, Bloomberg reported that both BP and MMS were well aware of the high risk of a blowout at that particular well. BP and its subcontractor Transocean had in fact been fighting against a blowout for over two months, and MMS was well aware of the situation:
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
bumpety bump
FRANK PATTON
do some searching on this name- very interesting stuff
This was the MMS regulator in charge of signing off on the BP well safety
I missed seeing him before Congress, where the only name the press seems ot report is “Tony Hayward”
Interesting reading, in retrospect
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/updates_from_oil_rig_explosion.html
from Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-17/bp-struggled-with-cracks-in-gulf-well-as-early-as-february-documents-show.html
FRANK PATTON MMS
do some searching and reading
“On March 10, BP executive Scherie Douglas e-mailed Frank Patton, the mineral service’s drilling engineer for the New Orleans district, telling him: “We’re in the midst of a well control situation”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-17/bp-struggled-with-cracks-in-gulf-well-as-early-as-february-documents-show.html
“Under scrutiny from officials in his own agency, the local Minerals Management Service engineer who approved BP’s application to drill under the DeepwaterHorizon admitted that he approved the blowout preventer that failed tostop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill without assurances that its last-ditch mechanism would work on the drill pipe the company was using.
Jason Mathews, an MMS official who sits on the six-member joint Coast Guard and MMS investigative board, questioned Frank Patton, the agency’s New Orleans District drilling engineer, about his approval ofBP’s drilling permit.
Mathews noted that MMS regulation 250.416(e)requires would-be drillers to submit proof that the blowout preventerthey are using to shut off the well will have enough power to shear adrill pipe in case of an emergency.
Those mechanisms on the 450-ton blowout preventer at the bottom ofthe seabed are called blind shear rams, a pair of high-pressure valvesand blades that are supposed to slice through a gushing drill pipe andclose off a well leak. But attempts to get those shear rams to operateon the well below the Deepwater Horizon have been unsuccessful sincethe April 20 disaster.
Patton testified he was not aware of any such requirement and never demands it from more than 100 applications his office reviews each year.
“I have never been told to look for this statement,” Patton said.The BP application had “no information on blind shear rams’ ability to shear the drill pipe used.”
“If they didn’t submit it, why did we approve it?” Mathews asked.
“That is one thing I don’t look for in my approval process,” Patton said. “I’ve never looked for that statement there.”
“Is this just you, or is this MMS-wide? “ Mathews persisted.
“I’m not sure,” Patton said sheepishly
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/updates_from_oil_rig_explosion.html
http://www.mms.gov/assets/Video/NEWVideo/FinalTranscript.pdf
moe interesting notes from MMS 2007
also apparently FRANK PATTON the MMS bureacrat who signed off on BP’s well safety plan and design - is an UNLICENSED
“engineer”
http://www.whistleblowersblog.org/2010/06/articles/whistleblowers-government-empl/the-role-of-federal-employee-whistleblowers-in-protecting-public-heath-and-safety/
FRAK PATTON, MMS Inspector- who NEVER VISITED A RIG to inspect a BOP he was in charge of approving
http://www.pakistannews.net/story/633951
Note that obama is trying to cover all the bases. He had the families of the victims to the wh. Probably reassured them that bp would pay. There will be no investigation unless some enterprising journalist steps up on what is probably one of the biggest political scandals of our time.
KaPow Bump
Bump this, and I’ll keep bumping. Isn’t it amazing how the stories which are #8 on the earthquake scale go unreported.
Cuba and North Korea were not involved in this disaster in any way.
If this administration wants to prevent future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, all they have to do is revoke BP’s leases and kick BP out of the gulf. There’s absolutely no need for this moratorium on deepwater drilling. That’s only going to cut US oil production in the rest of this decade and make us even more dependent on imported oil. The moratorium on deepwater drilling should be lifted immediately before we lose the best deepwater rigs to Brazil and West Africa.
To become less dependent on imported oil, the US should also start a program to support the use of compressed natural gas in diesel engines instead of diesel fuel, in situations where this replacement makes sense.
HAVANA - - Cuba's civil defense chief said Tuesday that authorities are preparing coastal residents for the oil spill fouling the Gulf......
Have been out of pocket all weekend - did y’all see this?
As always, follow the money
Wrong. It does not “explain the suspicious action.” Selling stock in and of itself is not suspicious. What it does is RENDER the action suspicious.
Epitomizes the whole:
“The best made plans of mice and men,
Most often go awry,
Leaving them in pain and agony”
He’s currently suffering pain and agony in his popularity ratings.
What did the Obama administration know, and when did they know it?
Selling stock? Nope, not illegal. I do it all the time.
PING to a good look at if MiaT were only restricted to posting letters instead of pictures.
Point of order: with more than 3,300 workers worldwide, Anadarko is hardly a small company.
>>I just LOVE your “islamabama” reference and wonder why he’s not living in Islamabad, instead of Warshington, D.C. <<
I think the “why” part is pretty simple ... he’s president of the United States, not Pakistan.
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