Kevin Costner's assist in Gulf oil spill (BP OK's use of oil separating machines)

Seattle Times ^ | 07/08/2010 | Mary Foster

[SeekAndFind]

PORT FOURCHON, La. — Actor Kevin Costner added a bit of Hollywood glitz, but it was the bright-orange barge full of equipment counted on to scoop oil from the Gulf of Mexico that was the star Thursday.

The Ella G, once an offshore supply barge, has been refitted to skim and separate oil spilling from BP's blown-out well, making for a more efficient way to remove petroleum from the Gulf waters.

It set sail Thursday.

"I know a lot of times you have been down on the ground and stayed down," Costner told workers and visitors who had come to see the latest in the fight against the oil spill. "But the machine I once dreamed of is here to help you."

Costner invested 15 years and about $24 million in developing centrifugal oil separators, which sift oil spills. The Ella G was retrofitted to carry the separators, which will receive oil and water from the skimmer, separate the oil and place it in storage tanks, and return the cleaned water to the Gulf, said Ed Dufrene, project manager for Edison Chouest Offshore, which supplied the barge and assembled the equipment on it.

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the system offers many advantages. For instance, it can remove more oil, stay at sea indefinitely and skim in seas up to 10 feet. Most skimming vessels can't work in seas higher than 4 feet.

[SeekAndFind]

Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser, left, talks to actor Kevin Costner, co-owner of a company that develops centrifugal oil separators, which sift oil spills

[GQuagmire]

if it works I’ll give him the credit where credit is due, even if he ‘s an @$$hat....

[the invisib1e hand]

so does it work or not?

[the invisib1e hand]

and forgawdsakes, are there enough life vests and fire extinguishers on the ship!!

[stainlessbanner]

stay at sea indefinitely

does it regenerate power, food, and other supplies? where does the captured oil go?

[Sacajaweau]

The problem is.....It's a one of a kind....and dependent on catastrophic disaster....

and it should have been at work long ago. Who caused the delay and why??

[sarasota]

Whose approval did they need?

[Eyes Unclouded]

I retract all the remarks I made about this man when he first announced his plan. Although it is still a sign of the times that a man such as this can have more of an impact than the men in charge of the government response.

[Sacajaweau]

Army Corps of Engineers for one...

[norton]

"Suttles said BP signed a letter of intent to use the machines within hours of his conversation with Costner in May and completed the first test within days. It was unclear what caused the subsequent delay."

It's not at all unclear - the governor has been shouting from the roof tops about delays forced by federal agencies.

I just wonder if this means those agencies will now get out of the way of the other vessels and state initiatives that have also been held back.

[Willie Green]

I suspect it probably works, but is more appropriate for smaller spills.
BP could buy 100,000 of Costner's filters and still not have enough to suck up everything coming out of that well.

[Mogollon]

Costner is a good conservative. His brother is an engineer and had a lot to do with the design of the oil separation centrifuges.

[Siena Dreaming]

Costner used to be a Repub.

Not any more. He went for Kerry and Clinton.

[exhaustedmomma]

Costner's first hurdle was getting the scientific community to pay attention to his invention. I mean... he is hollywood.

When a scientist finally recommended his centrifuge, it was for a small job. That was his foot in the door. It was then highly recommended for use on the gulf fiasco. Like everything else in this mess... it took fanaglin' to get it out there. First it was used onshore for this gulf mess; now offshore.

[exhaustedmomma]

He campaigned for Hussein, too.

But, I think he has come to the light on this gulf oil situation after wittnessing first hand the lack of leadership.