BP Did It
Yet another investigation has pointed the finger directly at the decisions of BP to ignore warnings and use methods that were only designed to save BP time and money:
WASHINGTON — BP knew its Macondo well was troublesome in the days leading up to a fatal April 20 blowout, congressional investigators found, but the company “appears to have made multiple decisions for economic reasons that increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure.”
From the company’s uncommon well design to its fatal decision not to circulate drilling mud, which could have cleared out pockets of gas, and the lack of critical testing, which could have pinpointed problems with its cementing, the company had many points at which it could have prevented an explosion, investigators with the House Energy and Commerce Committee have found.
One of those decisions concerned the type of cement Halliburton used. It was frothy, and was designed to reduce the heat of the curing process. It is used when a stratum of of gas hydrates is encountered to seal it off and keep that gas out of the well. It isn’t as strong as the normal type of cement used to seal a well.
Since it is probable that the cement failed, that layer is open. These layers are normally discovered by the drilling mud draining into them. The existence of the stratum makes sealing the well more difficult. The relief well might be able to plug the bottom, but gas from the open stratum may continue to boil out.
The bottom of the Gulf is layered with sedimentary rock, sand, hydrates. This is why it is difficult to drill. The people who have advocated using explosives to seal the well don’t understand that the rock involved is more apt to splinter that crumble, and if it shatters, there is no way of stopping the flow.
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E-mail from BP engineer called Deepwater Horizon rig a ‘nightmare well’ six days before explosion.
Merkley: It’d Be Jindal’s ‘Last Term In Office’ If He Were A West Coast Governor Calling For More Drilling Now
Whatever… *shrug*
Operator At BP Call Center Says Company Never Does Anything With The Calls: We’re Just A ‘Diversion’
Ohhh… dear, dear me… I am so… shocked. And… surprised. Yes, shocked, and surprised. tch, tch… Whoda thought such a thing was even possible?! Oh deary me… what a shock. And a surprise… Really! Did I mention how shocked I am? 😈
Aha! 😉 😛
Ah yes…. “we don’t care, we’re BP, we don’t have to.” After all, why should they care? What happens if they don’t? Why, Preznit Obama will trot out and… and…. make a speech about it. Oh the horror!
– Badtux the Snarky Penguin
Yep, it’s time for another speech, which is apparently all the current President knows how to do.
I understand that he is very skilled at reading speeches, but I don’t listen to them, I read them myself to see what they contain, if anything. Most of the speeches are fairly content free, so he must be rather skilled at giving them.
Oh my… Someone seriously rocking the Right-Wingnuttia boat! 😈
Exxon CEO: As an industry, ‘we are not well equipped’ to handle oil disasters
Ahhh… I do so love irony!! 😀
Why would the oil companies bother, as all they were ever required to do was file paperwork and say they could deal with it. No one ever required that they prove it.
Canada and Norway have figured it out, and require a relieve well to be drilled at the same time as the real well, so it doesn’t take months to plug a blowout. The US just requires paperwork and vague promises.