So NOLA.com has a story from Bloomberg News: BP investigation of Gulf of Mexico oil spill finds several areas of fault

BP’s internal investigation of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster pins some of the blame on the company for mistakes made when finishing the oil well, including misreading pressure data that indicated a blowout was imminent, according to a person familiar with the report.

BP managers aboard the Transocean-owned rig misinterpreted a test of the Macondo well’s stability in April, deciding the test confirmed the well was in good shape, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report’s findings haven’t been publicly released.

That positive interpretation of the test data cleared the way for rig workers to begin replacing drilling fluid in the well, which is heavier than oil and natural gas, with seawater.

The seawater was too light to prevent natural gas that had begun leaking into the well from shooting up the pipe to the rig, where it exploded and killed 11 workers. The damaged well eventually spewed more than 4 million barrels of crude into the sea, enough to fill two supertankers.

“The entire industry should not be blamed for the actions of one single individual,” John Hofmeister, chief executive officer of Citizens for Affordable Energy and a former Royal Dutch Shell executive, said in an interview with Peter Cook Monday on Bloomberg Television’s “Inside Track.”

Why was this given to Bloomberg? The report is coming out, and the accident investigation board will put it in the public record. The information is no surprise to anyone who has been tracking the hearings. There has to be a reason beyond “public service” for getting it out now, rather than just waiting for the report. If we knew the name of person who gave this to Bloomberg, we would know why that person was interested in getting the story out sooner, rather than later.

Even though this agrees with my own analysis, I don’t give it much credibility because the source got anonymity. I suspect that it was someone above the engineer identified in the article who is looking for a scapegoat.

It wasn’t the industry; it wasn’t BP; it was one engineer on the rig. Yeah, right 😈

At 9:20 AM CDT another well lit up the Gulf about 100 miles [160 km] South of Vermillion, Louisiana. CNN has the story : Oil platform fire reported in Gulf of Mexico

(CNN) — A well connected to an oil and gas production platform caught on fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, engulfing the vessel in flames about 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana and forcing 13 people overboard, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. They were found floating on a raft, officials said. Mariner Energy, which owns the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, said none of the crew members was hurt in the incident, despite earlier reports of a single injured worker.

Also, Mariner indicated that the fire — which was first reported to the Coast Guard by workers on a nearby rig around 9:20 a.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) — was not sparked by an explosion. It started at one of the platform’s seven active wells, the company said, though its cause is under investigation.

The company said an initial flyover of the site indicated “no hydrocarbon spill.” However, Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site of the platform, measuring about 100-feet wide and stretching for one mile.
…

During the last week of August, production from the platform averaged approximately 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas a day and 1,400 barrels (58,800 gallons) of oil, the company said.

Yep, no oil spill, the sheen must be from someone spilling salad dressing or fumes from a fish fry, couldn’t be an discharge… no way… not going to happen [/snark].

Fortunately everyone is safely ashore. The well is in relatively shallow water on a stationary platform and production controls generally work and will shut down in the event of a problem, so it could be a whole lot worse. The thing is that these type of accidents are part of the drilling and production process. They are much more common than people realize, and while they can generally be contained on land, they can’t be contained in the open water.

Oh, the fire still isn’t out. [Update: Nola has continuing coverage.]

Position: 13.5N 39.5W [ 4 PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: West [270°] near 5 mph [7 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 30 mph [ 45 kph].
Wind Gusts: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1009 mb ↑.

Currently about 1015 miles [1635 km] East of the Lesser Antilles.

Gaston has degenerated to a remnant low and this is the last advisory unless it regenerates.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 26.9N 66.8W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [355°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Wind Gusts: 65 mph [105 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb ↑.

Currently about 390 miles [630 km] South-Southwest of Bermuda.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Bermuda.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 33.8N 74.4W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [015°] near 18 mph [30 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [165 kph].
Wind Gusts: 125 mph [195 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 205 miles [335 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Minimum central pressure: 951 mb ↑.

Currently about 115 miles [185 km] South-Southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Slightly cooler water and higher wind shear are starting to weaken Earl, but it is already affecting the Outer Banks of North Carolina. While it is not as bad as it was earlier, Earl is still a large hurricane.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Bogue Inlet, North Carolina northeastward to the North Carolina-Virginia border including the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds and Westport, Massachusetts eastward around Cape Cod to Hull including Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket Island

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for North of of the North Carolina-Virginia border to Cape Henlopen, Delaware and Nova Scotia from Medway Harbour to Digby.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Surf City to west of Bogue Inlet, North Carolina; from the North Carolina-Virginia border to Sandy Hook, New Jersey including Delaware Bay south of Slaughter Beach and the Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort; the coast of Long Island, New York from Fire Island Inlet eastward on the South Shore and Port Jefferson Harbor eastward on the North Shore; from New Haven Connecticut to west of Westport including Block Island; north of Hull, Massachusetts to the Merrimack River; and Stonington, Maine eastward to Eastport, Maine.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for north of the Merrimack River to west of Stonington, Maine; the coast of Long Island west of Fire Island Inlet on the South Shore and west of Port Jefferson Harbor on the North Shore; New Brunswick from the U.S.-Canada border eastward to Fort Lawrence and from Tidnish westward to Shediac; Nova Scotia from Fort Lawrence southwestward to Digby, Medway Harbour northeastward to Point Tupper and Aulds Cove westward to Tidnish; and Prince Edward Island.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]