Sorry for being on topic :D

Just found out there are 3 leaking well heads, 5000 ft down, and controls scrapped away by the sinking rig, liners and drill tubes.
They have no idea yet how to get this back under control. it is starting to get really ugly.

Greetings,
Catfish

Capping an oil leak on land is tough, I can't imagine how difficult it will be at 5000 feet. :nope:

Worse than Exxon Valdez:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...atestheadlines

BP asks rivals for help
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...sreel_business

Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...s_mostpop_read

This is NOT about just the environmental damage. The economic cost of this is going to be STAGGERING.

They are deploying oil booms to try and contain this. Ships and boats can NOT cross these booms.

This renders the Mississippi River unaccessible. This renders the port of New Orleans inaccessible. This is going to STOP all shipping into and out of the area.

Think oil imports. New Orleans is a major import and distribution center. Supply and demand is gonna kick in and prices are going to skyrocket.

Think goods (a.k.a FOOD) that is shipped into the country that is docked at the port of New Orleans for distribution up the Mississippi River to other points. All those South American goods are not going to be coming in.

The fishing season is stopped. Boats can not get out to the fishing grounds because of the booms. Seafood is going to skyrocket.

Tourism on the gulf coast is going to take a beating. But it pales in comparison to the ripples this is going to make in the US Economy.

Yes, you can reroute ships to other ports, but many of those ports are already being used by other ships. The Mississippi is THE artery for good transportation in America. If you have to go around it, the cost starts to go up significantly.

I undestand they have three caps that will be placed over each leak to collect the oil.

I can't quite believe I found out about this event through the subsim radio room... I gave up watching TV about 7-8 years back, but this was so gripping I read every single post thoroughly, some good points have been made, and some bad. made me larf BP asking for help from other oil companies, though I bet they ain't finding it so funny. @Catfish your knowledge of this drilling business seems very deep, I'm guessing you are/were employed by a company who is/was involved in this game, or maybe you're just very well read... conspiracy theories will abound at every available opportunity you can be sure of that, though I wouldn't pay it any mind personally, it's more like 'that's what they want you to think...' than they realise ;). I sincerely hope some genius comes up with a quick plan to solve this QUICKLY though or it's gonna be a big black oily stain on EVERYBODY on this PLANET given that our predilection to environmentally damaging resource gathering and 'I don't give a **** who cares as long as we (I) get rich' attitudes are the primary catalysts for catastrophes such as this. We are all guilty of it no matter what moral high ground we try to clamber up. Damn it I want gas to run my car, how would I do without it? The electricity that runs my computer right now is at least partially sustained by burning fossil fuels, probably mostly.

As a Briton I would like to add that although this situation is primarily an American concern (although I really hope the whole world is watching, there are lessons to be learned here), I am sorry for sticking my 2 cents in but, my condolences and best wishes go to the families of the unfortunate victims of this disaster, may they find peace and resolution in the coming actions of the brave, for they will come, of that I have no doubt. Human beings are that, the most astounding of creatures, and they have weathered many many great storms before this one. :shucks:

You are correct, it seems that the oil could be leaking out for months.

Including the wide economic effects in US you mentioned this could kill or cripple even BP as a company.

This and souring oil prices could be the tipping point in the systemic crisis that is going on.

We are talking about countries and banks defaulting in mass.

We are in unknown waters with the Recession>> Euro crisis, Goldman Sachs case and this BP catastrophy combined.

Pray or keep your fingers crossed, what suits you best, this could be a wild ride.:salute:

If only we had a submarine full of feminine hygiene products, guess that's a few years away yet. :03:

One thing I noticed is that the local fisherman are being trained to help clean this up. They are the ones out setting those booms in the water.

I checked Hazegray and the USCG has no ships suitable for containing an oil spill. The EPA has only two ships, one is on the great lakes the other is operated out of MD. So the US has to rely on privately owned ships to clean this up. Several European countries have navy/government owned pollution control vessels, why don't we?

Hello Tlamstrike, and Sammi79,

" ... One thing I noticed is that the local fisherman are being trained to help clean this up. They are the ones out setting those booms in the water. ..."

Yes, they certainly need all the help they can get, and small fishing boats are probably well suited for this job, rather than high-boarded freighters. But it is not too difficult to open and close the barrage when ships go in and out, so there will be no real blockade (or so i hope).

" ... I checked Hazegray and the USCG has no ships suitable for containing an oil spill. The EPA has only two ships, one is on the great lakes the other is operated out of MD. So the US has to rely on privately owned ships to clean this up. Several European countries have navy/government owned pollution control vessels, why don't we? ..."

Because this would again raise a storm politically, of how the government interferes in privately owned companies, and "freedom". And this is not a joke. Obama has already opened enough cans of worms, and is often criticized just because of similar actions.
If you compare the events and opinions of the media and industry in the Chicago of 1885, it seems there has not much changed in the US (thinking of Mr. Spiess, and 1st may).

@Sammi79
Thanks for being the first to offer condolences (i wanted to post a "thumbs up" here, but don't think this fits). I have been active in the oil industry, but am only a "specialist" in a very small sector (geologist).
They recently have set a lot of people free (as they call it here), almost all above 40, including me. The gas industry is not doing well or so they say, and certainly has to save money. I see this every time i fill up my tank lol. ;)

To stop the spilling and keep the wellheads for further production will be a tough job. I guess they could shut the wells with explosives, in boreholes near the wells, but this will certainly ruin what's left of the seafloor equipment. Controlling wells in 5000 feet of seawater - completion is ok, but actually working or even repairing down there is complex. And the problem is - as always - the borehole pressure. The sea pressure at the well entry will be at least 160 bar, so the well has already to deliver against that pressure, which may help a bit.

Thanks and greetings
Catfish

They are working on some sort of a dome to be used to try to cap and draw off the oil. Also they say it could be 2 or 3 months before they drill a side bore to stem the flow. If that fails, what then?

I am sure there are projections as to how big this spill will be by then. After a week it is already the size of PR. It looks like at least the coast of Louisiana down to southern Florida will get a dose of this. On top of that you have hurricane season coming up, maybe we will get lucky concerning that.

I have lived on both the Louisiana and Florida pan handle coast lines. Both are beautiful although vastly different from each other. One is low marsh and the other is sugar-white sand beaches. It looks like both are going to suffer greatly.

I just hope they did not bite into a methane gas hydrate reservoir ?
But it is all confidential by now :dead:
Greetings,
Catfish

Wow the more I learn about this the worse it seems to get...

If this had happened on Bush's watch the media would be on fire !!!

"Established emergency procedure not followed"

"No 'fire booms' available even though it is federal law."

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/fire...ll_raines.html

" ... If this had happened on Bush's watch the media would be on fire !!! ..."

Why ? Bush sure was never "accused" of being independent or reluctant money-wise, towards the oil companies. His own one was rescued by the Saudis, with lots of money. Did anyone hear any uproar back then, from the media or anyone ? And breaking tankers or out-of-control wells in Iraq or anywhere - as long as it doesn't happen in the US it's of no interest.

Had Bush proposed to increase security measures generally, i am sure there would have not been half the media uproar, as if Obama would - like " How dares he interfere in private companies' business, he takes away our freedom etc. etc." insert the usual blubber here.
That the US do not have additional safety measures is partly due to the last goverments' reluctancy to enforce modern and expensive technology and regulations on the "poor and suffering US oil industry".

So the controlling of out-of-control events like this oil spill, is in the government's responsability, while producing oil and getting money is the task of the companies ? Or better making money is ok, but as soon as something goes wrong run to the government. Looks familiar like with Wall street ?

Greetings,
Catfish

Considering BP was saying for the first 3 days there was no oil leak, what did you expect Obama to do?

Plus, you can't really compare a natural disaster everyone saw coming 24 hours ahead of time and an exploding oil platform that had faulty safety gear owned by a corporation...