Posted on 05/01/2010 8:36:33 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. Here's another update on the disaster that befell Transocean Ltd. (RIG: NYSE) and BP (BP: NYSE) last week in the Gulf of Mexico. (Thanks to OI reader Steve, in Texas, for sending some of the photos in today’s alert.)
As you know by now, the drilling vessel Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned and sank last week, with the loss of 11 workers and injuries to many more. What happened? What's happening now? What's going to happen? I've spent the weekend working to piece things together.
An Ill-fated Discovery
According to news accounts, at about 10 p.m. CDT last Tuesday, Deepwater Horizon was stable, holding an exact position in calm, dark seas about 45 miles south of the Louisiana coastline. Water depth in the area is 5,000 feet. The vessel manifest listed 126 souls on board.
Deepwater Horizon was finishing work on an exploration well named Macondo, in an area called Mississippi Canyon Block 252. After weeks of drilling, the rig had pushed a bit down over 18,000 feet, into an oil-bearing zone. The Transocean and BP personnel were installing casing in the well. BP was going to seal things up, and then go off and figure out how to produce the oil -- another step entirely in the oil biz.
The Macondo Block 252 reservoir may hold as much as 100 million barrels. That's not as large as other recent oil strikes in the Gulf, but BP management was still pleased. Success is success -- certainly in the risky, deep-water oil environment. The front office of BP Exploration was preparing a press release to announce a "commercial" oil discovery.
This kind of exploration success was par for the course for Deepwater Horizon. A year ago, the vessel set a record at another site in the Gulf, drilling a well just over 35,000 feet and discovering the 3 billion barrel Tiber deposit for BP. So Deepwater Horizon was a great rig, with a great crew and a superb record. You might even say that is was lucky.
But perhaps some things tempt the gods. Some actions may invite ill fate. Because suddenly, the wild and wasteful ocean struck with a bolt from the deep.
The Lights Went out; and Then...
Witnesses state that the lights flickered on the Deepwater Horizon. Then a massive thud shook the vessel, followed by another strong vibration.
Transocean employee Jim Ingram, a seasoned offshore worker, told the U.K. Times that he was preparing for bed after working a 12-hour shift. "On the second [thud]," said Mr. Ingram, "we knew something was wrong."
Indeed, something was very wrong. Within a moment, a gigantic blast of gas, oil and drilling mud roared up through three miles of down-hole pipe and subsea risers. The fluids burst through the rig floor and ripped up into the gigantic draw-works. Something sparked. The hydrocarbons ignited.
In a fraction of a second, the drilling deck of the Deepwater Horizon exploded into a fireball. The scene was an utter conflagration. Evacuate and Abandon Ship
There was almost no time to react. Emergency beacons blared. Battery-powered lighting switched on throughout the vessel. Crew members ran to evacuation stations. The order came to abandon ship.
Then from the worst of circumstances came the finest, noblest elements of human behavior. Everyone on the vessel has been through extensive safety training. They knew what to do. Most crew members climbed into covered lifeboats. Other crew members quickly winched the boats, with their shipmates, down to the water. Then those who stayed behind rapidly evacuated in other designated emergency craft.
Some of the crew, however, were trapped in odd parts of the massive vessel, which measures 396 feet by 256 feet -- a bit less than the size of two football fields laid side by side. They couldn't get to the boats. So they did what they had to do, which for some meant jumping -- and those jumpers did not fare so well. Several men broke bones due to the impact of their 80-foot drop to the sea. Still, it beat burning.
With searchlights providing illumination, as well as the eerie light from the flames of the raging fire, boat handlers pulled colleagues out of the water beneath the burning rig. In some instances, the plastic fittings on the lifeboats melted from the heat.
The flames intensified. Soon it was impossible for the lifeboats to function near the massive vessel. The small boats moved away from the raging fountain of fire fed by ancient oil and gas from far below.
The lifeboat skippers saved as many as they could find -- 115 -- but couldn't account for 11 workers who were, apparently, on or around the drill deck at the time of the first explosion. Nine of the missing are Transocean employees. Two others work for subcontractors.
Damon Bankstonto the Rescue
Fate was not entirely cruel that night. Indeed, a supply boat was already en route to the Deepwater Horizon. It was the Tidewater Damon Bankston, a 260-foot long flat-deck supply vessel.
Damon Bankston heard the distress signal. Her captain did what great captains do. He aimed the bow toward the position of Deepwater Horizon. Then he tore through the water, moved along by four mighty Caterpillar engines rated at 10,200 horsepower. Soon, the Damon Bankston arrived on scene, sailed straight into the flames and joined the rescue.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard helicopters lifted off from pads in southern Louisiana, and Coast Guard rescue vessels left their moorings. "You have to go out," is the old Coast Guard saying. "You don't have to come back."
The helicopters flew in the black of night toward a vista of utter disaster. Arriving on scene, the pilots watched in awe as columns of flame shot as high as a 50-story building. The helicopters were buffeted by blasts of super-heated wind coming from the flames, while chunks of soot the size of your hand blew by.
The pilots hovered in the glow of the blazing rig, while Coast Guard medics fast-roped down to the deck of Damon Bankston ... The medics quickly assessed the casualties, strapped critically injured crewmen to backboards and hoisted them up to the helicopters. Then the pilots turned north and sped ashore to hospitals.
Uninjured survivors returned to land on the Damon Bankston. And others came out to fight the blistering flames.
But the Deepwater Horizon wasn't going to make it. The situation deteriorated, to the point of complete catastrophe. The ship was lost.
At about 10 a.m. CDT on Thursday morning, 36 hours after the first explosion, the Deepwater Horizon capsized and sank in 5,000 feet of water. According to BP, the hulk is located on the seafloor, upside-down, about 1,500 feet away from the Macondo well it drilled.
Still Spilling Oil
On Friday, I told you that the oil well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon was sealed in. The "official" word was that the well wasn't gushing oil into the sea. My sources were no less than U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, of the New Orleans district, as quoted in The New York Times.
But over the weekend, Rear Adm. Landry and The New York Times reported that the well IS leaking oil, at a rate of about 1,000 barrels per day.
The on-scene information comes from remotely operated underwater robots that BP and Transocean are using to monitor the well and survey all the other wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon. There's now a large amount of equipment and pipe and a myriad of marine debris on the seafloor near the well. It's a mess.
Apparently, the blowout preventer is not controlling the flow of oil. According to Transocean, the blowout preventer on Deepwater Horizon was manufactured by Cameron Intl. (CAM: NYSE).
What happened? We don't know that just yet. Earlier reports that underwater robots sealed the blowout preventer were wrong. It's possible that the blowout preventer is only partially closed. We'll find out, eventually. Meanwhile, BP and Transocean have announced that they will make another effort to activate the blowout preventer. They need to stop that oil.
“... American will go broke - period. This is what they want.”
I was listening a couple of nights ago when Mark Levin was talking about the President ordering SWAT to other oil rigs - and it was one of the clues I had been missing. But .. on Friday, I put a lot more of the clues together and on 4/30, I posted the following story at FreeRepublic.com:
This whole oil rig thing smells to high heaven! There just seems to be too much “coincidence”; and I don’t believe in coincidence.
I think the reason it bothers me is that too many things were going on at the same time .. making this “coincidence” waaaaaaay too convenient.
These are the pieces of the puzzle that I put together.
1st - the dems are plotting to unleash upon America a cap and tax plan (but it’s not gaining in approval);
2nd - the dems want to do whatever they can to stop America from drilling their own oil (because that would create millions of jobs, spur the economy, and ensure energy independence for lots of years);
3rd - although Obama was allowing drilling (but not in the best areas - where oil had already been located), the oil industry was calling him on it;
4th - it just happened to be a day or so before or after “Earth Day” - focused on by all the environment whackos;
5th - to solve all those problems (”Never let a good crisis go to waste.”) - what could be better than a good oil spill - like maybe blowing up an oil rig ..?? Hmmmmm ..?? That would solve everything .. RIGHT ..??
Now, NO MORE OIL DRILLING; CAP AND TAX WILL BE EASY TO PASS; LOTS OF PEOPLE WERE PAYING ATTENTION BECAUSE OF EARTH DAY, and I just can’t believe for one minute that this was an “accident” or just a coincidence.
The real cap .. the President sent SWAT to guard all the oil rigs .. WHY WOULD HE DO THAT IF IT WAS AN “ACCIDENT”. But .. if the oil rig was blown up .. then they better inspect all the other oil wells to find out if they are ready to blow up too ..?? Hmmmm ..?? Or .. is SWAT there to check and see if any evidence can be found of something other than an “accident” ..??
The real big question I have is: WHO BLEW IT UP ..??
And remember .. just a couple of days ago there was a thread on FR where we were discussing the Weather Underground and their statements about 25,000,000 being a casuality risk they were willing to take .. Hmmmmm ..?? Did they believe killing over 100 on the oil rig was acceptable in order to accomplish their goal ..??
Interestingly .. there is a 6th factor: Who do the dems hate almost as much as Bush - Halliburton! It turns out Halliburton (aka Cheney’s Halliburton) was involved in the construction of the oil rig. Hmmmm ..?? Coincidence ..?? I don’t think so.
Bad deal all around. This is serious as a heart attack work and almost like surgery. If everyone is not working together, especially the captain, problems can happen.
Supposedly the Feds who control these leases warned about about this spot for nat gas and “water flow(?).”
Contrary to what the Kenyan Islamic marxists regime and media will spew - these people are highly trained, very smart and very capable. What they are able to do is almost incomprehensible. The pressure and cold at 5,000 feet under water is staggering. The metal used and all the other equipment has to sustain these temp changes and incredible pressure.
By an large this is American expertise and no one is better except some Brits, French, Dutch and possibly Norwegians and a few others.
The libs will demonize the oil industry 24x7x365 even more after this.
Somebody screwed up if this capitain was an SOB. You do not want to put a hot head in charge of a ship probably worth at least $250 million or more plus a crew that can get killed.
It sounds like they hit high pressure nat gas, it came up the drilling pipe plus oil & mud then ignited. I would not rule out sabotage.
Interestingly .. there is a 6th factor: Who do the dems hate almost as much as Bush - Halliburton! It turns out Halliburton (aka Cheney’s Halliburton) was involved in the construction of the oil rig. Hmmmm ..?? Coincidence ..?? I don’t think so.
Deepwater Horizon was constructed back in 2001. Was Halliburton an owner back then or had ownership of the contruction firm in South Korea that built the vessel? And what does that do with an event happening almost 10 years later? just curious to your thinking....
that this was not an accident has been on my mind since I heard of it. Way too convenient!
Here is the link to that article. Worth checking out. It explains the SWAT teams. Kind of like flyswatters against the subs.
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1367.htm
Saudi Arabia. They clear about $700 billion in profit each year selling oil. We send out probably $500 billion for oil. We have the energy. Obama and the Dems keep grabbing more land out west for the Fed govt.
The Saudis use that money to export Islam and Muslims. The money is used to build mosques through Muslim Brotherhood. They build them like a shopping center development. Few muslims there - build the mosques - move muslims there. CAIR is a MB front.
I would bet the Southern Povery Law Center and loads of enviro groups get Saudi money. It FLOODS DC with thinks tanks etc. That idiot “diplomat” Joe Wilson worked for a think tank backed by Saudi money.
In London, DC and other major capitals - Saudi money flows into major law firms.
These drilling ships drill thousands of wells. I would guess in 16 years of Bush2 and Clinton - thousands of offshore wells were drilled around the world. There was never a “blow out” like this.
The politicians will never blame themselves. Ever.
I’m sure we have our own subs patrolling now.
Has anyone ever sealed a well using thermite?
My wife, who came from a CA oil town, pointed out the difference in press response (and govt. response) in sympathy to the 11 oil workers lost vs. the coal miners lost recently in West Virginia.
I guess the death of a worker for the “evil oil company” doesn’t really count in the liberal mind - even though their Toyota Pious still goes to the gas pump. /S
That’s why I’m suspicious of this supposed “accident”.
I still think SWAT is a major clue.
Yes I well know who Halliburton is. But you said they did some of the construction of the oil rig.
[Interestingly .. there is a 6th factor: Who do the dems hate almost as much as Bush - Halliburton! It turns out Halliburton (aka Cheney’s Halliburton) was involved in the construction of the oil rig. Hmmmm ..?? Coincidence ..?? I don’t think so.]
Halliburton is a sub contractor doing the cementing on the well to shut it in but that have nothing to do with the contstuction of the oil rig. The drilling facility [oil rig] is owned by Transocean who purchased it from Reading Bates which had it constructed in 2001 by Hyundai in South Korea.
good info here, read all the comments.
“a failed piece of equipment.”
“a failed piece of equipment.”
I guess the CEO is trying to find outs for BP........... For sure something happened out of the normal.
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