Posted on 05/01/2010 10:33:38 PM PDT by granite
I am fully prepared to be called a “crazy conspiracy theorist” here for even asking some of these questions, but I would like to know who or what caused the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig platform in the Gulf of Mexico last week.
We live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and are in the direct path of the oil spill flowing toward us from the blown-up rig about fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana. What caused the explosion? And, why would the explosion on the surface of the platform create the situation in which crews are unable to stop the oil flow from the well’s head, which is nearly a mile deep? I realize the rig sunk after burning in a terrible and tremendous way, so I guess it’s possible that the sinking platform could have somehow irreparably damaged the pipeline at the floor of the Gulf, but it seems unlikely to me, with all the safety features on these rigs and wells.
One worker on the rig at the time of the explosion reported that the lights on the platform went out right before the explosion. She was one of the 115 people who escaped the burning rig. Eleven others were not so fortunate; they remain missing and are presumed dead.
Rush Limbaugh pointed out that the explosion occurred on April 21st, the day before “Earth Day.” He also reminded us that Al Gore had previously encouraged environmental nutjobs to engage in civil disobedience against the construction of coal plants that don’t have carbon capture technology. “Eco-terrorists” exist and have done millions of dollars worth of criminal damage. Fire is one of the main tools of their evil trade.
I’m not claiming the Deep Horizon was bombed by eco-terrorists, although I don’t believe it’s out of the realm of possibility. But, it would take some serious money and ability to pull off an attack like that, so I would tend to think much bigger than college hippie eco-wackos with some money-backing–a foreign government, perhaps.
Of course, before I could finish writing my thoughts here, I just heard Michael Savage posing the same questions. He also said there is a theory on a Russian website that claims North Korea is behind this. The article claims that North Korea torpedoed the Deepwater Horizon, which was apparently built and financed by South Korea.
Torpedoes would make sense for the results we see. The platform exploded, despite redundant safety features; plus, something apparently also happened on the Gulf floor at the opening of the well to prevent engineers from being able to stop the flow of oil from it. Two torpedoes launched from a submarine could cause those things to happen.
There are a number of international “suspects” who might want to do something like this. They range from Muslim terrorists to the Red Chinese, Venezuela and beyond. Remember that China and Russia are drilling out there, as well, and they would benefit from America cutting back on our own drilling.
As soon as this happened, my gut told me it was no accident. This kind of thing rarely happens, and the timing was just too “coincidental” for various reasons. I don’t know what the truth is behind this terrible event, but I’m certain it’s more than we’re being told. We may never know the truth.
If it really is an act of aggression by a foreign government, I seriously doubt we will be allowed to know it. Heck, the Obama administration is still covering up the details behind the act of war committed against our country at Fort Hood by a Muslim operative who had infiltrated our Military.
No, we may never get to the bottom of this deep oil well of secrecy. But, I would ask that you please keep in your prayers the families of the offshore workers killed and those injured, along with the many people here on the Gulf Coast whose livelihoods and businesses will be hurt by this oil spill, along with the poor birds and marine life that are in the path of it.
Gina Miller, a native of Texas, is a radio disc jockey. She also works with her husband installing and repairing residential irrigation systems and doing landscaping on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The approval of the drilling was given by the US Dept of the Interior and Agriculture in March of 2009, and is still under the concerns of the Dept. of the Interior, Sec. Menendez.
Another post recounts flickering lights, a massive thud, then the explosion. Too many questions, too few answers, if any, to surface in time. Security of oil rigs is now an issue, and much more expensive and time consuming than placing Air Marshalls on airplanes.
A Russian website (which got info from a neo-Nazi site) and Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage as sources? This is silly conspiracy mongering.
I’ve had this confirmed by two sources:
The rig was built by a So Korean group - and it is being said that a group of No Korean mini-subs with suicide teams were supposedly headed for another destination but veered off from that destination and then released the mini-subs about 100 miles off the rig site.
Supposedly, the No Korean subs launched a torpedo and took out the rig and then they later placed their sub over the submerged rig and blew up the sub - opening up the oil spill. On Thursday, the SWAT teams were sent out to check the other rigs and to protect them from possible attack. This was also the reason that these other rigs were shut down in the Gulf.
Evidently, this is connected with the So Korean ship which was also torpedoed recently and the rig which was built by the So Koreans.
Obama put out a media blackout on the information - but overseas groups from Russia and the UK have been reporting on it.
The greater conspiracy here is going to be how the North Koreans obtained the open hole logs of the well from BP, got on depth, and perforated the oil producing zones on the well. The well already had casing and was cemented 20 hrs prior to the blowout. I encourage you to gain knowledge on how wells are drilled and completed before floating conspiracy theories on a reputable site such as FR.
This will be Obanga’s Katrina, he sure took his sweet time responding to this mess & now the entire coastline is in danger as this slick continues to grow, plus they say they have no idea how deep underwater, this slick is!
Just saying, or thinking out loud.
Why are they drilling almost a mile down, which, when something like this happens, is a lot harder to fix?
Answer: Because environmentalists have made it impossible to drill inshore, on the continental shelf, where it is easier and safer.
Will this disaster destroy the environment long term?
Answer: The German U-boats at the beginning of WWII, Operation Drumbeat, sank tanker after tanker off of the coast of Florida, the UK. etc. The Ocean has a way of cleaning this up chemically. It does take time, but Florida, et. all, was not destroyed.
There are other countries, Cuba among them + China who will take over and drill in these areas if the USA does not. The drilling will not stop. The only question is the price of gasoline.
Environmentalists who protest this should: first be required to practice what they preach
1) They did not drive to a rally while living in an urban area with mass transit. (In distinction from Montana etc.)
2) They have a means to prevent any drilling by anybody in the Gulf, not just the USA, such as other nations.
3) They have no plastic which comes from oil in their house, office, car, kitchen or school for their children. They actually heat their home without the use of any fossil fuel, including natural gas, coal, oil etc.
4) They wear no clothes or posses other items from an oil distillate, nor any medication derived from it, including a computer or most modern prescriptions.
If they fail this test, then they are phony, whether personally, in the news, etc. and should be branded as such, preferably with a melted plastic spoon from their own kitchen.
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Being a former cased hole tech, I never did trust that open hole bunch..... :-)
Heck yeah cased hole or no hole!
You don’t send SWAT if there’s an accident.
And .. all the other rigs in the Gulf were shut down the same day - there was no other event or even weather to demand such a thing.
Those two events alone should tell you I’m not floating a conspiracy.
You can believe whatever you want.
There . are . no . coincidences .
No I wouldn’t send SWAT and you wouldn’t send SWAT if there is an accident. Obama, well he does whatever he pleases.
As one knowledgeable with the industry all I ask is that you do a little research into how wells are drilled and completed and see what stage this well was at in the completion process and you will see how far fetched these conspiracy theories are. On a well without casing damage it would take more than a bomb on surface to cause what happened to this well.
"It was a freak act of nature which forced tons of invisible gas onto the platform."
These rigs have lots of built in safeguards to prevent the forces of nature from causing such a disaster. Why didn't the most sophisticated engineering in the world stop invisible gas from gushing out onto the platform? Were those safeguards rendered useless by someone who turned a valve or flipped a switch, making that platform a ticking time bomb?
Since the rig ended up quite a ways from the well head and the BOP on the well head is perfectly intact that's quite a theory. LOL
Background and Technical Info on the Gulf Drilling Rig Incident incl BOP and ROV Site Info
I can't imagine how heavy a mile of pipe would be, and to even be able to engineer something like that is a testament to American "Can Do Itness".
Refinery accidents, where everything is at ground level, are not uncommon. I live less than 20 miles from the Anacortes fire, and my neighbor, who works next door at Chevron lost a friend there.
There's also over a hundred workers who got off that rig safely. If they thought they were attacked by a sub or sabotuer, we probably would - or soon will - hear from the workers.
In actuality, well control is a fundamental of drilling. If well control fundamentals, procedures or equipment fail at the precise moment that are needed, bad things happen — not too unlike vehicle brakes failing right when needed or when the driver doesn’t apply them. Drilling without sound well control procedures is like skydiving without a parachute.
Whether this turns out to be “operator” error, equipment failure, or a combination of both, the end result is predictable. The magnitude in this instance is not.
After being in the oil exploration business for 35 years, I know that BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and all the other 100 or more contractors that were involved in the drilling of this well have all worked hard to have a successful outcome — their livelihood depends on it.
Is it possible that negligence created this situation? Yes, it is -- but it can't be assumed. When drilling in a challenging environment like this, in water depths of 5000’ and well depths 4 times that, small problems can get real big, real fast - obviously. It is actually amazing that problems like this don’t occur more often, and it is also commendable to the operator that over 100 people escaped alive — and an indication of the procedures that were in place. 100 people dont evacuate in short order without a good procedure to do so or training to make it work. My guess is that prevention, procedures for well control and training were not the problem. The sequence of events likely was. Time will tell.
Casual readers cannot comprehend the effort, knowledge and skill required to undertake a drilling operation in deepwater (or anywhere for that matter).
Now that the situation is what it is, the question is what to do about it. It would be my guess that anyone who can contribute to the solution has already been engaged by BP, and they are working nonstop to provide answers — although the first obstacle is “answers to what”? What exactly is the situation on the sea floor? Finding that answer, developing a solution and affecting that solution will take months. In the meantime, we can only hope that some follow on event takes place that causes the flow to cease, such as a casing collapse or natural bridging in the well (not a high probability) or that the reservoir depletes and quits flowing (also not likely). Otherwise, its gonna be a long summer at BP HQ.
Suffice it to say, Obama is not going to fly there, and read a recipe from the teleprompter on how to cure this problem. Even throwing money at it won’t fix it. Only time will. I’m just glad it’s not my well.
And at the end of the day, loss of life aside, this “catastrophe” will be ephemeral.
North Korean suicide mini-subs? I think not.
“A caller into Mark Levin’s show who was on the rig”
Glad you got a positive ID....
A tanker is an atom on a molecule in a drop in a bucket compared to this.
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