Posted on 08/08/2006 4:38:02 PM PDT by John W
WASHINGTON - When British Petroleum (BP) shut down a vital oil pipeline, the company blamed "unexpectedly severe corrosion" in transit pipes. Yet only five months ago, BP's aging pipeline created the largest-ever oil spill on Alaskas North Slope.
Federal regulators blamed the spill on "internal corrosion" and said in some areas the walls of the pipes were so corroded they were almost paper-thin.
So critics and industry experts say the latest problem was hardly a surprise.
"I think this was predictable and preventable," says Phil Flynn, an energy analyst with Alaron Trading Corp.
In fact, allegations about BP's maintenance practices have been so persistent that a criminal investigation now is under way into whether BP has for years deliberately shortchanged maintenance and falsified records to cover it up.
The criminal probe was triggered by Chuck Hamel, a longtime nemesis of the oil companies and advocate for oil workers.
"They're playing the Russian roulette up there," he says.
Hamel says a dozen past and current BP employees came to him claiming they'd been told to cut back on a chemical put into the system to retard rust and corrosion, and to falsify records. A federal official confirms that many of these workers have also talked to the FBI.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Bush's fault ?
This is nothing but MSNBC hog wash. The real problem is that we have been prevented from drilling for oil on both USA coasts and in Alaska by the Democrat Party. That's the problem. End of story!!! Treason is what's thats called!!!
Nope it's BP.. that makes it Blair's fault.
This would not have happened if John Kerry were president.
"Was The BP Pipeline Problem Preventable?"
That thorny question was long ago presented to the real experts-the lawyers. Which means we'll never know.
"Hamel says a dozen past and current BP employees came to him claiming they'd been told to cut back on a chemical put into the system to retard rust and corrosion, and to falsify records. A federal official confirms that many of these workers have also talked to the FBI."
I'm interested in what the investigation finds.
On US soil?
OK, so BP shows that it is so inept that it can't manage the drilling effort going on now, so of course the problem is that they haven't had a chance to drill more. Sorry but BP through it's criminal ineptness has set back the cause of drilling in ANWAR for a decade. Anytime someone tries to make the case that drilling can be done in an environmentally sound manner with minimal impact to the wildlife, all the other side has to say is "BP" and it makes him out a liar.
Was The BP Pipeline Problem Preventable?
Let's see.....................
height of the "summer driving season"
Oil, gas at record highs.......................
the opportunity to lay off a bunch of workers and increase profits in the interim.......................
do some regular maintenance that should be done sometime anyway.......................
a governing body that will look the other way.............................
Nope, no chance this could have been done ANY other time in the 21st century.
The Prudhoe Bay facility was constructed 29 years age with a design life of 20 years and planning to pump a total of 9.6 billion Barrels of oil. To this date we have pumped 14 billion barrels and exceeded the design life of the project by 9 years in a harsh arctic environment. No suprise at all that there is a lot of corrosion in the system.
You may be right.
No way.
When ANWR comes on line, assuming the TAPS is still capable of carrying oil, gasoline will be 29.9 cents like the good old days. Forever.
That's what the straight man will say in the intro to the next sappy insipid BP commercial.
Just imagine how many repairs BP could have funded if they had spent 1/2 the money they spend on global warming tv/print spots on preventative maintenance.
Quit talking rationally. It upsets the conspiracy nuts.
I thought the pipeline has actually helped to increase the Caribou population because it gives off heat and the more animals spend time around it, hence more mating.
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