Posted on 04/22/2010 7:36:09 AM PDT by metmom
NEW ORLEANSA massive fire on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico left 11 workers missing and cast a pall over an offshore drilling boom that stands to dramatically lift U.S. energy output.
View Full Image ipadphoto Associated Press
The Deepwater Horizon rig was listing in the Gulf of Mexico as rescuers sought the missing. The platform, operated by a contractor for BP, is part of a deep-offshore drilling boom seen as key to future U.S. output. ipadphoto ipadphoto
Rescuers scoured the Gulf for the unaccounted workers late Wednesday as firefighters struggled to quench a towering fire that forced all aboard to flee.
The blaze on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which broke out around 10 p.m. central Tuesday night, thrust a geyser of flames and smoke into the sky about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Seventeen people were injured, three critically, rescue officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Is the BOP on the rig or underwater?
I have one word to say about this: sabotage.
“drilling permissions” - that zer0 knows will take years to get by environmental scrutiny and then with for a ‘NO’ in return.
sabotage by the enemy, probably at the orders of Moogly the man cub and his minions
Reichstag.
Underwater on the wellhead at 5000 feet of water.
What does ‘displacedto test the packer’mean? I know a BOP is a blow-out preventer but other than that I am clueless.
Thank you very much for your inside knowledge here.
No chance. They got a pressure build up in the riser and didnt notice it until it blew out on the rig floor. They dont always explode and catch fire but but it did here.
Obama, Inc. working coordinating 'best they can' to have the Obama volcano erupt sometime in October. We feel the rumplings; hear them; there is smoke; but Obama needs to be 'ready' on all fronts, for the big one. . .Ashes on our head by November Election - if all goes well, per plan.
Do believe power in present; and by marshalling the best of OUR forces; we CAN change this from 'possibility' to not even probable..
Certainly hope and pray that is the case!
See post 16; it was an accident. One that used to happen often but technology has made it rare and catastrophic blow-outs like this even more rare.
Thanks for the good info. Do you have any idea how the BOP would fail?
Was it overcome by extraordinary gas pressure? Or a defect in the BOP?
Frgds,
3/M
Likely not easy to sabotage a rig, I'm sure.
Are you perhaps joking? This rig rents for $500,000 a day US and it drills 24 / 7 / 365. As to increased demand, any oil they find will not come on line for years.
You are quite right, and it should also be pointed out that the rig is equipped with the new-fangled “electric lights” which allow work to be carried out during the dark hours.
Frgds,
3/M
BTW I am 4th generation oilfield and have been looking for a list of rig hands, have you seen one?
The accident discussed (in the post in the thread, no tthe article) was last year, not this year.
Industry-wide rig utilization rates and drilling is seasonal; it’s not a matter of opinion.
Above the water and under the drilling table I would think.
No one is disputing THIS rig likely worked three towers.
Longer days have nothing to do with more drilling activity - it’s a 24/7/365 operation... The only thing that slows it down are delays due to weather (hurricanes in the fall, for example) and you see an increase of drilling in the winter in some areas like N. Canada when everything is frozen and areas are accessible... Deepwater drill ships like this one are booked solid for years in advance - I’m sure some exploration departs are scrambling to see the impact on their schedules but I would assume that BP had a long term contract on this ship so it’ll impact their exploration program...
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