Replies

I think we all are waiting with “tightened sphincters” right now!

Random thoughts-

This has been a REAL MESS beyond comprehension and I think it has changed a lot of opinions about offshore drilling, environmentalism, etc. among conservatives.

We’ve all learned more than we ever wanted to know about drilling, pressure, ROVs, and what the heck a BOP is!

All that to say that while I agree with the fact that we NEED the oil, I am starting to be of the opinion that companies need to stay the heck out of the DEEP water until they have MULTIPLE containment plans, emergency plans, the needed emergency equipment, and a FOOL PROOF method of getting at the oil! We are now reading about shortcuts to save money, a seal not being in place, a dead BOP battery, etc. NONE of that should have been allowed to happen and heads should have rolled on the spot!

An “oops” moment in a regular work environment equates to a huge inconvenience to people, but we get on with our lives.
An “oops” moment on an oil platform equates to loss of life and an environmental catastrophe as we are seeing.

Yes this is the first accident in YEARS, but the gulf and the gulf states cannot afford any more accidents.

ONe has to wonder how much oil would have made it to LA if the drilling operation would have been surrounded with a boom for a 10 or 20 mile radius at all times while drilling was going on AND what if they had constantly been burning the oil contained in those booms.

I know the smoke would have been horrendous, but would THAT have been worse than what we now have? WHich is the lesser of 2 evils?

“I think it has changed a lot of opinions about offshore drilling, environmentalism, etc. among conservatives.”

It has shown that there is not adequate technology available to stop a disaster scenario. That technology needs to be developed quickly, so we can keep drilling for the oil our nation needs.

We have the best and most creative engineers in the world and I am confident we can do much better and contingency planning.

The fact that this is such a shock to so many people speaks to the phenomenal safety record and luck we have experienced in offshore drilling, the ignorance of most people as to how hazardous oil production is and what risks are involved. It also shows how a corporate culture that eschews prudent practices for the sake of profit can lead to major disasters.

Oil companies are under tremendous pressure to produce (due to our demand for cheap energy) and when places like ANWAR are closed off, it leads us to deep water drilling.

It tells us conservatives that not all regulation is bad, that government bureaucracies aren't the only solution (as the people responsible were taking "gifts" and surfing porn) and that not all greed is good.

Corners were cut for profit and those responsible for assuring that that didn't happen were inattentive or negligent.

We should also note that not all tin-hat theories are crazy. The timing of this incident is highly suspicious, given that there was a big push to expand offshore drilling around other coasts. There needs to be an investigation into that possibility in the off chance that there was more to this than simple equipment failure.

Returning from the tin-hat realm though, it is clear that BP was negligent in their choice of techniques to close the well with sea-water, that they were negligent in the failure of the BOP to function and their refusal to add other safety equipment.

The inertia of success and luck can be a soporific to safety precautions. The idea of "It ain't never happened so it won't happen" can lead to bad decisions and lax precautions. Corporations with strong safety records, like Shell and Dow, understand that safety is a primary priority and that they must be aggressive and ever vigilent in it's pursuit. At Shell, we always had the attitude that there are not accidents. There is always a root cause for an incident and it was always a result of someone not doing what they should or not being properly informed, i.e., cut fingers don't occur just because s#!t happens, but because someone wasn't paying attention or doing what they should.

The plan was to burn it, but the Govt. dropped the ball. They also failed to properly inspect instead staying in their offices surfing porn. BP continued on using a known defective BOP and then made more “mistakes” in other words they took shortcuts. I hope the 2 relief wells are instead turned into production wells but that won’t happen with these Marxists. This is a perfect opportunity to cripple our economy and they will not pass it up.

“We are now reading about shortcuts to save money,”

You hit the nail on the head. They had two choices;

1) Try to save a few bucks.

2) Reliable safeguards.

They chose to try to save some money and said the hell with safeguards.