Posted on 05/29/2010 7:00:49 PM PDT by K-oneTexas
The Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely.
The decision by the department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP's lease at Deepwater Horizon a "categorical exclusion" from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 -- and BP's lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions -- show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Also see http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblogs/who-are-all-these-people/2010/may/05/us-exempted-bps-gulf-of-mexico-drilling-from-envir/.
[Snip "Blaming the government for the actions of British Petroleum is silly. BP is responsible for this catastrophe. Only because of the lax regulations on offshore oil and gas exploration are inadequate BOPs allowed in US waters. Norway, Brazil, UK and elsewhere require more robust BOPs to drill in their waters. "
zorro was right about one thing. The regulations were very lax for BP Is BP responsible for this situation? Or politicians in DC who might ask "Why wasn't "pipe DOPE" banned as an illegal substance? Or perhaps how much are you going to donate my campaign?
Just where did this bit of info come from? Could zorro post some major differences in US regs and say Brazilian regs? If BP did follow the so called by zorro "Lax regulations on BOPs" is it BP fauult that the regs were "Lax"? It looks like ol Z is saying the regulations were lax but it is BP fault for complying with lax regulations. [Snip]
>> from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009
It will be stated the essence of the report was based on material from the Bush Administration.
But Pelosi said this was caused by Bush political appointees burrowed into the agencies......
You dont think all those BP campaign contributions to obama and the democrats had anything to do with this nonregulatory decision, do you?
BP gave a truck ton of money to Obama during his campaign, Obama let them slide past safety checks and measures.
This is what we end up with.
And that b!+ch Pelosi blames Bush.
I can’t imageine that Bush could have even remained in office had his administration given the exemption. Bob
Why should she say that? Obama said it yesterday.
And then there is that million dollars...
BP had essentially a free pass to do the drilling on the cheap, as the now failing obama regime was not exercising due diligence and oversight even within the framework of regulatory requirements already established.
If things blew up because of inadequate or entirely absent enforcement of the regulations already in existence, then everything comes back to the same doorstep. What did the regulators in the now failing obama regime know, and when did they know it?
Look at what a huge campaign contribution will buy you today.
Now, what’s the new timeline:
Is it Bush’s fault after 18 months?
Or, two years
Maybe three, perhaps four;
Or maybe into infinity as these POS RATS take no responsibibility for anything!
os
BP gave $70K to 0bama’s presidential campaign.
It’s like the alcoholic that blames his actions on everyone else. It’s always someone else’s fault he drinks, takes drugs, beats his wife, cheats, etc.
It is all the exalted ones Obozo;s fault. that 70 million spent so foolishly by BP will be the undoing of BP. Obozo BP is a business all businesses are unsuccessful, because Obozo has his fingers in the kettle. Show me one nation in the World that is ran be a a leader whom is a radical that is successful. Obozo defines success as one where the president is rich and the rest of the country is poor. Sounds more like a third world banana boat republic. Obozo the Clown
The list, ping
hmmmm ....did government take a payoff?
I wasn’t going to do this but I’ve hit a weak moment and my disgust at the reporting on this and BP in general is needing relief.
These accusations about BOP standards, EIAs and such are just plain BS. Every lease sale has an EIA because it is foolish to think that any one 9 square mile block in a region is different from any other block. Almost nobody is on the take, few inspectors will ever be found to be lax. Evidence the SWAT team inspections by MMS after the blowout. The results from these inspections weren’t publicized because they didn’t find but five violations ranging in severity from a paper cup in a trash barrel near a welding station to failure to alternate the control console between BOP test A and B.
The root cause of this disaster is BP’s culture. The immediate fault in this debacle is bad well design and inexperience. For example, you don’t put a trainee on the floor in a decision making capacity like was done on the “Horizon”. An entire industry and ultimately the entire nation will suffer because BP is a bad operator and should be banished from the U.S. I am anxiously waiting to see the spectacle of legions of former oilfield workers protesting in the flowered plaza at BP Westlake Houston. Because of their arrogance over the decades BP has been banished from many places they have worked. In the case of BP, and this incident in particular, phrases like “Normalization of Deviance” and “Success-engendered optimism” come to mind. See the Challenger board of inquiry findings if you want to learn more about these characterizations.
When used correctly the equipment in drilling works as intended and drilling is safe. This disaster need never have happened. If you drive a car through a red light or fly an airplane into the ground does that make cars or airplanes unsafe? Should they be banned because the operators are stupid? If an owner removes the brake lines is it the fault of the brakes that they don’t work? We can never engineer for gross negligence or ignorance nor can we make things idiot proof. Evolution prevents this as God is always building a better idiot since we have violated the laws of survival of the fittest.
One of the major things that keeps rigs out of Norway is the acoustic disconnect which has been considered by anyone who knows anything to be suspect in function. Acoustic disconnects have improved over the years since they now use digital signaling to avoid false positive commands. They still won’t work if the subsea accumulator system is not designed properly and there is no hydraulic energy to close the BOP after the rigid conduit has failed or the charge pumps have no power to charge the system. You have to know your tools and use them correctly. Some don’t.
Far more than 99% of the commentators who are self proclaimed experts only know just barely enough to be dangerous. Dr. Bea is one who comes to mind fitting this category. He is a pitiful image of self aggrandizement.
The DOI report from May 27, 2010 was generated by mostly so called experts most of whom have never set foot on a deep water rig let alone either designed a well or BOP nor been involved in any element of operations. Many of these “experts” are Registered Professional Engineers and many of them should be investigated for having rendered a professional opinion outside their field of expertise. Most of the members of the committee, had they any real integrity, should have excused themselves.
The report is full of feel good half measures that fall into the category of acceptable and prudent oil field practice which will now be codified and paper whipped by know nothing regulators. BP didn’t do these things and their violation of accepted practice will be found to be negligent to grossly negligent.
Moreover, the report finding to declare a moratorium on deep water drilling for at least six months while another group of feel good greenies get their chance for a swipe at the industry that fuels America is downright stupid and misguided. I think it may be intentional by the obastard administration since the effect, while not immediate to most, is a clear and present danger to national security. A six month, and likely longer gap, in the production of the factory (deepwater drilling) that produces a significant and market margin impacting portion of oil used will be felt and it will not be a good feeling. I am astounded that Mr. O’Reilly, former chairman of Chevron, allowed this report to be issued under his name, of course he is not a native American either. No company can afford to pay for a minimum $185,000,000 non-productive cost over the next six months. These rigs will soon leave the Gulf if they can to go to places where the rules are allegedly tighter. Once they leave it is hard to bring them back. This industry does not turn on a dime when economic decisions are at stake. It does turn on that dime when the investment climate becomes hostile as it has in the US now. If the moratorium is not lifted soon I hope you enjoy your $5.00 a gallon gasoline. Oh, I forgot, all of those who are so morally righteous and indignant about offshore drilling or any other drilling for that matter don’t used any petroleum derived energy or products do you?
The problem rests with BP AND the federal government. Regardless of political party in control.
To be indignant that is happened after waivers were given, despite flawed surveys/reports, is unacceptable. Evidently the “experts” assembled are not experts after all.
Both BP and the gov’t are at fault ... STOP the finger pointing and the indignation and solve the problem.
To halt all drilling on land or at sea because of this is also wrong on many levels ... it is an excuse being used to foist personal agendas. It is not in the best interest of the American people, but a certain cliche of people.
True for the element of solving the problem. BP have said they have the “best and brightest” working the problem. This is just another BP twist on the truth. They have BP people working on the problem some are bright and some aren’t the best. BP is like most big companies, they seldom see past their own front door. The 17,000 submissions of ideas or whatever the number is now is just another box ticking exercise like the summoning of a peer review group to comment on the top kill and junk shot plans ...without exception the peer review group said it was a bad idea and that there were better things to pursue.
I reject the idea that the government are at fault. Perhaps they trusted too much but not at fault. The MMS is not the only agency to have a regulation program based on self defined performance measures... Norway has done the same for a long time and they are considered to be one of the tougher environments to operate in not because they are better but because it takes so much more paper and time. I have seen some incredible shallow flows on the Voring Plateau there ...it happens. I have also seen an instance of a trainee seeing an ever increasing level in the mud pits over night that she attributed to mixing mud. The result was bringing the well on production while drilling ...it happens when you put responsibility in the hands of people who are not ready for it and don’t spend the money and time to train them properly then make them accountable and punish them when they aren’t.
The gov’t took oversight, regardless of how many gov’t agencies are involved. BP has experts and the gov’t has experts.
Looks like both are lacking.
Shared responsibility. No way out of it. Shared responsibility.
But lets get out of the BLAME GAME, which the gov’t is heavily involved in and get to SOLVING the situation. Then we can work to ensure, to the best of private industry’s ability and gov’t ability that it does not happen again.
Lets learn from our errors. No one learns anything when the finger of blame is constantly pointed.
Never forget ... when you point the finger of blame, three fingers are pointed back at you.
Had I played the BLAME GAME in the military or in business ... all ventures would have resulted in failure.
****WaPo also reported that the Center for Biological Diversity said that the Obama administration’s “categorical exclusion” waiver for BP put BP “entirely in control.” WaPo also reported that the Obama administration’s waiver was a “rubber stamp” for BP.***
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT — This disaster happened on Obama’s watch. He was president On April 6, 2009 when this waiver was given by his administration.
The “won” owns this. Pun intended.
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