Tag: Deepwater Horizon

Confirming fears that the crude from BP's historic blowout is far from gone When Tropical Storm Lee pummeled the Gulf coast with wind and rainlast week, it left more than local floods and wind damage in its wake. Residents from Florida to Louisiana report the slow-moving gale blew in oily residues, thick tar mats and tar balls, confirming fears that the crude from BP's historic blowout is far from gone.Charles Taylor of Bay St Louis, MS, said he went out to investigate right after the storm hit tophotograph the beach, taking samplesof oily crude and tar with a spoon. Taylorsaid he offered themto the US Coast Guard at a meetingin Biloxi but no one would take them. "I getting fed up with their ways," he wrote me in an email.Oil also washed up near hard hit Grand Isle on Fourchon beach. According to the Times-Picayune, the storm surge uncoveredtar mats just offshore.The landmanager of the Wisner Donation Trust, which owns andtakes care of the beach area, wondered when BP was going to really clean up the mess. Here'swhat she toldthe paper:"We've been responding all along to the ongoing contamination we've insisted has been there," she said. "We've done our own ...

5 million barrels of oil released between April 20 and July 15, 2010 In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have determined that the blown-out Macondo well spewed oil at a rate of about 57,000 barrels a day, totaling nearly 5 million barrels of oil released from the well between April 20 and July 15, 2010, when the leak was capped. In addition, the well released some 100 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas.The results-published in the Sept. 5, 2011 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)-are in line with the federal government's official estimates, but just as importantly validate the innovative measuring techniques the team employed. The accuracy of the measurements was crucial because, "Ultimately, the impact of the oil on the environment depends primarily on the total volume of oil released," according to a report by the Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG), a collection of research teams charged with using different means to generate an accurate estimate of the amount of oil released into the Gulf.The new study represents a comprehensive look at the data ...

Over the last several weeks, concern has been growing that the well is leaking oil Over the last several weeks, many have become concerned based on reports of oil on the surface of the water near BP's now P&A'd (plugged and abandoned) Macondo Well, and concern has been growing that the well is now leaking oil. I have been skeptical of such an occurrence, since properly plugged wells don't do that, but reports have become so frantic that BP actually responded in a press release that this is simply not the case.The press release asserted that a subsea inspection with ROVs was conducted, witnessed by the Gulf Coast Incident Management Team, which is the successor organization to the old Unified Command that was organized last year to respond to the growing disaster. BP did not, to my knowledge, provide the public with a video of the inspections, which would have dispelled the rumors (or at least decreased them).The story started in August with reports of oil on the surface from the Mobile Press Register along with video of oil sheen close to the Macondo location. Aerial photos of the area were then posted by the Gulf Restoration Network and On ...

Claiming that BP provided false information about the location of pockets of oil BP PLC has engaged in a "cover up scheme" to hide its culpability for the deadly rig explosion that spawned last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the oil giant's partners in the drilling project claims in a newly filed lawsuit.Halliburton Energy Services Inc.'s suit, the latest of several that the project's partners have filed against each other, accuses BP of concealing critical information about the deepwater well that blew out on April 20, 2010.Halliburton, which did cement work on BP's Macondo well, claims in Thursday's suit that BP provided false information about the location of pockets of oil and gas around the well before the blowout. Halliburton says knowing the location of those zones is critical for a cementing job."Profit and greed" were BP's motives for concealing the information, the lawsuit alleges. Halliburton says it likely would have insisted on redesigning the well's production casing if it had known about an additional hydrocarbon zone that BP allegedly failed to disclose."Such changes would have cost BP millions of dollars on a well that was already painfully over budget and behind schedule," says ...

Globs of oil are seen blooming on the Gulf In this video shot near the site of the Deepwater Horizon accident, globs of oil are seen blooming on the Gulf surface in iridescent yellow circles. Chemical analysis of the Press-Register's samples by LSU scientists found that the oil could be from the BP well, but results were not conclusive. BP meanwhile said no oil was present when the company flew over the area Saturday.

Including the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Gulf Moratorium and Permit Freeze are killing jobs It's a sad story. It's a shocking story.You can find out all about it at OpenTheGulf.org, a website sponsored by the industry-backed Consumer Energy Alliance. The problem, according to the site: the Obama administration's "Gulf Moratorium and Permit Freeze" are killing jobs. The solution as per the site: send a message to U.S. government officials to "Open the Gulf."Gulf Stories as CenterpieceThe Web campaign's centerpiece are clips of real people -- Lori, David, Mark, and others -- telling their stories of economic ruin to a backdrop of empty rigs and warehouses underscored by somber, plaintive music. (These stories are also being featured in TV ads.) Each has a compelling and sad story to tell. Their lives are in economic free fall -- they're out of work, can't make ends meet, gasoline is too expensive, all the jobs have gone overseas. And why is all this happening? The administration's policy on oil from the Gulf of Mexico.Mark claims that if "the moratorium was opened up ... it would be better for everyone." Lori, the owner of a company that runs rigs in the gulf, laments the loss of business and has a solution: ...

A need to tighten up the offshore drilling safety regime and learn from mistakes Major accidents and disasters in the US can have considerable repercussions for the regulatory regime governing international maritime safety. The Exxon Valdez grounding in 1989 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 are the most notable examples, the fallout from which are evidenced in today's global tanker safety and ship security regimes.The shipping industry is now waiting to see what impact the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 might have on their business. A number of investigations have been carried out into the cause of the accident and reports continue to be issued. While the majority of the findings indicate a need to tighten up the offshore drilling safety regime, there are also important lessons to be learned for all those responsible for maritime safety.On 20 April 2010 the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon was completing drilling operations at the Macondo well on the US outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico as part of preparations to temporarily abandon the well. A loss of well control during these operations resulted in a release of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons which, ...

Lessons have to be learned from the disaster The crew of an oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year causing one of the worst oil spills in US history ignored warning signs a disaster was imminent, an investigator said Friday.Marshall Islands deputy maritime affairs commissioner Bill Gallagher, who carried out an inquiry into the explosion because the rig was registered in the Pacific nation, said lessons had to be learned from the disaster.He said there were indications of a problem at the Deepwater Horizon rig before the blast that killed 11 people on April 20 last year but the crew failed to act."There were multiple signs that there were issues at the well itself, indicators, pressure testing, things of that nature were going on," Gallagher told Australia's ABC radio Friday."There were signs that there were some problems with the well...the blow out started and then, of course, the disaster followed shortly thereafter."Gallagher, whose report into the incident was released on Wednesday, also cited "deviation" from drilling rig control engineering standards as a reason for the disaster."These factors contributed to the substantial release of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, which culminated in explosions, fire, the loss of 11 ...

Released by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator has released the DEEPWATER HORIZON Marine Casualty Investigation Report (RMI Report). In accordance with national and international requirements, the RMI Report has been provided to the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).The Maritime Administrator has also provided a copy of the RMI Report to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).The RMI Report may be downloaded in its entirety via: www.register-iri.com/mireports.The RMI Report contains findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations, focusing on the marine operations of the DEEPWATER HORIZON, which are the purview of the flag State.Although not regulated by the flag State, the industrial operations of the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) are discussed, in so far as they are necessary to provide a complete picture of the casualty or where they may have impacted the overall safety of the MODU.To assist the RMI Maritime Administrator in its understanding and analysis of engineering and technical aspects, consultants were retained with expertise in drilling, engineering, and fire science.Based on the Maritime Administrator's assessment of the evidence in the investigative ...