Oil Spill Suggestion Box

[Jim]

Hi,

The oil spill in the gulf is almost uninmaginable, yet it still goes on as I type all 57 words for this post. BP wants suggestions does anyone here at LL have One?

Have you heard the story about a truck that got stuck under a bridge? As Paul Harvey would say, "The rest of the Story."

weLEAD Online Magazine

"It is said that a box truck was attempting to pass under a large bridge. As the truck driver approached the structure he felt there was enough room to clear the bottom of the steel and concrete deck of the bridge. But as he was passing under, he suddenly hear a loud screeching noise! The screech turned in to a grind and the lurching truck came to a dead stop! It was now locked under the bridge and could go neither forward or backward. Putting the transmission in reverse, or one of the forward gears was to no avail as the vehicle was now firmly lodged directly under the bridge. Traffic came to a complete standstill and naturally the local authorities were called out to examine the situation. How would they get the truck out from under the bridge?

A tow truck was sent out to try to pull the vehicle free. A county engineer arrived to examine this difficult situation. There were deep discussions and many measurements were made. Various calculations were performed to determine how much of the truck or bridge would be destroyed if the vehicle was simply yanked or pulled out! If too much of the bridge’s concrete was broken in the process, it might cause the bridge to become unsafe.

What if road equipment was brought in to cut a grove into the road under the vehicle tires to lower it? What if heavy equipment was brought in to lift the bridge just a few inches? Traffic continued to back up and discussions raged on as frustrated workers and authorities pondered this difficult problem. A crowd also gathered around the scene to watch all the exciting activity and hubbub.

Then something funny happened as a worker was walking by part of the crowd and surveying the situation. A little boy who had previously been riding his bicycle, and had stopped to glare, said to the man, “Why not let the air out of the tires?” “What?”, stated the worker in incredulous shock! “What did you say?” The boy repeated, “Why not let the air out of the tires?” From this simple observation and statement, an easy and effective solution was found to a difficult problem that had confounded some very bright and energetic people!"
http://www.leadingtoday.org/Onmag/2005%2...ust05.html

Oil Spill Suggestion Box? BP is Taking Your Ideas
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/...ideas.html

Despite BP's best efforts to stem the leak at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, oil is still gushing for a 25th consecutive day and heading towards shore.
Engineers and executives have developed countless techniques to stop the spill and contain the oil, but so far little has worked. Booms have washed ashore, and a steel containment dome sits on the ocean floor, useless.

Now, BP is taking suggestions. On its webpage, deepwaterhorizonresponse.com, it invites anyone to submit ideas over the phone and online.
Call BP at 281.366.5511, or submit your idea online here: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/...319487.pdf

[kandrathe]

I have a few suggestions for all oil companies (that are printable here);

1) Plan for the worst possible case, then test your procedures to ensure you actually can handle it.
2) If you can't fix a problem in 5000 feet of ocean, then you should rethink your plan.
3) You need better blow out safety equipment, it needs to be tested, and it needs to be reliable.

And, for the US Administration;

1) It's called Federal Emergency Management Agency for a reason... This is a Federal Emergency, so start organizing the resources of the nation to stave off the ecological disaster. Or, heck, just give up and get out of Governor Jindell's way, but be willing to open your check book to at least help out those leaders who exhibit some leadership.
2) Kudos to EPA for finally allowing the use of massive amounts of dispersants at the source to break down the oil before it reaches landfall.
3) NOAA had a plan for dealing with a national disaster like this many years ago, but no one ever funded getting the materials in place to enable us to be prepared for one.
4) How lame is it that we are begging for equipment, and cleanup equipment from Brazil?

[Swiss Mercenary]

Or, heck, just give up and get out of Governor Jindell's way, but be willing to open your check book to at least help out those leaders who exhibit some leadership.

Better yet, open BP's checkbook to help them out.

[DeeBye]

Rush Limbaugh says it's not a big deal. It's a natural thing and the ocean will take care of it on its own. Never change, Rush.

I say they try stuffing BP executives in that pipe to stop the flow.

[--Pete]

Hi,

I say they try stuffing BP executives in that pipe to stop the flow.

Makes more sense than the " . . . open BP's checkbook . . . "

While I think the oil companies should pay for the clean up, and they should pay to develop and deploy safety measures to avoid these events and contain them when they happen, throwing money at the situation right now would be a waste. Cooperation, coordination, and free applications of available technologies is what needs to be done now.

--Pete

[Mirajj]

While I think the oil companies should pay for the clean up, and they should pay to develop and deploy safety measures to avoid these events and contain them when they happen, throwing money at the situation right now would be a waste. Cooperation, coordination, and free applications of available technologies is what needs to be done now.

--Pete

That's what I've been thinking of late, too. Yes, BP is "responsible". Yes, they screwed up. Yes, they need to fix it...but they are going to need help, and this effects a lot more than just them. Everyone who can needs to get involved in this in the best way they can, then, after we've sorted it out, stopped it and cleaned it up...THEN it's time for who owes who how much, who's to blame, the chest thumping and the whatnot. Only THEN.

[kandrathe]

That's what I've been thinking of late, too. Yes, BP is "responsible". Yes, they screwed up. Yes, they need to fix it...but they are going to need help, and this effects a lot more than just them. Everyone who can needs to get involved in this in the best way they can, then, after we've sorted it out, stopped it and cleaned it up...THEN it's time for who owes who how much, who's to blame, the chest thumping and the whatnot. Only THEN.

Will you be my President?

[NuurAbSaal]

Penny Arcade have a nice take on the story, link to the comic in the second paragraph, but I suggest to read the first one before going there .

take care
Tarabulus

[Mirajj]

Will you be my President?
[/quote]

Sorry, my dual citizenship is Canadian/German. The Americans would want nothing to do with me.

[Taelas]

Is there any reason why they couldn't plug one end of the pipe, put some sort of pumping mechanism on the other end, and pump water from the ocean into a tank, through the leak and the pipe? It's probably a stupid idea.

[kandrathe]

Is there any reason why they couldn't plug one end of the pipe, put some sort of pumping mechanism on the other end, and pump water from the ocean into a tank, through the leak and the pipe? It's probably a stupid idea.

Pressure. At 1500 meters, the water pressure is huge. 150 times the pressure at sea level. The other pressure to contend with is that of the oil being forced out of the drill pipe.

[Jim]

Hi,

IMO, I believe that BP does not want to permanently stop this leak, they would prefer to capture this oil & sell it.

IF they were to stop the leak it means no more oil for BP at this location.

[Jester]

IMO, I believe that BP does not want to permanently stop this leak, they would prefer to capture this oil & sell it.

IF they were to stop the leak it means no more oil for BP at this location.

There does not exist a quantity of oil they could recoup from this that would pay for the PR damage they've suffered here. Their stock price has lost 25% of its value in less than three months. The involved companies are in the hole for tens of billions over this.

I have no idea whether your idea makes sense from an engineering perspective. I presume you can always just drill again in the same location, if you want to rebuild, but I have no solid knowledge here. But from an economic perspective, not stopping this leak is crazy.

-Jester

[Jim]

Hi,

They will stop the leak when all else fails. Lets see what the relief well does in August.

If I understand correctly the relief well is just another way to continue pumping oil at this site.

I can't get the pictures of the oil cover birds out of my head.

[kandrathe]

They will stop the leak when all else fails. Lets see what the relief well does in August.

I understand they are already drilling two relief wells, which hopefully will be completed by August.

If I understand correctly the relief well is just another way to continue pumping oil at this site.

Theory here is that pumping from the two new holes into the same bore hole will reduce the pressure on the broken one allowing them to cap it. A side consequence would be continuing to pump from the two new holes, however, I think we've witnessed one fatal down side of deep water drilling. I'd bet there is a call for world wide moratorium on deep water drilling until it can be proven safe again. At least, that seems to be a rational position.

I can't get the pictures of the oil cover birds out of my head.

You can always join the movement just by buying dish soap. A bunch of my friends are taking the summer off, to go clean up Gulf beaches. There are things that have not been done that I believe should be done.

I'm very disappointed in how badly (slow, unfocused, bureaucratic, passive) our government has been in reacting early to help save the coasts.

[Jim]

Hi,

Sorry I forgot to cut & paste my source for my comments & opinions...> bnet.com <...not Battlenet, yes Businessnet, yes big business the horses mouth.

BP Increased Oil-Capture Rate to 10,500 Barrels a Day (Update3)

June 6 (BusinessWeek | 3 hours 28 minutes ago) -- BP Plc said it increased the amount of oil being captured from its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico to 10,500 barrels yesterday and expects to increase that quantity in the next few days.

The well is estimated by government scientists to be gushing 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day into the Gulf. BP said yesterday it collected 6,077 barrels in the previous 24-hour period ending at midnight June 4. The spill is the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

A “cap” over the well is capturing “probably the vast majority” of the leaking oil, Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward told the Broadcasting Corp. today in an interview in London. BP has “a further containment system to implement this week,” he said, adding that a permanent and hurricane-proof mechanism will be in place by the end of the month.

[Jim]

Hi,

Today BBC news was comparing the 1979 & 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the first time I heard about the 1979 offshore rig spill on cable news, I guess BP is controlling the press. It took 9 months to stop the 1979 spill, Ouch

10 Famous Spills
http://www.incidentnews.gov/famous

Amoco Cadiz

The Amoco Cadiz encountered stormy weather and ran aground off the coast of Brittany, France on March 16, 1978. Its entire cargo of 68.7 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea, polluting about 200 miles of Brittany's coastline.

Arabian Gulf Spills

During the 1991 Gulf War, tankers and oil terminals in Kuwait were destroyed, causing the release of an estimated 6-8 million barrels (252 - 336 million gallons) of oil into the waters of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. Many oil wells in Kuwait were destroyed and set on fire, resulting in the release of much greater amounts of oil and combustion products to land, air, and water in Kuwait.

Argo Merchant

On December 15, 1976, the Argo Merchant ran aground on Fishing Rip (Nantucket Shoals), 29 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in high winds and ten foot seas. Six days later, the vessel broke apart and spilled its entire cargo of 7.7 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil.

Barge Bouchard 155

On August 10, 1993, three ships collided in Tampa Bay, Florida: the barge Bouchard 155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255. The Bouchard 155 spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Tampa Bay.

Barge Cibro Savannah

On March 6, 1990, the Cibro Savannah exploded and caught fire while departing the pier at the Citgo facility in Linden, New Jersey. About 127,000 gallons of oil remained unaccounted for after the incident. No one knows how much oil burned and how much spilled into the environment.

Burmah Agate

On November 1, 1979, the Burmah Agate collided with the freighter Mimosa southeast of Galveston Entrance in the Gulf of Mexico. The collision caused an explosion and a fire on the Burmah Agate that burned until January 8, 1980. An estimated 2.6 million gallons of oil were released into the environment, and another 7.8 million gallons were consumed by the fire.

Exxon Valdez

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The tanker was traveling outside the normal shipping lanes in an attempt to avoid ice. It spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil (out of a total cargo of 53 million gallons) into the marine environment, and impacted more than 1,100 miles of non-continuous Alaskan coastline. State and Federal agencies continue to monitor the effects of this spill, which was the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Ixtoc I

The 2-mile-deep exploratory well, Ixtoc I, blew out on June 3, 1979 in the Bay of Campeche off Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico. The water depth at the wellhead site is about 50 m (164 feet). By the time the well was brought under control in March, 1980, an estimated 140 million gallons of oil had spilled into the bay. The Ixtoc I spill is currently #2 on the all-time list of largest oil spills of all time.

Jupiter

On September 16, 1990, the tank vessel Jupiter was offloading gasoline at a refinery on the Saginaw River near Bay City, Michigan, when a fire started on board and the vessel exploded.

Megaborg

The Megaborg released 5.1 million gallons of oil as the result of a lightering accident and subsequent fire. The incident occurred 60 nautical miles south-southeast of Galveston, Texas on June 8, 1990.