#333350 - 25/05/2010 20:42
BP Oil Spill
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
Are there any companies out there better suited to plugging the leak than BP themselves? If there's anyone better suited to do the cleanup it's a shame they're not being given the chance.
I'm also wondering what kind of liability a company faces for this type of fuck-up as you'd think that the long-term cleanup would bankrupt a company like BP.
IMO, this type of fuck-up should demand expropriation of the property and rights away from the people who caused the problem. But then, who do you give the oil to? Some other turd company who's likely to do the same thing later on.
It'll be interesting to see how much money BP has to bleed in comparison to the damage estimates.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333351 - 25/05/2010 21:19
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
|
And their subcontractors .. including.. wait for it.. Halliburton.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333352 - 25/05/2010 21:57
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: mlord]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
Speaking of Halliburton, I just watched "The Yes Men Fix the World" - a behind the scenes/documentary about the Yes Men's various political/corporate pranks a couple of weeks ago. It was funny, but would have been much funnier if not for the seriousness of the subject matter.
Maybe one day they'll put out an apology on behalf of BP. And pledge the funds BO will no doubt short-change the people affected by the spill.
The whole spill made me immediately think of the Union Carbide chemical disaster in Bhopal India also featured in the movie. There's no comparison in terms of immediate loss of life, but the long-term effects may be just as catastrophic, if not more so.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333356 - 25/05/2010 23:56
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Phoenix42]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
I really worry about the lack of definition/specificity for "several thousand," "secondary containment" and "containment area." The first could mean 3000 just as easily as it could be 50000. The second and third (they use both terms in the article) may well just be a clear-cut parcel of land surrounding the primary storage tank just as easily as it could be a natural pond/lake inhabited by wildlife. Nothing reported implies this "secondary containment" is any type of secure container. This sidebar link was encouraging: With a BP well spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico for a fifth week and President Barack Obama under pressure to act, legal experts say it is only a matter of time before his administration begins a criminal investigation into the disaster.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333366 - 26/05/2010 12:37
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
|
I wouldn't get too excited about the possibility of criminal punishment. U.S. offshore drilling is regulated by the Minerals Management Service, and it's quite clear that eight years of government run by oil tycoons turned that agency into a laughing stock that had no interest in enforcing regulations: Inspector General’s Inquiry Faults RegulatorsSo, not only did the MMS rubber-stamp the oil companies' inspection reports, but they were wanking on the job (literally!), accepting bribes, and showing up to work under the influence of crystal meth. With regulatory capture like that, it's a wonder we don't have a Deepwater Horizon spill every year. To directly answer your original questions... No, there's nobody else out there who can do this better than BP. And BP isn't really equipped to do it, either. Nobody bothered to make sure there was a way to clean up a mess like this. Regarding damages, BP is in theory responsible for all of the cleanup of the spill, however, they'll probably just end up paying for the cost of making the oil that's on the water go away. This is why they've focused so much on using dispersants, going so far as to ignore government directives to stop using a toxic dispersant. BP wants the oil to be out of sight, and out of mind. Aside from the direct spill cleanup, a law passed in 1990 in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill limits BP's liability to a paltry $75 million. Congress is trying to remove that cap now (talk about closing the barn doors after the cows are gone) but obviously BP would be subject to the $75 million limit that was in place when the accident occurred. Good for them, bad for us.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333367 - 26/05/2010 12:45
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tonyc]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
I would think that 75 BILLION would be a lot closer to the actual costs. And even that's probably too low. I'm a fair person, so I'd probably set up a payment plan for them if I had the power to do so. Let's say an even 20 billion per year to be split by all the municipalities around the gulf with another 10 billion to be spent on clean-up efforts by BP themselves.
There really needs to be a bigger deterrent to issues like this beyond the minor PR inconvenience. 75 Million is chump change. That's the kind of money you drop on the floor and don't even bother stopping to pick up if you're this large and wealthy a company.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333371 - 26/05/2010 13:21
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
old hand
Registered: 09/01/2002
Posts: 702
Loc: Tacoma,WA
|
The liability cap only applies if BP did not break any laws while drilling. That is why the stakes are high for a criminal preceding to happen and be successful.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333399 - 27/05/2010 00:01
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
|
For you conspiracy theorists: BP did this on purpose to force out the smaller actors.I'll go back to not watching the news now.
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333413 - 27/05/2010 10:54
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: jimhogan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
|
Well, maybe a prosecution isn't so far-fetched after all.WASHINGTON — A top BP worker who was aboard the Deepwater Horizon in the hours leading up to the explosion declined to testify in front of a federal panel investigating the deadly oil rig blowout, telling the U.S Coast Guard he was invoking his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333415 - 27/05/2010 12:45
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: jimhogan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5549
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
|
I had to chuckle at this part: "...said the higher costs to operate in the Gulf could be prohibitive for smaller players."As if the higher regulatory costs will come out of the oil companies' profits. No, you and I get to pay those costs at the gas pump. tanstaafl.
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333430 - 27/05/2010 17:33
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tanstaafl.]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
Where's TigerJimmy in this thread? Maybe the government should deregulate the whole oil industry and just let these clowns do what they want. Maybe the crude is actually good for the fish. And imagine how much smoother everything will slide through you when coated with the delicious black gold.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333437 - 27/05/2010 18:15
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
old hand
Registered: 17/01/2003
Posts: 998
|
Where's TigerJimmy in this thread? Maybe the government should deregulate the whole oil industry and just let these clowns do what they want. Maybe the crude is actually good for the fish. And imagine how much smoother everything will slide through you when coated with the delicious black gold. You can try to bait in TigerJimmy but I don’t think you’ll find anyone on any side of the political fence (that isn’t a total nut) that will argue that any good will come from any of this.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333458 - 28/05/2010 11:03
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
|
The whole spill made me immediately think of the Union Carbide chemical disaster in Bhopal India also featured in the movie. There's no comparison in terms of immediate loss of life, but the long-term effects may be just as catastrophic, if not more so. Although of course the level of damages will be hugely bigger this time round, and I assume the cleanup will be done to higher standards (if possible). There's still an open contaminated pool at Bhopal that local kids swim in.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333487 - 29/05/2010 18:51
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tahir]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333490 - 29/05/2010 20:21
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
|
My personal solution. Frozen assets. Liquidation. BP should be completely dissolved, every job lost and every dollar recovered. They shouldn't be allowed to sell olive oil door to door, let alone operate any heavy machinery. Bleed them until there's nothing left, every cent used to cover the costs of cleaning this shit up. If anything's left over put it into a fund for continued environmental protection and recuperation in the area, not to mention health bills for the residents affected by this travesty.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333495 - 30/05/2010 06:17
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
|
My personal solution. Frozen assets. Liquidation. BP should be completely dissolved And then oil prices go through the roof (because it becomes too expensive to run an oil company) and the global economy collapses. We've got to ween our civilisation off oil before we can do anything like that. Cold turkey is never pleasant. With oil, it'll be a whole lot worse.
_________________________
-- roger
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333506 - 30/05/2010 16:53
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Roger]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
|
Not to mention that it'd be hard for the US government to dissolve a British corporation. Yeah, they could dissolve their US assets, but that wouldn't do much more than put a bunch of Americans out of work.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333507 - 30/05/2010 17:03
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: wfaulk]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
|
I think a better solution would be to install systems at every gas pump that recognize bumper stickers. If some Excursion pulls in with a "Drill baby drill" bumper sticker on it, the owner gets to hear all the current news including damage to American businesses that mentality is causing while they wait on their 50 gallon tank to be filled.
It's really sad to see that this same disaster is occurring 31 years after the IXTOC 1. Clearly nothing meaningful was done properly to ensure a similar disaster wouldn't happen again. 31 years is a long time for safer drilling solutions to be developed, and for some reason, they weren't. As Rachel's segment pointed out, all that has changed is pushing the problem further under water. I hope more news segments pick up on this, and start asking BP and the others involved why there hasn't been an investment into better disaster prevention methods.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333518 - 30/05/2010 20:42
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
|
It's really sad to see that this same disaster is occurring 31 years after the IXTOC 1. Clearly nothing meaningful was done properly to ensure a similar disaster wouldn't happen again. 31 years is a long time for safer drilling solutions to be developed, and for some reason, they weren't. As Rachel's segment pointed out, all that has changed is pushing the problem further under water. I hope more news segments pick up on this, and start asking BP and the others involved why there hasn't been an investment into better disaster prevention methods. Much as I hate trial-by-mass-media, there have been multiple reports making out that actually fairly reasonable engineering solutions for disaster prevention are routinely deployed these days, including on Deepwater Horizon, and that the proximate cause of the current disaster (like Chernobyl) is human hubris ignoring or compromising those engineering solutions. Peter
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333519 - 30/05/2010 21:03
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: peter]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
|
Media has it's place in getting things into peoples minds, and then their representatives minds, for better or worse. I think in this particular case, people should be asking why the newer engineering solutions weren't either in place, or followed. Why were things left to get to this point, instead of an inspection finding problems early? Why is it taking so long to try alternate solutions? Engineering safety solutions is only part of the issue, clearly there was a huge regulatory failure on this situation as well.
To me, if a company is going to be allowed to work at that depth in the ocean, they should be mandated to ensure that not only are proper procedures being followed on the rig, but that emergency equipment is nearby in case of a complete failure onboard. A "top hat" device should have already been ready and sitting on standby somewhere in the gulf, possibly stored at one of the many locations needed for oil refining. If ultimately relief wells are the best solution, then ensure they can be drilled quicker, possibly by pre-drilling a little bit and keeping the alternate sites ready to be brought online quickly.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333578 - 01/06/2010 16:39
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
|
If ultimately relief wells are the best solution, then ensure they can be drilled quicker, possibly by pre-drilling a little bit and keeping the alternate sites ready to be brought online quickly. When your drilling rig topples over and sinks into the ocean, how exactly does one finish drilling the relief well?
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333581 - 01/06/2010 17:00
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: canuckInOR]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
|
Brace and bit?
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333583 - 01/06/2010 17:01
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: canuckInOR]
|
veteran
Registered: 21/03/2002
Posts: 1424
Loc: MA but Irish born
|
Obviously you keep a spare drilling rig on hand...;)
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333759 - 05/06/2010 19:10
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Phoenix42]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
|
Obviously you keep a spare drilling rig on hand...;) Apparently, yes. Found this article talking about how the Canadian government mandates a relief well to be finished in the same season as the main well for any drilling in the Beaufort Sea.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333826 - 08/06/2010 17:50
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
Haha, I liked that comic. This strip is great as well, and this week he's doing a BP theme (though today's is a bit of an in-joke for readers of the strip).
Edited by Dignan (08/06/2010 17:50)
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333871 - 09/06/2010 19:16
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#333872 - 09/06/2010 19:26
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
|
Damned Great Old Ones!!!
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334035 - 12/06/2010 11:41
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: wfaulk]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334042 - 12/06/2010 14:24
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
|
Not all the oil found is actually from the leak. Ships unrelated to BP are taking advantage of the disaster to flush out their tanks into the ocean where normally they'd have to pay large sums to do it in port.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334043 - 12/06/2010 14:28
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
|
My personal solution. Frozen assets. Liquidation. BP should be completely dissolved, every job lost and every dollar recovered. They shouldn't be allowed to sell olive oil door to door, let alone operate any heavy machinery. Bleed them until there's nothing left, every cent used to cover the costs of cleaning this shit up. If anything's left over put it into a fund for continued environmental protection and recuperation in the area, not to mention health bills for the residents affected by this travesty. I assume that you don't have a pension plan or any other investments then? They're already talking about making BP use the dividends to pay for this but if they follow your scorched earth policy then investors will be completely screwed.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334056 - 12/06/2010 18:17
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tman]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
|
Ships unrelated to BP are taking advantage of the disaster to flush out their tanks into the ocean where normally they'd have to pay large sums to do it in port. I don't think this should surprise anyone. Given how oil little regulation oil companies are subject to, I'm sure they're happy to take a slap on the wrist penalty to save a few bucks. After all, it's a big ocean, right? I assume that you don't have a pension plan or any other investments then? They're already talking about making BP use the dividends to pay for this but if they follow your scorched earth policy then investors will be completely screwed. Equity holders have no God-given right to recoup their investment. Buying a stock involves risk, and when you buy the stock of a company that royally screws something up, you deserve to get burned more than I do. I don't think we need to board and plunder BP, but I do think taking their US operations into receivership needs to be seriously considered. The idiots in charge of BP right now aren't listening to government officials, so it's time they were relieved of their decision-making responsibilities and forced to work in the interests of the country they're ruining with their catastrophic fuckup.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334210 - 17/06/2010 19:21
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tonyc]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
As you've seen from my contributions to this thread, I find it hard to talk seriously about this. Probably because I get a little too angry and I don't need that these days. I've decided instead to enjoy the open [and greatly deserved] mockery and ridicule of BP through the wonders of the internet. Case in point, as much as I dislike Twitter, I get immense enjoyment out of the BPGlobalPR Twitter account. Whoever writes this is hysterical, and those hash tags are frequently just as hilarious as the posts. It's even better because BP got annoyed. Wah wah, BP. (and that second sample post in the article just had be cracking up)
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334215 - 17/06/2010 23:26
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
|
I like BPGlobalPR's Leroy Stick story.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334218 - 18/06/2010 00:07
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tfabris]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334386 - 23/06/2010 20:39
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
*sigh* Raining OilAs usual, I found this through BOGlobalPR, who tweeted: It's raining oil! We shot our guns into the air to celebrate, but had to quit after we blew up a cloud.
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334405 - 23/06/2010 22:46
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: Dignan]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
|
I can't imagine that's not complete and utter bullshit.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334410 - 23/06/2010 23:30
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: wfaulk]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
|
If it really was happening I'd expect it to be on more than just some random YouTube video.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334491 - 26/06/2010 02:41
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: hybrid8]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
|
Edited by drakino (26/06/2010 02:48) Edit Reason: added both parts
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334493 - 26/06/2010 03:29
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
|
Anyone else seeing only white boxes in the previous post?
_________________________
Glenn
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334494 - 26/06/2010 03:53
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: gbeer]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
|
Anyone else seeing only white boxes in the previous post? Nope. Two flash players appear there for me.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334499 - 26/06/2010 11:16
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: tman]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
|
Two bright white boxes here, each containing some kind of invisible flash content.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334500 - 26/06/2010 12:08
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: mlord]
|
addict
Registered: 02/08/2004
Posts: 434
Loc: Helsinki, Finland
|
I get the white boxes, but when I scroll up and down the videos appear. OSX using Chrome.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334502 - 26/06/2010 15:50
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
|
Holy crap. That was some really good reporting. I'm really impressed, too.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#334510 - 27/06/2010 12:43
Re: BP Oil Spill
[Re: drakino]
|
carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
|
Sheesh! I can see the videos, and I'm using my Nexus One! And I agree, I'm surprised how good that was. I watch that show fairly frequently, and Kevin is a funny guy, but he and the show did a very good job on that one. Kudos to them.
_________________________
Matt
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|