News & Politics - Oil Rig Explosion in Gulf Coast

**Wildfire Girl** · 04-21-2010, 11:47 AM

I head this story on the radio coming in to work today. About an explosion in the Gulf Coast on an Oil Rig with 12-15 workers missing, but over 100 had made it off safe.

Coast Guard: Oil rig workers still missing - Life- msnbc.com

Quote:

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Coast Guard said 12 oil workers missing after a rig explosion off Louisiana have not been found, contrary to a report by a local government official.

"We have not. We're still searching," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Sue Kerver, noting that the Coast Guard is the lead agency for the search and rescue effort.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser had earlier told NBC affiliate WDSU that he received reports that the workers were alive and safe.

He had also posted online that he had gotten reports that "the life raft with the remaining people unnaccounted for was found and all are being brought to safety."

Nungesser later updated his post with an apology, saying "we received third hand information that was believed to be credible."

Fifteen other workers were injured, including seven critically, after the explosion that left the offshore drilling rig listing at 70 degrees and on fire in the Gulf of Mexico.

Most of the 126 people on the rig, called Deepwater Horizon, escaped safely after the explosion at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry said.

However Coast Guard spokeswoman Katherine McNamara told msnbc.com that 15 had been injured, seven critically.

'Burning pretty good'
The rig, about 52 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, was still burning Wednesday and had been listing at about 10 degrees when it tilted further.

"It's burning pretty good and there's no estimate on when the fire will be put out," O'Berry said.

O'Berry said many workers who escaped the rig were being brought to land on a workboat.

O'Berry said at one point the fire was so large and intense that it was hampering rescue efforts, WWL TV reported.

The rig was drilling but was not in production, according to Greg Panagos, spokesman for its owner, Transocean Ltd., in Houston. The rig was under contract to BP PLC.

"As far as we know there have been no fatalities, but this could change," Panagos was quoted as saying by the website Upstreamonline.com.

"Injured personnel are receiving medical treatment as necessary," the statement added. "The names and hometowns of injured persons are being withheld until family members can be notified."

BP spokesman David Nicholas said all six BP personnel who had been on the rig were safe.

Kerver said the Coast Guard and the federal Minerals Management Service will work together to investigate possible causes of the accident.

"It's still too early to tell the cause," Panagos said. "Our focus right now is on taking care of the people."

The Coast Guard statement included a next-of-kin hotline number, (832) 587-8554.

O'Berry said Coast Guard environmental teams were on standby in Morgan City, La., to assess any environmental damage once the fire was out.
Rig floats using pontoons

According to Transocean's website, the Deepwater Horizon is 396 feet long and 256 feet wide. The semi-submersible rig was built in 2001 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea. The site is known as the Macondo prospect, in 5,000 feet of water.

The rig is designed to operate in water depths up to 8,000 feet and has a maximum drill depth of about 5.5 miles. It can accommodate a crew of up to 130.

The rig is floated to drilling sites, and has pontoons and a column that submerge when flooded with seawater. The rig doesn't touch the sea floor, but sits low in the water, where it is moored by several large anchors.

Last September, the Deepwater Horizon set a world deepwater record when it drilled down just over 35,000 feet at another BP site in the Gulf of Mexico, Panagos said.

"It's one of the more advanced rigs out there," he said.

Panagos did not know how much the rig cost to build, but said a similar rig today would run $600 million to $700 million.

Transocean has 14 rigs working in the Gulf and 140 worldwide.

vc318 · 04-21-2010, 02:23 PM

Man, this is crazy. Wasn't there a mine accident just the other day?! I hope they are able to find those 12 workers.

**sunnykerr** · 04-21-2010, 06:07 PM

You mean the coal mine explosion in West Virginia?

Weirdly, though, I haven't heard anything about this oil rig explosion on the local news here... Were the twelve who are missing anywhere near the blast?

Because, if they were... I don't think they'll ever be found...

**sunnykerr** · 04-30-2010, 06:22 PM

Well, on top of the human loss, the ecological consequences of the explosion continue to be absolutely catastrophic.

Quote:

US Air Force to douse oil slick

US Air Force planes are preparing to spray oil-dispersing chemicals off the coast of Louisiana as the operation to tackle a huge slick is stepped up.

Fears of an ecological disaster along the southern US coast have mounted as oil from the sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico began to wash ashore.

Animal rescue groups along the coast started to receive their first patients - seabirds coated in thick, black oil.

Worsening weather conditions are threatening to hamper the operation.

The US National Weather Service said strong winds could push the oil into inlets, ponds and lakes in south-east Louisiana over the weekend.

Mystery blast

Heavy seas are pushing the slick over the booms meant to contain it.

The US Navy has brought more booms and other equipment to the area.

Fishermen - who face losing their livelihood from the spill - have been drafted in to help.

Wetlands off the Louisiana coast sustain hundreds of wildlife species and a major seafood and fishing industry.

Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day are gushing into the sea after the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank last week.

It remains unclear what caused the blast, which left 11 workers missing, presumed dead.

Alabama has joined Louisiana and Florida in declaring a state of emergency.

The Louisiana National Guard is on standby to help with security, medical needs and engineering.

Some 1,900 emergency workers and more than 300 ships and aircraft are being sent to the scene, President Barack Obama announced on Friday.

Two C-130 Hercules cargo planes equipped with aerial spraying systems are preparing for flights at Lake Charles, Louisiana.

BP blamed

The military planes will join civilian aircraft that have been dumping tens of thousands of gallons of oil-dispersing chemicals.

Meanwhile, the US government is piling more pressure on BP to stop the spill.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano flew to Louisiana with other officials and urge the British oil and gas giant to use "additional assets to help lead the response in this effort".

"We will continue to push BP to engage in the strongest possible response," she said.

In a statement from the White House on Friday, President Obama said BP was "ultimately responsible... for paying the costs of response and clean-up operations".

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles defended the firm's actions, saying it had mounted "the largest response effort ever done in the world".

The oil giant is sending teams underwater with remotely operated vehicles to try to shut off an underwater valve, but so far they have been unsuccessful.

They are also having a relief-well drilled to decrease the pressure and slowing the leak, though experts say that could take up to three months.

The US government said on Friday it was putting on hold all new offshore drilling until the cause of the spill is investigated.

Last month President Obama eased a moratorium on new offshore drilling.

The US government has designated the oil spill an "incident of national significance", allowing it to draw on resources from across the country.

At no time should you put yourself or others at risk.

BBC News - US Air Force to spray oil-dispersing chemicals on slick

Notice how the leak hasn't been plugged either.

All this "national disaster" and "now that it's washing ashore" business is driving me nuts. The waters are international territory. And it's a disaster long before it affects the wetlands and the shores...

I mean, this is an American company who is at the center of all this, but let's not forget that people from many other countries and the underwater habitats are also being affected by this.

_vega_ · 05-01-2010, 04:09 PM

I wonder what these oil-dispersing chemicals are made off. Maybe oil is worse for the environment but I can't imagine another chemical being good for it either. No matter what, I believe the ecosystems of the area and probably the whole Gulf will be affected premanently.

**sunnykerr** · 05-02-2010, 07:57 AM

I know! It's like stopping a bleed with poison...

Quote:

US spill 'threatens way of life'

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has warned that the sprawling Gulf of Mexico oil slick threatens the very way of life of people in his state.

As President Barack Obama prepared to fly in to see the devastation for himself, experts said the slick had tripled in size in just days.

Attorneys general from five affected US states will meet to discuss legal options, as pressure mounts on BP.

Choppy seas and strong winds have been hampering the clean-up operation.

The BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig sank on 22 April, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers.

Later on Sunday, Louisiana's Republican governor will meet Mr Obama to discuss the disaster, for which the president has warned BP will be held ultimately responsible.

Mr Jindal told a news conference on Saturday: "This oil spill threatens not only our wetlands and our fisheries, but also our way of life."

Keeping up pressure on the British energy giant, Mr Jindal said he had still not received detailed plans from the firm on how it would stop the spill.

As sheen from the slick began washing up on the shore, the governor said "BP will need to fund these plans" to protect coastal communities.

The energy giant's chief executive, Tony Hayward, is also expected in Louisiana on Sunday. The company has said it will honour legitimate claims for damages.

'Puerto Rico-sized slick'

The US Coast Guard initially estimated about 200,000 gallons of oil a day were gushing from the well, but conceded on Saturday it was nearly impossible to be sure how much is leaking.

Satellite images analysed by the University of Miami suggest the slick has ballooned to an area the size of Puerto Rico.

Hans Graber, a professor of applied marine physics based at the university, estimates the slick has expanded three-fold in just days to some 3,850 sq miles (9,900 sq km).

"The spill is... expanding much quicker than they estimated," he told AP news agency.

'Largest mop-up ever'

There have been warnings that within weeks the spill could eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst in US history.

Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida have all declared a state of emergency.

Attorneys general from those four states and Texas are meeting in Alabama on Sunday to discuss their legal options and how to respond to the disaster.

The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Louisiana, says the slick is threatening some of America's most important eco-systems.

The Louisiana wetlands host a multi-billion-dollar fishing industry and is a prime spawning area for fish, shrimp, crabs and oyster beds.

Forecasters said there would be no let up on Sunday of the strong winds that have been pushing the oil towards the Louisiana shore.

Andrew Gowers, from BP, said the oil firm had launched the "largest maritime mop-up operation ever mounted, by far".

He told the BBC they had a flotilla of 76 boats trying to contain the spill, as well as a million feet of booms and five planes spraying oil dispersants.

As rescue centres took in seabirds coated in oil, environmental groups warned the impact would be felt for a long time.

One Louisiana resident told the BBC the disaster was more serious than Katrina, the hurricane which devastated the region in 2005.

"This is worse than Katrina, much worse," he said. "Because it'll take years and years to fix this."

BP has sent six submarines to try to activate a blowout preventer that could turn off the oil supply, so far without success.

The firm is also drilling a relief well that would divert the flow of oil, although this could take three months.

BBC News - US oil spill 'threatens way of life', governor warns

Worse than Exxon Valdez and Katrina... now that ought to paint a real good picture of just how catastrophic this thing is.

I swear, if Sarah Palin ever utters the words "drill, baby, drill" ever again, someone ought to tattoo the letter BP on her forehead so that she never makes that mistake ever again.

Ron_Cullen · 05-04-2010, 11:40 AM

I've been following this story relatively closely and it makes me ashamed to be human. Putting the economic stuff aside, the natural world is all ruined! Even if the oil hasn't gotten on some animals, it's bound to reach them eventually and they're bound to breath in the toxins or the oil is bound to get into their systems one way or another. It breaks my heart

**Callace** · 05-04-2010, 11:43 AM

This is really sad. Really sad.

I hope the gulf area can survive it.

**sunnykerr** · 05-04-2010, 04:14 PM

I hope the damages aren't irreversible. It's a lot of species and a lot of habitats that are being compromised by this thing.

And it's a lot of other regions, too. Many parts of the eastern coast of Mexico rely on tourism and, if this thing spreads much more, it'll start affecting them. And the whole East Coast relies on sea food one way or another, and so that's a lot restaurants, a lot of fishermen, a lot industries, that are compromised.

But, you know, "drill, baby drill!"

**TheAngel** · 05-05-2010, 04:42 AM

Hey, just to let you guys know. Dawn dish soap is doing a donation drive. For every bottle of Dawn purchased, if you go to Dawn Saves Wildlife and enter in the code on your bottle, they'll donate a dollar to the rescue efforts of the Marine Mammal Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center.
It's horrible to see how much of a negative impact humans can have on this planet. We're so terribly destructive as a people, it's just disturbing how selfish we are and how we believe that we have a right to do things like this just to make certain aspects of our lives easier.

**Wildfire Girl** · 05-05-2010, 05:18 PM

Dawn always does a great campaign for oil spills ...

**sunnykerr** · 05-05-2010, 05:44 PM

It does.

So, the latest is that BP seems to be starting to attempt to fix its ginormous ecological disaster.

Quote:

Gulf oil spill: First leak capped, says BP

BP has managed to seal the smallest of the three leaks spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the company says.

Oil is still gushing into the sea at a rate of about 800,000 litres a day, but officials say working with only two leaks makes tackling the spill easier.

A controlled burn of the slick to remove oil from open water has also begun, AP news agency said.

And a special containment box to funnel oil to the surface from the leaking well is being sent to the site.

Engineers plan to lower the 100-tonne concrete and steel box over the site on Thursday, using remote-controlled submarines, officials say.

BP has never deployed such a structure at a depth of 5,000ft (1,500m) and difficulties may occur, it says.

The operation is expected to take more than two days. If successful, BP said it hoped to begin pumping oil to the surface early next week.

Clean-up hopes

Describing the cap, coast guard officer David Mosley told AP news agency: "It doesn't lessen the flow, it just simplifies the number of leak points they have to address."

A burn was last tried on 28 April when thousands of litres of oil were successfully removed.

Favourable weather conditions have now allowed crews to begin burning off more of the oil where it is most heavily concentrated, AP said.

Concerns for the impact of the burn on wildlife in the area have been dismissed by the body co-ordinating the response to the spill.

"No populated areas are expected to be affected by the controlled burn operations and there are no anticipated impacts to marine mammals and sea turtles," the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center was quoted as saying by AFP.

The spill was set off by an explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and killed 11 workers off Louisiana last month.

A sheen of oil has already reached the shore in parts of Louisiana, but officials say coagulated crude oil is not expected to reach coastal areas until the end of the week, AFP reports.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the oil slick was not expected to move much in the next several days.

BP has told members of a US congressional committee that up to 9.5m litres a day could spill if the leaks worsen, AP notes.

BBC News - Gulf oil spill: First leak capped, says BP

So, on the plus side, they're trying to work on it.

On the down side, now it's three leaks????

And this funnel technology has never been tried. And it's especially never been tried at these kinds of depths. Lovely.

**sunnykerr** · 05-06-2010, 06:06 PM

Quote:

BP box reaches Gulf oil leak site

A ship carrying a giant metal containment box has arrived at the site where a sunken oil rig has been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil giant BP says it hopes the 90-tonne device will help to contain the oil.

The US is to carry out a controlled burn of some of the leaked oil. But the oil reached a beach for the first time on Thursday, officials confirmed.

The spill was set off by an explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig off Louisiana last month.

Eleven rig workers died in the explosion, and the ensuing oil leak has since been threatening several southern US states.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said teams from the operation Unified Command in Robert, Louisiana, had confirmed oil on the beach, at the south end of the Chandeleur Islands, at Freemason Island.

"This is the first confirmation that Unified Command has received of oil on a shoreline," Ms Terrell said.

"It's largely just sheen, there is no evidence of medium or heavy oil," she said.

Complicated operation

Remote-controlled submarines will now be used to lower the containment device over the leak.

The operation to fix the massive funnel in place is expected to take two days, and a further two days will be required to connect it to a ship above via a drill-pipe.

If the operation is successful, BP hopes to begin pumping oil to the surface early next week.

BP has never deployed such a structure at a depth of 5,000ft (1,500m) and difficulties may occur, said BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

Mr Hayward gave no prediction as to when the oil leak would be stopped, or how much the clean-up operation will ultimately cost.

Quote:

HOW THE OIL FUNNEL WORKS
# The funnel is a 40ft tall iron box, weighing 98 tonnes
# It will be placed over the leak, 5,000ft down on the seabed
# BP hopes it will collect 85% of the leaking oil and pipe it to the surface

He denied his company had been slow to react to the disaster, saying BP had mobilised immediately to contain the threat, and adding that it was working with US authorities to contain the spill.

"It's a military operation and we are thinking of it as a battle on three fronts: beneath the sea, in the sea, and on the shore," said Mr Hayward.

He said efforts to protect the southern US coastline were going well, with 100 ships involved in an operation to skim oil from the sea's surface - including 20 of the world's largest skimming vessels.

Thousands of feet of boom were being used as a barrier to contain the slick and a small air force was deploying dispersants, he added.

Some 4,000 volunteers were being paid $10 an hour to help defend the beaches, he said.

A sheen of oil has already reached the shore in parts of Louisiana, but officials say coagulated crude oil is not expected to reach coastal areas until the end of the week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the oil slick was not expected to move much in the next several days.

Wildlife concerns

Earlier, BP said it had managed to seal the smallest of the three leaks spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil is still gushing into the sea at a rate of about 800,000 litres (176,000 imperial gallons) a day, but officials say working with only two leaks makes tackling the spill easier.

Favourable weather conditions have now allowed crews to begin burning off more of the oil where it is most heavily concentrated, AP said.

A burn was last tried on 28 April when thousands of litres of oil were successfully removed.

Concerns for the impact of the burn on wildlife in the area have been dismissed by the body co-ordinating the response to the spill.

BP has told members of a US congressional committee that up to 9.5m litres a day could spill if the leaks worsen.

BBC News - BP sends giant box to contain Gulf of Mexico oil spill

The body overseeing the response to the spill dismisses concerns for the impact of a burn on the wildlife in the area? Who is that body and is it entirely constituted of sociopaths or is it just the people doing the talking for it?

**Callace** · 05-07-2010, 11:30 AM

I guess they are just saying whatever makes themselves look better in this situation.

It's a fricking catastrophe, and everyone knows that, so I guess they'd say whatever to calm people down, and save as much as they can of their own asses.

I heard something about this on the radio today, that made me seriously mad

There is a hot debate going on around here nowadays, about whether or not we are to allow construction of oil rigs right inside the richest fish banks of our coast. Now when this had happened in the Gulf, a lot of people of course start to really sense what a terrible idea that would be. And then a national politician goes on the radio to claim that "people cannot be so ridiculous as to think the spill in the Gulf has anything to do with our situation here back home!" WTF?

How can he be so ridiculous as to claim that it isnt relevant??? I dont want this kind of spill in my own back yard in a few years!!! I really dont! ANd if that is a ludicrous fear, than you really need to tell me why!!

strawberrypie · 05-08-2010, 06:01 PM

Spill's Effects Underwater


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