Floating Booms protect residents from BP...'s oil spill.
According to BP’s prepared testimony for today’s Congressional hearings, the explosion and sinking of a BP oil rig that left 11 workers dead, threatens the lives of millions of plants and animals and a multi-billion dollar seafood based economy, and is continuing to leak an estimated 200,000 gallons of crude oil into Gulf of Mexico per day is…not their fault. They have said it was a critical shut off device, made by Transocean, “failed to operate”.
Meanwhile, in Transocean-Land, officials have turned the blame around on BP. CEO Steven Newman claims ,”Offshore oil and gas production projects begin and end with the operator, in this case BP”. His prepared testimony alleges BP was responsible for the drilling and capping plans for the deepsea well. Blaming the blowout protector “simply makes no sense” because there is “no reason to believe” that the equipment was not operational.
Officials at Halliburton, the company responsible for pouring cement at the rig, seem to agree. Though Transocean says the cement may not have been set correctly, Halliburton executive Tim Probert asserts the company’s work was finished “in accordance with the requirements” set out by BP and with accepted industry practices.
News stories about the blame game are burning around the internet. Writers are clamoring to report which company will have to swallow the pill, bite down hard on the leather, get what’s coming to them. The sad truth is that the victims of this catastrophe are not the suits being grilled in Washington, but the Gulf Coast residents who are waiting for answers. It’s hard to tell at this point whether Hurricane Katrina or the BP oil spill is the faster disaster.
Posted by The Destructionist on May 26, 2010 at 12:40 pm
BP will soon inject drilling mud and concrete into the broken pipeline at a pressure of 50 barrels per minute in an effort to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf. Unless they know the accurate volume of oil, along with the pressure at which it is escaping, there will be little chance of success.
Scientists claim that approximately 50,000 to 100,000+ barrels of oil a day are leaking into our coastal waters. Knowing those approximations, we can roughly calculate how many barrels of oil are escaping from the pipe every minute and how much pressure will be needed to cap the well:
•50,000 barrels a day / 24 hours a day / 60 minutes = 34.72 barrels per minute
•100,000 barrels a day / 24 hours a day / 60 minutes = 69.44 barrels per minute
In order for the “Top Kill” plan to work, the drilling mud and concrete must be forced into the pipe at a rate exceeding the pressure at which the oil is escaping. As you can see (above), BP might have a slim chance of success if the pressure from the pipe is below 50 barrels per minute. However, if the oil pressure is above that number (72,000 barrels a day or more), their attempt to seal the well will be ineffective.
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html
http://www.calculateme.com/Volume/Gallons/ToBarrels(Petroleum).htm
Posted by The Destructionist on May 28, 2010 at 5:07 am
In light of the BP oil calamity it’s quite obvious that something must be done, and fast, if we are to save our world from corporations that would prefer to place huge profits above that of our environmental and financial welfare.
As large corporations gobble up smaller corporations in an attempt to seize an even bigger piece of the global economic pie, it seems that businesses have been allowed to grow, unfettered, into unwieldy corporate behemoths (a.k.a., British Petroleum) with little, if any, regulations regarding their obligations to national sovereignties or allegiances.
Maybe it’s just me, but I believe that if a corporation begins its “life” in a particular country, than it has an obligation to that country and its people: due in part to the patronage of its citizens throughout the years in helping that corporation to grow. When I hear about American businesses pulling up stakes and moving to other countries in lieu of cheaper labor and supplies elsewhere, I feel both embarrassed and betrayed. (They would be nothing if it weren’t for people like you and me. After all, we purchased their services, time and time again, fostering them constantly by giving them the opportunity to flourish. Our final reward for all our efforts? Millions of fellow Americans out of work, all desperately hoping that their unemployment benefits never run out.)
I agree that the bad news is not just happening here in America, but around the globe. I blame that on the evolution of the business model: over the years, it has been compressed into a precise science in an effort to squeeze every last drop of profit out of the proverbial “bottom-line.” I began to notice the change in the late 1970’s when I was in my teens. Back then, it was a different world for me and I didn’t seem to care too much. Today however, it is a different story.
What can we collectively do as Americans?
Contact your representatives in the House and Senate. Let them know that
big business should be regulated and ask them to enact laws to:
1.Ensure that all corporations “born” within the United States deter from any and all actions that would adversely affect our country;
2.Place high tariffs on imports from American businesses that move their bases of operations (not to mention our jobs) to other regions of the world;
3.Work to limit their corporate power and influence in Washington D.C. by passing laws whereby politicians, found to have ties with said corporations or corporate lobbyists resign.
4.Endeavor to ban all corporate favors and corporate lobbyists from Washington D.C.
Essentially, it’s up to us to fashion our own future. If we don’t, rest assured that someone, or some corporation will.
•(I know that BP was not born and reared here in the United States. I was merely using it as a reference as to what corporations are capable of doing if left to their own devices.)