Gulf oil spill

[mr.alec]

Considering we drill oil everyday in the oceans pumping millions and millions barrels of oil over the years..this is one of the few mishaps. Id say they have a good record.
Things happen.
I still get my gas at BP and will continue to do so.
Hopefully they can plug it up and we can begin to let mother earth clean itself up.....just like in Alaska.
People NEED to understand that the world WILL continue to use Oil and Coal for the next 50 years almost exclusively for power and fuel.
Soem experts say even longer.
Nuclear plants is fine but we dont have enough of em.
The drilling will continue for the rest of my life..and im only 39.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

At the end of the day, these people are just human. It was a horrible mistake, horrible tragedy. I don't believe they should be villified and hated. We should all work together on this terrible accident.

BP is known for and has had a horrible reputation for safety. It wasn't too long ago that a BP plant near Houston had an explosion and killed a bunch of men due to their shoddy habits. In Lake Charles a few years ago it came out that they'd been bribing their inspectors. Among folks who work in the industry it's pretty well known that BP is willing to cut corners for profits.

This was not a mistake, this was the end result of their choices.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

For those of you who may not understand that BP has a good PR department and a horrible record on safety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Refinery_explosion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudhoe_Bay_oil_spill

I did a quick search for the Lake Charles bribery thing and only found this - but the "oil companies" in question. . .it was BP. I'll go back through the archives for the Lake Charles American Press and see what I can find.
http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/11/former_mms_supervisor_pleads_g.html

 

[luvsJack]

BP had a bad year in 2009. They only made 14 Billion in profits.


I think they can afford a few of the valves without passing the cost on to us.

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with that. But will they? I doubt it.

I am still unclear as to whose responsibility it is though. If it is Transocean's then they will pass on the cost of the valve and the manpower to BP and they will pass it to us. If its BP's, well, I guess it would work the same way but it would really be up to BP whether or not to pass the cost to us or not.

 

[luvsJack]

BP is known for and has had a horrible reputation for safety. It wasn't too long ago that a BP plant near Houston had an explosion and killed a bunch of men due to their shoddy habits. In Lake Charles a few years ago it came out that they'd been bribing their inspectors. Among folks who work in the industry it's pretty well known that BP is willing to cut corners for profits.

This was not a mistake, this was the end result of their choices.

Sadly that is a habit of too many of these companies.

 

[Colleen27]

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with that. But will they? I doubt it.

I am still unclear as to whose responsibility it is though. If it is Transocean's then they will pass on the cost of the valve and the manpower to BP and they will pass it to us. If its BP's, well, I guess it would work the same way but it would really be up to BP whether or not to pass the cost to us or not.

And we allow this. I'm not sure what the answer is, but we (as a society & a government) need to reject the premise we've come to accept over recent years that there's no way to to hold businesses accountable for their actions in any way.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

The fat cats get away scot free. I guess it will just be more "Drill Baby Drill."

Yep, you are 100% right.
How bad is this oil spill? Well, you can watch it live, spilling nonstop on the good old internets. April 20.....this has been going on for 5 weeks. WHY aren't heads rolling??????

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

 

[brerrabbit]

BP and Transocean are and will pay a price for the oil spill. Unfortunately things like this happen sometimes and after the fact pundits can point to a thousand things that could have been done to prevent the accident. I have worked in the energy industry for my entire professional career, over 28 years, and I can tell you about hundreds of incidents that have cost companies billions of dollars. People want to get mad and demand that heads role when things happen and I can assure you that I have the same feelings at times. I saltwater fish a lot and I love the Gulf Coast and spend a significant amount of time there and am devistated by the thought of this spill. I would be even further pissed if this happened in my little corner of the Gulf. But the reality of the world we live in is this; the same people who are screaming off with their heads are the same people that scream if the price of gas goes up ten cents. Some one quoted BP's profits at $14 billion last year and say the rich get richer and the guilty get off scott free. Well I will conceed BP's record is not good but I would also ask the person that quotes the $14 billion to look and see what the total invested capital of BP is. Also how much of that $14 billion was reinvested in new projects and ongoing operations. On a percentage basis Big Oil only returns profit margins of 8 to 9% on investments. Want to get po'ed about to high of profits? Look at Microsoft the profit margin is consistantly 28 to 30%, but no one screams about that.

Big Oil is a risky business and the costs are astronomical. A platform like the one that blew out can cost upwards of several billion dollars with ongoing operating costs. I am not defending BP by any means because they screwed up, but the point is the business the participate in is a very risky business. Hence the cost of the end product is getting higher all the time. People want to take the price of a barrel of oil and say that if x% becomes gasoline then a gallon of gas should sell for y. The problem with those economics is that there is no allowance for the liabilities that can occur when something goes wrong. BP has already lost over $10 billion in market capitalization through the decline of their stock value. Who does that hurt? Suprisingly a lot of us because I bet many of us have investments in mutual funds where BP is one of the holdings.

Another action being taken is the boycotting of BP gas stations as a show of dissatisfaction with BP. Believe it or not that will not hurt BP at all. In the US today almost 99% of all gas stations are owned at the loacal level. Many are owned by the guy behind the register who built or bought the site and just happens to have branded it with a certain company. By boycotting him you will put a small local merchant out of business and drive his customers to another brand. BP will then take the gas meant for his dealer and sell it to the brand that is seeing the increased business so the economic impact to BP is nothing. All we have done is hurt the dealer that lives and works in your community.

The spill is a tragedy and BP and Transocean should and will pay a high price. But remember this; both employe and lot of honest, good, fair minded people just like you and me. And they are now at serious risk of loosing their jobs. Just think about these things as well when you are wanting to string up the Big Guys.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I'm wondering when someone with some authority is going to get really mad and make them do something. I don't think enough is being done at all by BP or govt.

I totally agree with the red bolded part. BP and the government failed in the prevention part and the clean up part.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I just heard on the radio that it looks like the 'top kill' method may have worked. Pressure is way down, and they may be able to use a concrete cap later on to seal it off completely.

What a shame (or is it a sham?) that this method, which is widely used on land, was not considered earlier.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

BP is known for and has had a horrible reputation for safety. It wasn't too long ago that a BP plant near Houston had an explosion and killed a bunch of men due to their shoddy habits. In Lake Charles a few years ago it came out that they'd been bribing their inspectors. Among folks who work in the industry it's pretty well known that BP is willing to cut corners for profits.

This was not a mistake, this was the end result of their choices.

Wasn't BP about to get a safety award before the accident happened?

 

[minkydog]

Wasn't BP about to get a safety award before the accident happened?

Guess that trophy will go back to the broom closet...

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I just heard on the radio that it looks like the 'top kill' method may have worked. Pressure is way down, and they may be able to use a concrete cap later on to seal it off completely.

What a shame (or is it a sham?) that this method, which is widely used on land, was not considered earlier.

I pray it works. This has GOT to stop. And I agree...why didn't they use this method, oh maybe 5 weeks ago???

 

[luvsJack]

BP and Transocean are and will pay a price for the oil spill. Unfortunately things like this happen sometimes and after the fact pundits can point to a thousand things that could have been done to prevent the accident. I have worked in the energy industry for my entire professional career, over 28 years, and I can tell you about hundreds of incidents that have cost companies billions of dollars. People want to get mad and demand that heads role when things happen and I can assure you that I have the same feelings at times. I saltwater fish a lot and I love the Gulf Coast and spend a significant amount of time there and am devistated by the thought of this spill. I would be even further pissed if this happened in my little corner of the Gulf. But the reality of the world we live in is this; the same people who are screaming off with their heads are the same people that scream if the price of gas goes up ten cents. Some one quoted BP's profits at $14 billion last year and say the rich get richer and the guilty get off scott free. Well I will conceed BP's record is not good but I would also ask the person that quotes the $14 billion to look and see what the total invested capital of BP is. Also how much of that $14 billion was reinvested in new projects and ongoing operations. On a percentage basis Big Oil only returns profit margins of 8 to 9% on investments. Want to get po'ed about to high of profits? Look at Microsoft the profit margin is consistantly 28 to 30%, but no one screams about that.

Big Oil is a risky business and the costs are astronomical. A platform like the one that blew out can cost upwards of several billion dollars with ongoing operating costs. I am not defending BP by any means because they screwed up, but the point is the business the participate in is a very risky business. Hence the cost of the end product is getting higher all the time. People want to take the price of a barrel of oil and say that if x% becomes gasoline then a gallon of gas should sell for y. The problem with those economics is that there is no allowance for the liabilities that can occur when something goes wrong. BP has already lost over $10 billion in market capitalization through the decline of their stock value. Who does that hurt? Suprisingly a lot of us because I bet many of us have investments in mutual funds where BP is one of the holdings.

Another action being taken is the boycotting of BP gas stations as a show of dissatisfaction with BP. Believe it or not that will not hurt BP at all. In the US today almost 99% of all gas stations are owned at the loacal level. Many are owned by the guy behind the register who built or bought the site and just happens to have branded it with a certain company. By boycotting him you will put a small local merchant out of business and drive his customers to another brand. BP will then take the gas meant for his dealer and sell it to the brand that is seeing the increased business so the economic impact to BP is nothing. All we have done is hurt the dealer that lives and works in your community.

The spill is a tragedy and BP and Transocean should and will pay a high price. But remember this; both employe and lot of honest, good, fair minded people just like you and me. And they are now at serious risk of loosing their jobs. Just think about these things as well when you are wanting to string up the Big Guys.[/QUOTE]


The part I bolded is a big issue of worry for a lot of folks around here right now. If drilling stops in the gulf, as has been threatened; it won't be pretty. There will be a huge number of people out of work, the rigs will move out of the country and oil prices will sky rocket again.

I guess the thing to remember is that there have been rigs in the gulf for a long, long time and this has not happened very many times.

My issue with it all is the safety of the men on these rigs and did Transocean or BP do things that were not within the safety requirements for these rigs? The rig is owned by Transocean. If there was a problem with the rig, would it not be Transoceans problem, not BP's? Maybe I am just thinking of it wrong

 

[gottaluvPluto]

BP and Transocean are and will pay a price for the oil spill. Unfortunately things like this happen sometimes and after the fact pundits can point to a thousand things that could have been done to prevent the accident. I have worked in the energy industry for my entire professional career, over 28 years, and I can tell you about hundreds of incidents that have cost companies billions of dollars. People want to get mad and demand that heads role when things happen and I can assure you that I have the same feelings at times. I saltwater fish a lot and I love the Gulf Coast and spend a significant amount of time there and am devistated by the thought of this spill. I would be even further pissed if this happened in my little corner of the Gulf. But the reality of the world we live in is this; the same people who are screaming off with their heads are the same people that scream if the price of gas goes up ten cents. Some one quoted BP's profits at $14 billion last year and say the rich get richer and the guilty get off scott free. Well I will conceed BP's record is not good but I would also ask the person that quotes the $14 billion to look and see what the total invested capital of BP is. Also how much of that $14 billion was reinvested in new projects and ongoing operations. On a percentage basis Big Oil only returns profit margins of 8 to 9% on investments. Want to get po'ed about to high of profits? Look at Microsoft the profit margin is consistantly 28 to 30%, but no one screams about that.

Big Oil is a risky business and the costs are astronomical. A platform like the one that blew out can cost upwards of several billion dollars with ongoing operating costs. I am not defending BP by any means because they screwed up, but the point is the business the participate in is a very risky business. Hence the cost of the end product is getting higher all the time. People want to take the price of a barrel of oil and say that if x% becomes gasoline then a gallon of gas should sell for y. The problem with those economics is that there is no allowance for the liabilities that can occur when something goes wrong. BP has already lost over $10 billion in market capitalization through the decline of their stock value. Who does that hurt? Suprisingly a lot of us because I bet many of us have investments in mutual funds where BP is one of the holdings.

Another action being taken is the boycotting of BP gas stations as a show of dissatisfaction with BP. Believe it or not that will not hurt BP at all. In the US today almost 99% of all gas stations are owned at the loacal level. Many are owned by the guy behind the register who built or bought the site and just happens to have branded it with a certain company. By boycotting him you will put a small local merchant out of business and drive his customers to another brand. BP will then take the gas meant for his dealer and sell it to the brand that is seeing the increased business so the economic impact to BP is nothing. All we have done is hurt the dealer that lives and works in your community.

The spill is a tragedy and BP and Transocean should and will pay a high price. But remember this; both employe and lot of honest, good, fair minded people just like you and me. And they are now at serious risk of loosing their jobs. Just think about these things as well when you are wanting to string up the Big Guys.[/QUOTE]


The part I bolded is a big issue of worry for a lot of folks around here right now. If drilling stops in the gulf, as has been threatened; it won't be pretty. There will be a huge number of people out of work, the rigs will move out of the country and oil prices will sky rocket again.

I guess the thing to remember is that there have been rigs in the gulf for a long, long time and this has not happened very many times.

My issue with it all is the safety of the men on these rigs and did Transocean or BP do things that were not within the safety requirements for these rigs? The rig is owned by Transocean. If there was a problem with the rig, would it not be Transoceans problem, not BP's? Maybe I am just thinking of it wrong

In my opinion, the safety of the rig is mostly Transocean. However, if BP is partnering (or whatever you call it) with Transocean, wouldn't BP want to make sure safety procedures are followed? If my name is attached to something I want to make sure everything is following the right protocol because I can be liable for any mistakes.

I also agree that drilling shouldn't be stopped. Rigs have been in the gulf a long time, however, we need to learn from this mistake and fix it. Did we have enough fire booms ready to deploy? What happen on the rig before and after the explosion? Are we communicating effectively? Did we act fast enough? etc.

 

[Explodo]

When the MMS signed off on the removal of drilling mud and the replacement of said mud with seawater, they offcialy became a huge part of this issue.

Essentialy the govermental agency allowed this event to occur directly in the face of vert well defined regulations on this procedure.

 

[Planogirl]

I won't boycott because that seems pointless and if it hurts anyone, it will likely be innocent people. I do wish that there was some way to show our dissatisfaction though.

 

[brerrabbit]

Wierd world, oil production. Trasoceans rig so they are liable, BP's oil doing the damage, so they are liable. MMS's decision to bypass safety measures should mean liability but since that's the government they might get scolded and a few people loose their jobs but otherwise business as usual. Effects of the incident will mean higher energy costs for years to come in the form of higher insurance for rigs, higher costs for saftey measures and longer hiatus's for offshore drilling.

Back in the eighties into the nineties natural gas prices delivered to market went up considerably due to pipeline companies using synthetic oil in their compressors along the pipeline systems. Unknown at the time but thoses oils had PCB's a known carcenogine. Billions of dollars had to be spent to remidiate thousands of acres around compressor stations and clean sgments of pipes. Not a lot of press, just higher costs passed on to consumers.

Here in Houston a large resturant chain called Pappa's which has Mexican Food sites, Seafood sites, and Steak Houses have already filed suit in federal court against BP and Transocean siting damage to business in the form of higher costs for product. THis is one of a thousand lawsuits that will hit the courts.

 

[SaraJayne]

It's now become the largest oil disaster in US history.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/27/gulf.oil.spill/index.html?hpt=T1

For the poster that said Mother Earth is cleaning up the mess in Alaska, ask the residents how well "Mother Earth" is cleaning it. It's still a disaster there, over 20 years later.

 

[Poppinsme]

http://www.wwltv.com/home/3-in-hosp...t-with-dispersant-4-more-on-way-94980259.html

And now people are getting sick from the dispersant.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/New-oil-flow-estimate-Gulf-nations-worst-spill-95018914.html

And now this.

I work at a hospital in New Orleans. Got a text from one of my buddies last night at West Jeff hospital where they are treating the injured from the dispersant, its bad. So we have toxic chemicals and oil!!!!