BP is a very poorly run company. I have friends who have worked there and quit, because of their poor management.
I was a geologist for AMOCO in the late 70's...early "80's, and we were incredibly careful, as was Shell Oil and all of the other big companies.. In fact, we were always amazed that Texaco and Gulf Oil could keep geologists,because they were so inept. but they were nothing like this.....
The only really environmentally horrible thing I remember was Texaco drilling in a LA lake over the Crystal Salt mine. They drilled into the caverns, and the lake "was swallowed up" by the huge cavern, which got bigger and bigger as the water dissolved the salt! It looked like a huge toilet was flushed, taking the rig and quite a few barges with it into the abyss.
Everything we used on the rigs had to be brand new...drill pipe, etc. We never cut corners....I know, because we had to overestimate every play we presented, knowing the cost would surely go way up,,, especially if pipe, BOP's (what failed on the BP well), etc.increased in costn (which it always did).
It was some of the little, independent operators who were sloppy. Never big oil companies. they actually cared about their people and would never risk their lives, or mess up the well. After all, they are in business to produce, not lose, oil and gas.
I was born and raised in Pensacola, and we had a house in town and one at the beach. No one could be sicker than I about BP's lack of regard for safety! Some of my first nature photos were taken by me at 7 yrs. old with a Brownie camera on the islands (Santa Rosa and Perdido Key). And I have countless photos of sunsets, dolphins, sailing, birds, shells............
All of my Pensacola relatives have property on the beach...so we are all sick. We grew up with the whitest sand in the world. And our laws showed how much of a treasure our beaches are...For example, it is illegal to pick or disturb sea oats, as they , literally, hold the beaches together. Also, it is illegal to drive on the beach on on any white sand, because dune buggies destroy the dunes. and it is also illegal to ride a horse or walk a dog on the beach (for obvious reasons). Also it is illegal to use red dirt (full of clay) in building on our islands, because if a storm strikes, the beaches turn from white to muddy red.
Also, we have the best seafood in the world. In fact there is a species of red snapper that is actually named "Pensacola Red Snapper".
The beach has always been a part of my life, and I cannot imagine Pensacola without it's clean bays and the islands full of life --- the gorgeous birds, Ridley's sea turtles ( starting to nest quite soon) , and dolphins who live there. I have scuba dived with giant manta rays with wingspans of over 15 feet. I have dived in the bays and been chased by scallops! Really, bivalves can actually propel themselves at you when disturbed.
I am sick that I am in Texas and cannot go to the pristine beach...one more time, before the spill hits.!
I am also sick at the damage to the wetlands and Grand Isle already done to Louisiana. In fact, I lived in New Orleans for 12 years. I cannot imagine New Orleans without seafood! What a tragedy.
But, please don't blame "big oil". There are always rotten apples in every bushel.
One of my pet peeves, is that the environmentalist have freaked out about drilling onshore in Alaska and in shallow water in the Gulf. They have forced companies to look for oil in more harsh conditions...ie, in 5000 ft. of water. The drill pipe looks like wet spagetti at that depth! And the reservoirs are so overpressured, that it is a wonder that this has not happened before --especially with our hurricanes!
But most companies are incredibly safety conscious...After all, the company man and the tool pusher, and all the roughnecks, electricians and cooks have to live on those rigs.....There is a reason, that any one of them would kill someone lighting up a cigarette anywhere near the drilling floor! So their lives are dependent on safety first.
I know I have lectured everyone, but I am passionate about my home, as well as the reality of safely drilling on "dry land" or in shallow water!
Anyway. Just thought you would appreciate a Pensacola native, who is also a geologist's opinion.
And I am most angry with the MME for not overseeing the safety of the rig! Thiirty years ago, if AMOCO had partnered with BP, I could have been the geologist on that rig!
BP just simply drilled a reservoir that was incredibly overpressured, and they did not have the mud weight heavy enough to keep the oil in the hole. But if you must blame anywone...blame a "sloppy" company and the governmental corruption of the MME. Big oil is NOT to blame. There are thousands of wells in the Gulf, and there has never been an oil spill.
In fact, there is so much oil pumped out of the Gulf, that it accounts for a whopping 30% of America's oil.
First of all, I made a typo... the government agency is the MMS ...not mme. oops!
Everyone has an opinion and have listened to so much "hearsay". I have been guilty of this myself. Friends in the industry pointed me to an excellent article in theoildrum....an industry discussion forum with articles.
Please go to this site to find out the details, as far as we know, about how the spill occurred.
The author threw out all information. He started with eye-witness accounts and real data and created a timeline of events that led to the oil spill
. The BOP failure was secondary. The primary cause appears to be a problem in the cement. The cement casing keeps the rock and fluid drilled sealed off from the "hole" itself.
The site is http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6493 You will find it very illuminating.
Discussion
3 repliesDoes anyone have anything to say that offers a ray of hope?
Royal Terns on the gulf coast.
I was a geologist for AMOCO in the late 70's...early "80's, and we were incredibly careful, as was Shell Oil and all of the other big companies.. In fact, we were always amazed that Texaco and Gulf Oil could keep geologists,because they were so inept. but they were nothing like this.....
The only really environmentally horrible thing I remember was Texaco drilling in a LA lake over the Crystal Salt mine. They drilled into the caverns, and the lake "was swallowed up" by the huge cavern, which got bigger and bigger as the water dissolved the salt! It looked like a huge toilet was flushed, taking the rig and quite a few barges with it into the abyss.
Everything we used on the rigs had to be brand new...drill pipe, etc. We never cut corners....I know, because we had to overestimate every play we presented, knowing the cost would surely go way up,,, especially if pipe, BOP's (what failed on the BP well), etc.increased in costn (which it always did).
It was some of the little, independent operators who were sloppy. Never big oil companies. they actually cared about their people and would never risk their lives, or mess up the well. After all, they are in business to produce, not lose, oil and gas.
I was born and raised in Pensacola, and we had a house in town and one at the beach. No one could be sicker than I about BP's lack of regard for safety! Some of my first nature photos were taken by me at 7 yrs. old with a Brownie camera on the islands (Santa Rosa and Perdido Key). And I have countless photos of sunsets, dolphins, sailing, birds, shells............
All of my Pensacola relatives have property on the beach...so we are all sick. We grew up with the whitest sand in the world. And our laws showed how much of a treasure our beaches are...For example, it is illegal to pick or disturb sea oats, as they , literally, hold the beaches together. Also, it is illegal to drive on the beach on on any white sand, because dune buggies destroy the dunes. and it is also illegal to ride a horse or walk a dog on the beach (for obvious reasons). Also it is illegal to use red dirt (full of clay) in building on our islands, because if a storm strikes, the beaches turn from white to muddy red.
Also, we have the best seafood in the world. In fact there is a species of red snapper that is actually named "Pensacola Red Snapper".
The beach has always been a part of my life, and I cannot imagine Pensacola without it's clean bays and the islands full of life --- the gorgeous birds, Ridley's sea turtles ( starting to nest quite soon) , and dolphins who live there. I have scuba dived with giant manta rays with wingspans of over 15 feet. I have dived in the bays and been chased by scallops! Really, bivalves can actually propel themselves at you when disturbed.
I am sick that I am in Texas and cannot go to the pristine beach...one more time, before the spill hits.!
I am also sick at the damage to the wetlands and Grand Isle already done to Louisiana. In fact, I lived in New Orleans for 12 years. I cannot imagine New Orleans without seafood! What a tragedy.
But, please don't blame "big oil". There are always rotten apples in every bushel.
One of my pet peeves, is that the environmentalist have freaked out about drilling onshore in Alaska and in shallow water in the Gulf. They have forced companies to look for oil in more harsh conditions...ie, in 5000 ft. of water. The drill pipe looks like wet spagetti at that depth! And the reservoirs are so overpressured, that it is a wonder that this has not happened before --especially with our hurricanes!
But most companies are incredibly safety conscious...After all, the company man and the tool pusher, and all the roughnecks, electricians and cooks have to live on those rigs.....There is a reason, that any one of them would kill someone lighting up a cigarette anywhere near the drilling floor! So their lives are dependent on safety first.
I know I have lectured everyone, but I am passionate about my home, as well as the reality of safely drilling on "dry land" or in shallow water!
Anyway. Just thought you would appreciate a Pensacola native, who is also a geologist's opinion.
And I am most angry with the MME for not overseeing the safety of the rig! Thiirty years ago, if AMOCO had partnered with BP, I could have been the geologist on that rig!
BP just simply drilled a reservoir that was incredibly overpressured, and they did not have the mud weight heavy enough to keep the oil in the hole. But if you must blame anywone...blame a "sloppy" company and the governmental corruption of the MME. Big oil is NOT to blame. There are thousands of wells in the Gulf, and there has never been an oil spill.
In fact, there is so much oil pumped out of the Gulf, that it accounts for a whopping 30% of America's oil.
Everyone has an opinion and have listened to so much "hearsay". I have been guilty of this myself. Friends in the industry pointed me to an excellent article in theoildrum....an industry discussion forum with articles.
Please go to this site to find out the details, as far as we know, about how the spill occurred.
The author threw out all information. He started with eye-witness accounts and real data and created a timeline of events that led to the oil spill
. The BOP failure was secondary. The primary cause appears to be a problem in the cement. The cement casing keeps the rock and fluid drilled sealed off from the "hole" itself.
The site is http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6493 You will find it very illuminating.
Lucy