Am I missing something here

[Bet51987]

.

[Spidey]

I never even heard of the MMS until yesterday, let alone “understand” any of their relationships…so hats off to ya.

[dissent]

What I want to know is why, since 1996, almost half of all blow out preventers have failed due to poor workmanship by Halliburton yet the same company is installing them.

This analysis will show the same thing as the other's did.

linkage to source(s) of these claims would be nice ...


Seems Cameron International provided the DH well BOP.

Yet while both BP and Transocean have issued public apologies following the explosion and subsequent leak, the company that actually manufactured the BOP in place on Deepwater Horizon has remained curiously reticent about its role.

Cameron International, formerly known as Cooper Cameron, is the worldwide leader in providing BOPs to offshore rigs, according to industry website RigZone. The Houston oil and gas systems company has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for creating the first blowout preventer of its kind, all the way back in 1922.

[woodchip]

Yet under Obama, Halliburton gets a bid free 500 mil service contract for Iraq. I guess Cheny still is pulling the strings

[flip]

Yet under Obama, Halliburton gets a bid free 500 mil service contract for Iraq. I guess Cheny still is pulling the strings

Yep

[dissent]

An update from the Congressional Testimony on the spill. Worthwhile commentary and links therein -
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6462#more

What I want to know is why, since 1996, almost half of all blow out preventers have failed due to poor workmanship by Halliburton yet the same company is installing them.

This analysis will show the same thing as the other's did.

linkage to source(s) of these claims would be nice ...

/me waits ... patiently ......

[Bet51987]

.

[dissent]

/me waits ... patiently ......

I'm really busy with lab work ...

Bee

I can appreciate that. Happens to me too.

When you have time, I'd like to recommend the articles I've linked and the articles linked within them. Quite interesting.

[Cuda68]

http://www.eutimes.net/2010/05/us-order ... o-oil-rig/

A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia's Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media blackout over North Korea's torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform owned by the World's largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean that was built and financed by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., that has caused great loss of life, untold billions in economic damage to the South Korean economy, and an environmental catastrophe to the United States.

Most important to understand about this latest attack by North Korea against its South Korean enemy is that under the existing \"laws of war\" it was a permissible action as they remain in a state of war against each other due to South Korea's refusal to sign the 1953 Armistice ending the Korean War.

To the attack itself, these reports continue, the North Korean \"cargo vessel\" Dai Hong Dan believed to be staffed by 17th Sniper Corps \"suicide\" troops left Cuba's Empresa Terminales Mambisas de La Habana (Port of Havana) on April 18th whereupon it \"severely deviated\" from its intended course for Venezuela's Puerto Cabello bringing it to within 209 kilometers (130 miles) of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform which was located 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of the US State of Louisiana where it launched an SSC Sang-o Class Mini Submarine (Yugo class) estimated to have an operational range of 321 kilometers (200 miles).

On the night of April 20th the North Korean Mini Submarine manned by these \"suicidal\" 17th Sniper Corps soldiers attacked the Deepwater Horizon with what are believed to be 2 incendiary torpedoes causing a massive explosion and resulting in 11 workers on this giant oil rig being killed outright. Barely 48 hours later, on April 22nd , this North Korean Mini Submarine committed its final atrocity by exploding itself directly beneath the Deepwater Horizon causing this $1 Billion oil rig to sink beneath the seas and marking 2010's celebration of Earth Day with one of the largest environmental catastrophes our World has ever seen.

To the reason for North Korea attacking the Deepwater Horizon, these reports say, was to present US President Obama with an \"impossible dilemma\" prior to the opening of the United Nations Review Conference of the Parties to the Treat on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) set to begin May 3rd in New York.

This \"impossible dilemma\" facing Obama is indeed real as the decision he is faced with is either to allow the continuation of this massive oil leak catastrophe to continue for months, or immediately stop it by the only known and proven means possible, the detonation of a thermonuclear device.

Russian Navy atomic experts in these reports state that should Obama choose the \"nuclear option\" the most viable weapon at his disposal is the United States B83 (Mk-83) strategic thermonuclear bomb having a variable yield (Low Kiloton Range to 1,200 Kilotons) which with its 12 foot length and 18 inch diameter, and weighing just over 2,400 pounds, is readily able to be deployed and detonated by a remote controlled mini-sub.

Should Obama choose the \"nuclear option\" it appears that he would be supported by the International Court of Justice who on July 8, 1996 issued an advisory opinion on the use of nuclear weapons stating that they could not conclude definitively on these weapons use in \"extreme circumstances\" or \"self defense\".

On the other hand, if Obama chooses the \"nuclear option\" it would leave the UN's nuclear conference in shambles with every Nation in the World having oil rigs off their coasts demanding an equal right to atomic weapons to protect their environment from catastrophes too, including Iran.

To whatever decision Obama makes it remains a fact that with each passing hour this environmental catastrophe grows worse. And even though Obama has ordered military SWAT teams to protect other oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico from any further attack, and further ordered that all drilling in the Gulf of Mexico be immediately stopped, this massive oil spill has already reached the shores of America and with high waves and more bad weather forecast the likelihood of it being stopped from destroying thousands of miles of US coastland and wildlife appears unstoppable.

And not just to the environmental catastrophe that is unfolding the only devastation to be wrecked upon the United States and South Korea by this North Korean attack as the economic liabilities associated with this disaster are estimated by these Russian reports to be between $500 Billion to $1.5 Trillion, and which only a declaration of this disaster being an \"act of war\" would free some the World's largest corporations from bankruptcy.

Important to note too in all of these events was that this was the second attack by North Korea on its South Korean enemy, and US ally, in a month as we had reported on in our March 28th report titled \"Obama Orders 'Immediate Stand-down' After Deadly North Korean Attack\" and which to date neither the Americans or South Korea have retaliated for and giving one senior North Korean party leader the courage to openly state that the North Korean military took \"gratifying revenge\" on South Korea.

And for those believing that things couldn't get worse, they couldn't be more mistaken as new reports coming from Japanese military sources are stating that North Korea is preparing for new launches of its 1,300 kilometer (807 miles) intermediate range ballistic \"Rodong\" missile which Russian Space Forces experts state is able to \"deploy and detonate\" an atomic electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device, and which if detonated high in the atmosphere could effectively destroy the American economy for years, if not decades, to come.

[dissent]

^^^^^^ This sounds pretty ridiculous to me.


EUTimes seems to be a suspicious source for reliable news content.

[CUDA]

ya I was thinking the same. if there was a shred of truth to it SOME media outlet in the US would be all over it. and most likely Hannity or Beck

[flip]

Ok that maybe true, but , what I'm wondering is if they will really HAVE to use a nuke to stop it. If that's the case it gives the argument alot more substance.

[dissent]

What makes you think a nuke would seal the spill? Maybe it would fracture a large section of the overlying bedrock and make the leakage worse. Not to mention the radiation release.

[flip]

As far as I've gathered so far it's been done 5 time the last being in 1979. Seems it's the only PROVEN and TESTED way to do it but like I said it's a big if. I'm waiting to see if that is what has to be done but so far they have had no success.

EDIT: well not the only way but has been successful in the past.

[dissent]

http://www.livescience.com/technology/r ... 00512.html

Komsomoloskaya Pravda suggested that the United States might as well take a chance with a nuke, based on the historical 20-percent failure rate. Still, the Soviet experience with nuking underground gas wells could prove easier in retrospect than trying to seal the Gulf of Mexico’s oil well disaster that's taking place 5,000 feet below the surface.

The Russians were using nukes to extinguish gas well fires in natural gas fields, not sealing oil wells gushing liquid, so there are big differences, and this method has never been tested in such conditions.

[flip]

Dissent that is where I got the very same information. It's a viable alternative considering EVRYTHING else has failed at this point. I'm going on the assumption here that I don't have to explain every single point and I'm not sparring with you here. My point was and only is this : IF they use a nuke to close this I'll give more credence to the above posted story. Why are we arguing?

EDIT: Let me also add I have no idea if it will work or not because I know jack about it.

[dissent]

Not trying to argue, just looking for information. It might work. I'm just questioning the radical difference in sealing off surface gas well leaks, with the prospect of doing this for an oil well at 5000 feet below sea level. Seems to me this would be completely unprecedented. I just don't think we should be overly sanguine about the prospects for success based on the Russian experience.

I think some people (not you) would suggest this thinking it was a simple solution. I think that would be a mistake.

[Spidey]

Dumbest thing I ever heard, doesn’t matter if it would work or not.

[Heretic]

How can the President call for a news blackout world wide?

[AlphaDoG]

The president hangs around with some very influential power brokers, pressure could be applied from anywhere that may cause a \"news\" outlet NOT to report the facts.

[Heretic]

Then why read or watch the news if it's that controlled. It would mean that nothing can be trusted coming from any news outlet.

Who Rules America?

by the Research Staff of National Vanguard Books P.O. Box 330 · Hillsboro · West Virginia 24946 · USA

There is no greater power in the world today than that wielded by the manipulators of public opinion in America. No king or pope of old, no conquering general or high priest ever disposed of a power even remotely approaching that of the few dozen men who control America's mass media of news and entertainment.

Their power is not distant and impersonal; it reaches into every home in America, and it works its will during nearly every waking hour. It is the power that shapes and molds the mind of virtually every citizen, young or old, rich or poor, simple or sophisticated.

The mass media form for us our image of the world and then tell us what to think about that image. Essentially everything we know -- or think we know -- about events outside our own neighborhood or circle of acquaintances comes to us via our daily newspaper, our weekly news magazine, our radio, or our television.

It is not just the heavy-handed suppression of certain news stories from our newspapers or the blatant propagandizing of history-distorting TV \"docudramas\" that characterizes the opinion-manipulating techniques of the media masters. They exercise both subtlety and thoroughness in their management of the news and the entertainment that they present to us.

For example, the way in which the news is covered: which items are emphasized and which are played down; the reporter's choice of words, tone of voice, and facial expressions; the wording of headlines; the choice of illustrations -- all of these things subliminally and yet profoundly affect the way in which we interpret what we see or hear.

On top of this, of course, the columnists and editors remove any remaining doubt from our minds as to just what we are to think about it all. Employing carefully developed psychological techniques, they guide our thought and opinion so that we can be in tune with the \"in\" crowd, the \"beautiful people,\" the \"smart money.\" They let us know exactly what our attitudes should be toward various types of people and behavior by placing those people or that behavior in the context of a TV drama or situation comedy and having the other TV characters react in the Politically Correct way.

[Will Robinson]

Frank thinks you are about 4 decades late to the party...

I am the Slime

I am gross and perverted
Im obsessed n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think Im delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin out
From your tv set

You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't got for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

That's right, folks..
Don't touch that dial

Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin along on your livinroom floor

I am the slime from your video
Cant stop the slime, people, lookit me go

[Bet51987]

.

[dissent]

Bee,

Here's Heading Out's post at TOD on that very subject
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6467#more


If you scan through the comments, I get the impression that there is still a fair amount of pressure and/or there is a fairly significant amount of gas also venting with the oil.

I don't know if there is any kind of angioplasty-like device that could be deployed in this instance. If there were I'd like to see them just ram it into the well bore and then just inflate it. Once the flow was stopped they could just seal up the entrance with cement and proceed with the clean-up.

[dissent]

A report on Monday's press conference.

The Admiral drew attention to the statement by Jane Lubchenco, the head of NOAA, who had said, in regard to the many reports of large underwater oil plumes and their causes and likely effects
\"Media reports related to the research work conducted aboard the R/V Pelican included information that was misleading, premature and, in some cases, inaccurate,\" Lubchenco said in a statement.

No. Tell me it ain't so. Not from our media.


Naturally, read the whole thing.

[dissent]

A preliminary discussion of what caused the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6493#more

It is early in the process of discovering what really happened. Because of the gravity and potential impact of this disaster on the nation and my industry, however, I wanted to provide an early and more investigative perspective than much of what has appeared in the media to date. The risk, of course, is that more information will invalidate some of what follows. I, therefore, wish to clarify that this is a fact-based interpretation of what may have happened on the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010 but, in the end, it is an interpretation. -Art Berman

Some pretty interesting discussion related to how they drill these wells and the kinds of problems that might have come up in this circumstance.

[Bet51987]

.

[Will Robinson]

...I know you don't want to hear this, but this accident has Halliburton/MMS/Cheney written all over it.

Bee

What exactly does the Cheney reference imply or serve? I mean besides the obvious ploy that simple minded democrat loyalists ( a redundant description I know) will know to fill their hearts with contempt at the mere mention of his name like mentioning Voldemort at the Hogwarts alumni banquet, is there really any significance to including his name in your speculation? Like was he ever involved in the engineering practices of the firm or something?

And on the other side of that coin....does this mean he gets credit for all the successful endeavors Haliburton has undertaken?

[Duper]

mentioning Voldemort at the Hogwarts alumni banquet,

*GASP!!* ~shudder~

[dissent]

That was a very interesting article and it annoys me that the very first thing mentioned in the chronology of events was the inadequate cementing job done by Halliburton. Not only did their plan call for that inadequate amount, but they never checked the integrity of the seal. I understand that accidents happen even when all the right things are done but this one was preventable. Shortcuts were made to save a few mill.

I know you don't want to hear this, but this accident has Halliburton/MMS/Cheney written all over it.

Bee

Bee, if the author's conclusion of the article reads

Issues That Can and Cannot Be Addressed

There are many disturbing issues raised by the MC 252 well blowout. The Sixty Minutes report leaves the impression that there were clear indications of things that went wrong in the weeks leading up to the blowout. It further implies that BP and the other companies involved with the drilling operation ignored these problems in the interest of saving time and money.

I do not believe that there is sufficient and credible publicly available information to address those issues at this time. Based on the chronology presented above, it seems strange that so little was apparently done in the hour-and-forty minutes between the notable increase in mud pit volume and the blowout, except to stop pumping twice. At the same time, it is easy to see the warning signs now that we know the outcome, and we do not know what was done or discussed at the time--we only have recordings on a chart.

What can be addressed now is the larger issue that a flawed, risky well plan for the MC 252 well was approved by the MMS, and BP, Anadarko and Mitsui management. Similar or identical plans were undoubtedly approved and used by many operators on other wells drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. A plan that does not include enough cement to overlap the final and previous casing strings, and that does not require running a cement-bond log to ensure the integrity of the seal is a defective plan. The fact that there have not been blowouts on previous wells does not justify the approval and use of an unsafe plan.

Interior Secretary Salazar has announced a suspension of offshore drilling permits and an indefinite ban on new offshore drilling. This will have a profound economic impact on many thousands of rig and associated service jobs. The result will undoubtedly be new regulations. More regulation will accomplish little, however, if the underlying problem is a lack of critical thinking by the companies that drill oil and gas wells and the government agencies that oversee their activities.

then it is premature of you to hang the fault for this incident at Halliburton's doorstep.