The Deepwater Horizon Oil Well
69The Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion and fire killed 11 employees.
The catastrophe created a massive oil spill in the gulf which has lead to questioning the safety of oil drilling in 5,000 feet deep water.
A congressional hearing was held on 6/17/10 in Washington with Tony
Haywood being the only witness representing BP. Two important issues
that was raised was that
1. an independent investigation is in progress. T. Haywood did not want
to speculate on the causes of the oil well accident,
was his reply to a question from a democrat congressman
2. A republican member of the panel questioned the chairman of the meeting as to why members of the MNS were not called upon to testify. The democrat chairman would not reply to the request and promptly adjourned the meeting.
Accidents in the construction industry sometimes occur before you know
what has happened. Some occur because of WRONG decisions made by
supervisory personal as to solving a problem. When a loss of life occurs, jobsites are shut down in respect for their fellow workers.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig accident occurred in an exploratory oil well. From some news reports the drilling of the well was encountering difficulties and engineers were attempting to make changes to the procedures. The government's MNS were informed and apparently they agreed or approved to the procedures that were bring used.
The failure of the safety equipment in controlling the oil drilling operation was the start of a series of failures that lead to the explosion. So, was it human error that lead to the problems or just mother nature flexing her muscles. Many are speculating as to the causes, speculation does not solve problems. The facts of what lead up to the tragedy will be know after the investigation is completed.
Questions remain unanswered by our Government and BP's oil development
LOUISIANA approved a permit for a site in 500 feet of water. Federal
authorities overruled the state and required drilling in 5,000 feet deep water
The permits and offshore drilling plans were approved by MNS. MNS
APPROVED CHANGES TO DRILLING PROCEDURES. An investigation
will determine the true facts.
After the oil rig explosion and the leaking of the oil into the gulf, 13 counties offered assistance in recapturing the oil. Who was responsible for denying their help?
Why and when did our government respond to the oil well accident ?
Apparently 13 days after the accident President Barak Obama showed
some interest. Previously Secretary Salazar stated ‘’ that we have the boot on the throat of BP ‘’
Why was the request for help from the governors to contain the oil from reaching land be ignored.just recently 16 barges vacuuming oil near the shore were ordered to stop by the Coast Guard for lack of fire extinguishers and life vests. A 24 hour delay of operations.
President Barak Obama threatens BP with prosecution for the tragedy
President Obama issues order to cease offshore drilling in the gulf and imposes a 6 month moratorium on oil companies.
Obama suggest that BP set up a $ 20 billion fund to pay for the damages
to the shore line and businesses effected by the tragedy.
President Barak Obama and BP executives hold a meeting in the
whitehouse after which BP agrees to set up a $20 billion fund plus
$100 million fund to pay for oil companies workers put out of work
because of President Obama’s oil drilling moratorium . Featherbedding,
paying someone for doing nothing, may be a federal offense.
Gulf Governors and Congressional officials requested the President to lift the moratorium. The economic result to the states are loss of 65000 jobs, loss of tax revenue ( US Treasury, State and Local business loss of seasonal income ‘’. It appears that the $ 100 million don’t cover lost revenue to the government (taxpayers )plus the lost revenue of some of the oil companies effected by Obama‘s moratorium.
The oil well leak is in the 60 th day and continues to release tons of crude oil. BP IS DRILLING 2 ADDITIONAL WELLS TO CONNECT TO THE
ORIGINAL WELL IN AN ATTEMPT TO REDUCE THE PRESSURE
FROM THE DAMAGED WELL. The new drilled wells will allow a cement
cap to be placed on the damaged well sometime in July or Aug.
Meantime the oil is coming a shore and the contaminated area in the gulf is expanding. New designs in equipment to capture the oil are available and will be in place, once approved by BP and the government. The governors of the states are doing their best to cope with the problems. The governors and businesses are complaining that the government’s red tape are not helping the cleanup operation.
It appears from what has occurred exposes President Barak Obama’s inability to take charge in establishing a plan, his incompetence and inexperience to manage the tragedy. Today 6/18/10 President Obama was in Columbus Ohio campaigning for his agenda. One must question where the president’s priorities are when the gulf tragedy continues to destroy some of the countries treasures.
After some 18 months unemployment remains at 9.7% in most of
the country. In Columbus unemployment is 10.7 %. The Obama administration promises of improving the economy has been questionable.
The government has spent billions to save jobs in the public sector and little has been done to bring jobs back to the private sector. Should president Obama not lift the moratorium, the private sector will lose some 65,000 jobs.
The government’s take over of the student loan program cost the private sector another 30,000 jobs. The government hired some 400,000 partime censure workers that will be laid off in Aug. further adding to the unemployment rolls.
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Jon Ewall
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hubbers
You won't see that procedure in the mainstream media or reported in the newspaper.
Barges on the river are not a complicated vessel,how about it if President Obama issues an executive order to exempt the barges to meet government red tape.
You've pretty well covered it all Jon.
Angel Romance had some pretty good comments on the Jones Act. I think that may be the proverbial smoking gun on his delay. The unions seem to own our president.
Using the Coast Guard to control coastal waters makes sense but they are not equipped to oversee a disaster of this magnitude. In fairness, they have probably done better than FEMA did in Katrina.
The Army Corps of Engineers, on the otherhand, controls all our rivers and their tributaries. I think they are a pretty useless federal entity and their functions should be returned to the states to control.
There should not be 15 federal agencies with veto power trying to control this disaster.
HUBBERS
Today for your information a judge ruled that president Obama's moratorium was not legal and ordered the moratorium lifted. The president ran on fixing the economy and getting jobs.The moratorium would have eliminated some 65,ooo jobs and a huge loss of business, revenue income to states and the us treasury. Something is wrong in the whitehouse.
It was reported today that drilling in the gulf has been going on for 60 years. Some 50,000 wells have been drilled . Some in deeper water that the deepwater horizon.
The safety factor of 98.9% is where the record stands.
The president is way over his head in the matter and his incompetence, inexperience and arrogance has surfaced.
Shamefully he has decided to fight the federal judge's decision and his decision to file another moratorium is irresponsible.
Check it out, foxnews.com 6/21/10 Glen Beck expose of The connections and reasons why Obama has pushed to hurt the us economy.
Jon,
That 1.1% record of unsafe practices (dangerous, hazardous, mishaps) is what brought upon such a HUGE disaster! The economic distress that this unprecidented event has and has yet to produce is unwelcomed in this economic environment of recovery from arguably the worst presidential administration in history (i.e. George "Dubya" Bush). Is it any wonder why his administration was rife with numerous "challenges"? This oil catostrophy is not just an economic disaster, but an environmental nightmare. I hope everyone comes to realize, now, that oil is no longer the answer, and that, in the 21st century, we should have the technical acumen to come up with viable alternatives.
Great post, and fantastic hub!
jimcrowthers
You stated ‘’oil is no longer the answer ‘’in your hub reply.
In our generation oil will not be replaced totally by other more expensive forms of energy. Oil, coal and natural gas are more economical to use in today’s economy. We have electric cars now but realize that coal or oil produce that electricity to run them.
This past week the justice department tried to establish President Barak Obama’s moritorium.The President said that all oil drilling can continue in waters 500 feet deep, the moratorium was for existing oil rigs in deeper water. An executive of one of the oil companies stated that no drilling has been allowed in shallower waters because the government is not approving permits that have been filed since the Bush presidency. The president’s statement was true except that the
whole story was omitted, typical one sided statement.
The Obama’s administration and the Democrat controlled congress are not in step as to what the people want from the government.The arrogance of President Obama in trying to reinstall the moratorium exposes his inexperience and inept performance.The moratorium
would cost the loss of jobs and destroy the economy of the affected states.
One must think what the situation would have been if the government would have allowed help from other countries when the accident occurred. The government should release permits in shallower water For oil and natural gas exploration before depending on a foreign supply.
Wake up America, the present leadership in Congress and our President continue to attack the very foundation of the constitution. It was announced by the leadership that the 2011 budget will not be debated and voted on. This action is not open government and transparent as was promised to the people. Why do our representative remain silent? Present Lincoln once said ‘’ to remain silent is to be a coward ‘’.
.
HUBBERS
The Obama Administration approved the first permit in 314 days since the BP oil spill to allow drilling in 6000 feet deep water in the gulf. It should be noted that Obama has defied court orders ( 2 TIMES )to lift moratoriums on shallow water drilling permits. There are 4 permits that could be approved which could employ some 50,000 workers and help relieve the high oil prices hurting the economy.
One must wonder why President Barak Obama would not immediately order the permit approvals because of the dangers to the security of the United States with all the turmoil in the middle east.
Congress is not without blame since they have voted to not drill for offshore and Alaskan oil. Maybe the newly elected members to Congress can help to change the mentality of the political brain dead members.
Wake up America, Congress and President Obama needs to act NOW.
hubbers
On 4/20/11, it will be ONE year ago that the BP Horizon rig exploded creating another disaster in the gulf. The government's investigation report of the causes will be completed shortly.
HUBBERS
Senator Reid and the Democrats lost a vote in the Senate today, 5/18/11, to repeal the $4 billion oil and natural gas companies subsides.
A news report pointed out that the mining industry in Nevada pays NO royalties to mine gold on federal land. The $20 billion industry in Nevada mines 80% of the gold in the nation and yet they pay $0 in royalties to the government. What a coincidence that Senator Reid represents the state of Nevada. President Obama and Congress attacking oil, natural gas and coal subsidies when those industries pay royalties to the government seems to be unfair. The oil industry pays 18.7% , the coal industry pays 12.5% royalties and the gold industry pays $0 . Obama has not told the public how much the alternate energy industry has received since his election.
On 5/17/11 Shell Oil starting drilling for oil in the gulf almost 1 year after president Obama’s executive order placed a moratorium on drilling. In order to receive the permit Shell Oil had to agree to hire a designated sub contractor approved by the government. The rig is STATIONED 100 miles off the US coast and the drilling well will be 27,000 feet deep. The BP STATION was drilling 5,000 feet deep when the accident occurred. Shallow water drilling for oil has not been approved as yet by the Obama Administration.
The US Government under the leadership of Obama and Company are not looking out for the best interest of the people in these troubled times, that’s a fact.
American Romance Level 7 Commenter 23 months ago
Yesterday the coast guard (government) detained 8 barges carrying much needed skimming equipment for the ENTIRE day and hauled them to a port to check for life jackets and fire extinguishers! what a joke!