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BP Moves the Goalpost for the Oil Well Integrity Test
I noted
on July 15th:
As Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen has explained,
sustained pressure readings above 8,000 pounds per square inch (psi)
would show that the wellbore is more or less intact, while pressures of
6,000 psi or less would mean there could be major problems:
We
are looking for somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 PSI inside the
capping stack, which would indicate to us that the hydrocarbons are
being forced up and the wellbores are being able to withstand that
pressure. And that is good news.
If we are down around in the
4,000 to 5,000, 6,000 range that could potentially tell us that the
hydrocarbons are being diverted someplace else, and we would have to try
and assess the implications of that. And as you might imagine, there
are gradations as you go up from 4,000 or 5,000 PSI up to 8,000 or
9,000. …
We will at some point try to get to 8,000 or 9,000 and
sustain that for some period of time, and these will be done basically,
as I said — if we have a very low pressure reading, we will try and
need (ph) at least six hours of those readings to try to ensure that
that is the reading. If it’s a little higher, we want to go for 24
hours. And if it’s up at 8,000 or 9,000, we would like to go 48 hours
just to make sure it can sustain those pressures for that amount of
time.
How
was the 8,000 psi number calculated to determine the lower acceptable
limit for the pressure test?
Don Van Nieuwenhuise - director of
geoscience programs at the University of Houston - explained to CNN that
the pressure at the bottom of the well is 11,000 psi, and so scientists
have calculated that it should be 8,000 psi at the top of the well:
Yet
BP is now trying to pretend that 8,000 psi was never the target.
As
oil industry expert Robert Cavner writes:
Kent
Wells moved
the goalpost during his Friday, July 16 briefing, saying,
"We
also said that if the pressure go above 8,000 pounds and really the
number in 7,500 pounds, it would really say to us that we do have
integrity under, essentially, any scenario."Very
smooth. In one sweeping statement, that the press let him get away
with, Wells moved the target pressure down as much as 1,500 psi from the
9,000 psi to 7,500, much closer to the 6,700 psi they were holding,
which is actually at the lower end of the ambiguity range we
talked about on Friday. Wells did it again yesterday, moving the
"good integrity" range number
down to 6,000 psi to 7,500 psi, saying,"But
at this point there is no evidence that we have no integrity and
that's very good and the fact that the pressure is continuing to rise
is giving us more and more confidence that as we go through this
process."So, over the last 3 days, BP has walked
the "integrity" goalpost down from as high as 9,000 psi to 6,000 psi, or
at least the 6,700 psi, which happens to be where they are, give or
take 100 psi. You know Adm Allen didn't just make up the 8,000 to
9,000, being a sea captain and knowing little to nothing about oil and
gas. Somebody gave him those numbers. BP moved to goalpost and
the timeline, and the press let them get away with it. Again.***
So
the stage is set. It sure looks like to me that BP is refusing to
disclose critical data and playing chicken with the government while
holding our Gulf of Mexico as hostage. They have every motivation to
not produce the well, for all the reasons we've discussed before, most
importantly, being able to measure the flow; and the ROV feed of oil
roaring back into the Gulf is the gun to the head. The government
should compel BP to release all the data from this test. Again, this
well, this lease, this oil and gas belong to the United States. This
well is in federal waters, and we are all owners here. As owners of
this resource, we have a right to see all the information available.
BP should immediately release all of the pressure buildup data,
temperature data, acoustic data, and seismic data. They should also
release their build up models including the Horner plot forecasts that
Wells discussed yesterday. Only then can we make a judgment that BP is
managing this in the best interest of the United States, not just
their own. We need no more reason for this demand than the massive
scale of this catastrophe.One more thing...these McBriefings
are BS, and we're just passively sitting there letting BP get away with
"technical briefings" that are neither technical or briefings. It's
time to start asking the hard questions, demanding the data, and to
stop putting up with the one question per customer, no followups, no
coupons accepted policy. These briefings should be live, with
some reporters actually present rather than just by telephone. If the
government won't do it, then we need to. This is too important.
Cavner's article is well-worth reading in
full.
»
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Heh, I bet this year will end and the spill will continue...
-
I'll be very happy to cover a small part of that wager. what do you suggest?
as static kill takes the stage, today's briefing from Allen should be interesting should any of the reporters ask probing questions like for example: WTF, did this just come out of the blue? or perhaps Who's Zoomin who? or perhaps Admiral, is the choreographer of this charade being paid out of the $20billion?
related links some of which were posted/discussed above
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/07/stephen_chus_snake_oil.html
http://dailyhurricane.com/2010/07/bp-top-kill-redux-now-called-the-stati...
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article222469.ece
Today's briefing
WHAT: Media briefing to provide update on ongoing Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill response efforts
WHERE: DHS Headquarters, Nebraska Avenue Complex, 4401 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C.. The call-in
number for press unable to attend is (866) 304-5784 for domestic callers, and (706) 643-1612 for international
callers. Conference ID# 89390890.
WHEN: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 11:30 a.m. EDT.
they also appear to be trying to keep out the riff raff as they have added this addendum for those wishing to attend in person:
Members of the media wishing to attend must RSVP no later than 9 a.m. EDT by calling or emailing date of birth, social security number and full name as it appears on government identification to Tarrah Cooper at (202) 527-4798 or tarrah.cooper dhs.gov. Cameras must preset no later than 10:30 a.m. EDT and all other media must arrive no later than 11:00 a.m. EDT via the Massachusetts Avenue entrance (Gate 88, just south of Ward Circle on Massachusetts Ave).
From the UpstreamOnline Article:
However, until the well is turned on and all the oil is captured, no one - either within BP or without - will know the true flow rate from the well.
How could that be? I've read all of the posts here that claim that BP has continually lied about the flow rate. If the posters KNOW that BP lied, then they must actually know what the flow rate has been. But the pretty competent trade publication clearly states that no one knows what the flow rate is or has been. Why did UpstreamOnline ignore the experts who post here and DO know the flow rate? Probably another coverup to prevent Geo Wash and GG from getting the recognition they deserve.
Gasmiinder, you arrived at zero hedge just over two months ago and appear to have only commented on things related to the BP story. You have the demeanor of a professional lurker, you know, the kind corporations dispatch to the blogs to answer consumer's questions, except that professional lurkers generally identify themselves as it's good PR.
Zero Hedge has huge traffic and with that has influence so it stands to reason that interested parties would want to have their perspective known e.g. BP, it is also understandable that they would out of necessity have to do so covertly.
I have not undertaken (nor will I) a full analysis of your responses but they do appear to read like something that might come from Kent Wells or Doug Suttles. This comment that you made above is a good example.
My conclusion is that you have an affiliation (direct or indirect) with BP and that your presence at ZH has an agenda related to that affiliation.
PS Rockford and Augustus I don't see as shills, they are typical ZHer's much like Gordon G, opinionated, abrasive and irreverent.
Believe what you will. I should gather up my posts and trot over to BP to collect my pay - of course they're likely to balk when they read my calls for criminal liability, describing them with some of the very little profanity I've used and urging people to consider the very real dangers of dead zones. I post on this topic because I have knowledge on this topic - it is one in which I can add value to the discussion. It's quite clear on ZH that whether a person has any actual value to add is NOT normally considered before posting (it's why I don't usually spend time reading the comments). But that does enter into MY personal decision on how to spend my time.
As I said in a previous thread - if you consider a failure to blather on about topics a person has no expertise in a sign of a lack of integrity - our world views are so far apart we'll never agree.
Your post can be paraphrased as "you speak calmly and rationally about the technical issues at hand - that's evidence you're a shill". Well - thanks for the compliment - when I started commenting on these threads my goal was to point out the SCIENTIFIC reasons the ludicrous fear-mongers were spouting nonsense and to provide some clear technical foundations for people to discuss what the dangers and issues really were.
It speaks volumes about the current internet culture (and by extension our entire culture) that two commentors above are willing to post (thus apparently believe) that attempting to discuss thing rationally rather than through invective and name calling is evidence one should be ignored, that somehow such a person is unworthy of joining the discussion. Ye GODS I fear for the future.
Job one for a shill is to gain cred with the readers, what better way to accomplish that than to speak ill of the very company for whom they are shilling.
Wang my friend. Knowledge is power.
The vast majority of my posts here have addressed SCIENCE and MATHEMATICS, a lesser number have addressed the logic of positions. I started posting because people were running around screaming about "experts" in the media touting doomsday scenarios and claiming events that are PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. I've pointed those out. The physical parameters I've cited have never come from obscure references - I wouldn't have spent the time and effort to look them up, all have come from short simple Google (or WolframAlpha) searches but those 'experts' couldn't be bothered. And yet - NOT ONCE has anyone questioned with the accuracy of the data/science I've presented. The content of every argument has been "well someone else says this" or "you're a shill".
What people have consistently done is scream "you're defending BP" at people who have not once defended BP but only pointed out the ignorance of the thought processes that were going on. And now they're making the astoundingly illogical accusation that having argued rationally is evidence of bad-faith. This thread has devolved into a group of people trying to have a conversation accosted by another group whose entire approach is to scream ad hominem and junk posts rather than argue a point (I am not including you in that particular group).
Think about where you are mentally. Knowledge is power and I've tried to share that power. Your little clique here is a group of slaves shackled in the dark and shouting in an echo chamber - then when someone lights a candle you scream "turn it off, it hurts our eyes". You're blind to what's going on - the elites LOVE your delusion that shouting at each other means anything. It gives such an emotional charge that you've DONE something "see I really told that guy off and it's all preserved forever for everyone to see in pixels on my screen". But it means NOTHING.
Believe me BOTH wings of the PARTY and their owners on the STREET are thrilled to have the proles shouting at each other and pretending that it matters. It permeates every aspect of our society and it is the 'circus' in our modern day 'bread and circuses'. Knowledge is power and until you understand that and learn to THINK beyond what emotional connection you have to a given "side" you will always be a slave.
Knowledge is power people. Knowledge is power.
Do we suppose that BP finds and harvests oil using a different math and different scientific principles than, say, an Exxon or a Shell or any other successful oil company? That is a serious question; think it through.
There are folks here who don't know the math and science required to be successful in the oil field. Therefore, they are succeptible to scare tactics and other kinds of misdirection from folks with an agenda. There are folks here who do know the math and science required to be successful in the oil field. They are qualified to point out the claims that are impossible because of the math and science involved. These folks are being called shills for BP by folks who have not addressed the fundamental math and science claims being contested. I have yet to see any of these folks be called shills for the oil industry. But that is what they truely are. They are presenting the math and science required for any driller to be successful - not just BP. And if presenting the math and science facts makes them shills for the oil industry, that is a good thing, not a bad thing.
The math and science facts would not change if it was some other company that had screwed up instead of BP. So - defending the math and science cannot logically be equated with defending BP. Unfortunately, those who really don't know the math and science of the oil field have no way of coming to that conclusion on their own.
Which leads to the ages-old dilemma of the human condition: how do you convince those who don't know that they don't know?
Allen's morning briefing has been postponed to 3:15pm this afternoon - static kill here we come (when you think about it static kill is a pretty good counter to Allen's threat of opening up the flow to the containment vessels).
And gasmiinder I read your responses, calling you out was not something I did casually but your post above on static kill did it for me, it read like a prepared statement on a topic that virtually no one had heard about 12 hours earlier. I am apolitical and do not dispute that you have brought technical expertise and therefore value to the discussion. Referring to ZH as an echo chamber as you have is probably not the way I would characterize this blog. If anything it is just the opposite notwithstanding the presence of a rather large colony of bears and assorted conspiracy enthusiasts that call ZH home.
From the Wikipedia entry on "echo chamber" -
I'd argue that is an exact description of much of the last 3 months on this topic at ZH. But that was NOT the key element of my response. Both Gully & yourself have made the accusation above that attempting to argue in a clear and rational manner is a priori evidence of bad faith. Both Gully & yourself make the accusation that failing to weigh in on topics about which you have no special insight is evidence of nefarious purpose. We have a society now where anytime someone makes an argument one side doesn't like, the response is immediately to accuse the motives rather than engage the argument. It's pathetic, it is exactly what the powers that be want because it diverts and it means that no one learns and no reasonable solutions can be determined.
FYI - check the time on that kill post, it was a nasty bout of insomnia brought on by a late workout followed by one two many Fat Tires. If you think anyone could pay me to get up at 1:30 am to post on ZH you're hopeless..... :>)
No one in the general public would have heard about it. If you find someone in the industry to ask about it they will give you about what gasminder did. It is not some secret process that was just created by NASA to attack the Russians. Drillers have had similar problems to the BP situation since they have been drilling wells. Static kill is not much different from top kill, just no well flow.
I have followed the GOM topics from the very first. I have consistently observed more and more posters who are pro-BP. Or at least here to muddy the waters.
I can only assume the majority are paid posters.
One should be very leery when suddenly an unusual ratio of experts to average people appears.
Where were these so called experts during the original posts?
I know they ONLY started sharing their insight AFTER the GOM topics started gaining attention.
Obviously they will disappear later after adding the proper amount of confusion and swaying opinion with their Science. Don't get me wrong I'm all for Science, but when ONLY one position seems to be offered and that unverified by outside unbiased interests then one needs wonder about the veracity of those claims.
In a couple of years, or decades, after all is said and done, after we know the depth and breadth of the catastrophe these people will not be around to assume any responsibility if they are wrong. They were not here before, and their pay only lasts so long.
If I lived in the GOM or any states which will be immediately effected I would be VERY sceptical. I would believe the most outrageous stories first. Just because I would rather be a live fool than a dead one. I would rather see live children laughing and playing in the streets than news stories recounting statistics regarding doomed and damaged children.
I may be wrong, and I admit it. But we live in an age of deception and corporate greed.
I just don't know who to trust.
Does anyone else?
yes, trust no man. period. the only things you know are
those things that clear your inner ear, if you know what i mean.
assume that every person speaks from their "position", which is
not your position. they are generally speaking to make you
think their position is your position. this can be true if you
let it be, or consciously decide it is. the power of words and narrative.
inserting voices and motivations where there once was none.
trust yourself, know yourself, the process of your self.
the grain of salt principle applies. external observable facts are
transient but point to ongoing principles that are not and the process of
the self is consistent and repetitious if fleeting and subject to fundamental
improvement due to learning and insight. stay strong!
Of of which suggests you're a fool.
XAUUSD / XAUEUR / XAUAUD bearish warnings issued since July 1 continue . . .
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com/about
Analysis of paralysis! Gulf will never be the same, peoples lives changed for ever, and from day 1 to 90; there's been no talk goona reverse it! Crap on! Crap off! The Crapper! Now lets dissect the positive process of mental masturbation! By pulling up the rose bush and thrashing the roots! When may we calculate having fragrant flowers to bring relief to all gulf life affected!!??? Yours Truly! Stroker ace!!
Oh yes, the "incident commander" from the government will save the day. Because there's always a special place for the wearers of state costumes at a clusterfuck.
I'm failing to understand what Matt Simmons is trying to achieve. You could argue that all publicity is good publicity, but I think a lot of people will remember him for some far-reaching claims that over the past few months have neither been verified nor enhanced by his team with any more concrete detail. Sounds like a bad strategy to me that just soaks up market energy and, in some senses, increases market volatility....which might be good for day traders, but doesn't take society forward one inch.
As for BP, they will survive as politics demands that they will, partly to pay British grannies and partly to remain liable and able for the bills going forward. As you can already see, there are so many arguments and counter-arguments in what will be an increasingly complicated set of court cases that will stretch into years, that you'll inevitably settle for a fine that won't be as big as some of the numbers being touted today and where few, if any, people go to jail. This is the reality of the situation.
The world will move on and the biggest changes will be to the MMS. BP will shrink a little and reduce operations in the USA - it would be wise to move some operatorships to its partners (bearing in mind the optics of the move) and get out of Alaska in particular.
If you're a BP shareholder, then its already 2 strikes (Texas City), so worth getting out when the price recovers and move into a company that doesn't have such high event risk. If something did happen in the next few years, then BP would have to be broken up or sold. No doubt.
@Dolly
Matt Simmons is talking his book. After his initial claims a month back, it was reported that he had a sizeable short position in BP stock. Nothing like padding your bank account by spreading rumors. I would think the SEC has grounds to open an investigation on Mr. Simmons but they're to busy downloading porn. Mr. Simmons is nothing more than greedy bastard.
@"I'm failing to understand what Matt Simmons is trying to achieve. ?"
.
one thing is reconciliation. a narrative that coherently
explains the source and it's description with the observed
and corresponding spilled and spread out leaked oil. (/gusher).
he has said he can't reconcile the source as described as being
sufficiently large to explain the amount of oil observed in the
gom.
he has also expressed concern for the health and safety of the
population and recommended some official thought, study and preparation
in this regard.
i know, he's crazy. it's all just soulless nit picking and eco-friendly b.s. to
bolster a short position. ya think?
here is where transparency, science and a few good facts and intelligent
observations would help, divorced from legal and political implications.
so we need honest brokers but..... we can't find one. maybe a fiat honest
broker will do?
ps. and off subject? what is up with this stupid imbecilic country
privatizing national security? how is that supposed to do anything but
destroy the country? right! now i get it. the cheney/obama legacy.
blindman - oil is less dense than water; it floats. And a lot of the gas will come out of solution once the oil reaches the floor of the gulf. So how does an oil-man make sense when he says there is a giant pool of gas-infused oil at the bottom of the water column? Additionally, the path of least resistance for any oil leak from the well would be up the outside of the oil well. Why, then, would the escaped oil tunnel to an opening in the ocean floor some ten miles away? The folks who actually know the math and science involved with the oil field have all kinds of problems with these kinds of claims. And a Matt Simmons in his right mind would know this. Therefore, he is either not in his right mind, or he is speaking to the uniformed masses for reasons unknown and doesn't care what the informed oil folks think of his comments. Either choice does not lead to the conclusion that Matt is attempting reconciliation.
oil is complex. as has been said 3 letters o. i. l. but
it is a mixture of thousands of different compounds, some
lighter than others, crude. and there is the added dispersant that
has been injected into the mixture along with mud and hydrated
methane. the result, beats me? could some components separate
out and some associate and flow in the column? why not make
observations and see? apparently he believes that has been done
and observed as to have happened. oil, large oil pools in the column?
i saw the video of the sea floor gushing gas and oil. it looks real to
me but i don't know. as i said i don't know the location either?
the condition of the well is a mystery at this point as is the potential
communication of it with the surrounding deposits, but not so much to
those interpreting all the available data and that is proprietary until
it is ripped from their oil stained hands and they will never let that
happen as long as they are subject to the laws of culpability and
the dictates of the existing economic markets. never. informed honest brokers
we don't have, we will live and die by that as long as we allow it.
imo.
ps. i would guess that oil industry people who know the gom and exploration
know exactly what is happening and have tremendous financial interest
to say nothing, for one reason or another. why is he speaking out the
way he is? maybe he is a hired oil hit man? or maybe he has chosen to
be the mouth piece for others who are scared shit-less that they are going
to kill or irreparably harm millions of innocent people with their fiat
agenda?
I'm failing to understand what Matt Simmons is trying to achieve.
I'm wondering if we aren't witnessing the failing of a once magnificent brain. It happens. It's part of the aging process for some folks. Senility. Tumor. Undetected cancer. Dementia. Reduced blood flow to the brain. What other explanation is there for someone knowledgeable about the oil industry to claim that oil is pooling on the bottom of the gulf. Is oil more or less dense than water? Does oil sink or float? Does gas stay in solution or come out of solution when oil finds its way out of the ground?
What I'd really like to know is what Gully is trying to accomplish by posting that article here.
here is another thing, same thing. the financial reality
was that a company had/has millions of gallons of toxic
waste it needs to dump someplace. why not sell it as a
dispersant and let the locals suffer from it's effects and make
a profit doing it. after all the market is shrinking for the product
as some people object to dumping toxic waste into their dinner plates.
they don't want to go insane and poison their children,
nutty environmentalists, sheesh. no balls for the natural adversity
found in the free market. you know the type.
remember the mtbe scam?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGx50g3lzWk&feature=player_embedded
.
REPOSTED. from prior thread 7/18/2010. this video tells
a story of extensive down hole damage, seafloor leak/ gusher.
either that or the video is a fake. notice first gas then the oil.
exactly where in relation to the non leaking bop, "oil man"?
.
i quote..
"
by Rusty Shortson Mon, 07/19/2010 - 09:36
#476773
Oh Shit!!
@ about 4:45
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGx50g3lzWk&feature=player_embedded
My observation is there are a lot of new names popping up on these BP threads that seem to have a pro oil industry slant woking hard to rip on those who don't see things their way (mostly GG and GW). If were working these threads this hard I sure would like to be getting paid.
This is not about whether I see things your way or not. This is not about everybody has a right to their own opinion. This is about whether any given commenter's remarks are consistent with generally-accepted scientific principles.
The entire oil industry is based on the physical sciences and math. Success in the oil industry is not possible without crunching the right numbers in the right way and employing generally-accepted scientific principals.
Any opinion that ignores the truth contained in the previous paragraph is invalid. Any opinion about the BP blowout (not the politics surrounding it) that is not informed by the appropriate science facts and math calculations is immediately wrong as soon as it is uttered and is not worth being paid attention to. Why should those who know let such uniformed speculation go unchallenged (particularly when it can generate unnecessary fear in some folks)? This is not a pro oil-business attitude. This is a pro reality attitude.
but the "reality" is based on fiat debt economic numbers. fed rules.
where is the reality in that? this is our Achilles heal. all activity
tied to this fiat system is doomed now that we have pushed debt
saturation to the power of obscurity and opacity. that is the other
economic unreality "reality".
blindman - my post was dealing with the physics surrounding the blowout, not the politics. I stated as much in my post. I have no particular problem with your comments. I just don't see how they are connected to what I wrote.
The reality of math and science allows/enables scientists to find and harvest oil. The reality of math and science even allows managers to blow up wells by ignoring it (the math and science). That is the reality I was discussing. That is not the reality you are discussing.
i see what you mean and i agree. the financial numbers,
the risk calculations/considerations depending on price and
demand for the product, that is what i was referring to. it is
what i see as the larger issue and problem, the paradigm
problem that we have to face, our unreality reality. the one that
is ready to kill us for our own, security and safety, good.?
i got confused when you said "math" and "crunching numbers",
on the economic blogs i immediately think federal reserve debt notes.
apologies.
... on the economic blogs i immediately think federal reserve debt notes.
I get that. No apologies necessary, but accepted.
One does have to do math and crunch numbers when figuring out how much pressure is required to keep oil from blowing out of a well. If you use the correct formulas and numbers, you will meet with success. You can't just speculate what the proper course of action is - which is what many blog posters are doing.
http://kunstler.com/blog/2010/07/what-if-hes-right.html
What If He's Right? By James Howard Kunstleron July 19, 2010 8:18 AM
Just when America was celebrating the provisional end of BP's Macondo oil blowout, and getting back to important issues like Kim Kardashian's body-suit collection, along comes Matthew Simmons with a rather strange and alarming outcry on doings in the Gulf of Mexico that contradicts the mood of renewed festivity, as well as just about every shred of reportage from any media outlet, mainstream or otherwise. Matt Simmons Houston-based company has been the leading investment bank to the US oil industry for a long time, financing exploration and drilling in places like the Gulf of Mexico. Simmons, 68, recently retired from day-to-day management of the company. For much of the decade he has been what may be described as a peak oil activist. His 2005 book, Twilight in the Desert, warned the public that Saudi Arabia's oil production had reached its limits and, more generally, that an oil-dependent world was entering a zone of serious trouble over its primary resource. He took this aggressive stance despite risking the ire of the people he did business with. Matt Simmons is a sober individual and a very nice man (I've met him twice over the years), a button-downed corporate executive who's been around the oil business for forty years. His knowledge is deep and comprehensive. From the beginning of the BP Macondo blowout incident in April, he's taken the far out position that the well-bore is fatally compromised and that BP has been consistently lying about their operations to stop the flow of oil. Perhaps most radically, Simmons claims that an oil "gusher" is pouring into the Gulf some distance from the drilling site itself. Last week, Simmons came on Dylan Ratigan's MSNBC financial show, but he did a longer interview over at the King World News website. (click here for Eric King's interview with Simmons). Simmons's current warning about the situation focuses on the gigantic "lake" of crude oil that is pooling under great pressure 4000 to 5000 feet down in the "basement" of the Gulf's waters. More particularly, he is concerned that a tropical storm will bring this oil up - as tropical storms and hurricanes usually do with deeper cold water - and with it clouds of methane gas that will move toward the Gulf shore and kill a lot of people. (I really don't know the science on this and welcome any reader to correct me, but I suppose that the oil "lake" deep under the Gulf waters contains a lot of methane gas dissolved at pressure, and that as the oil rises toward the ocean's surface, and lower pressures, the gas will bubble out of solution.) Simmons makes two additional points that are pretty radical: he says that several states along the Gulf ought to begin systematic evacuations in counties along the shore now. From his experience in Houston with Hurricane Rita (2005), he says a last-minute evacuation is bound to be a disaster -- the highways jammed hopelessly, drivers ran out of gas, and then the gas stations ran out of gas. Based on where the nation's collective state-of-mind is these days, I can't imagine that any Gulf state governor or mayor will heed this warning and begin preparing an evacuation now. (The practical problems are obvious for householders but what if it really is a matter of life and death?) Secondly, Simmons maintains - as he has from near the beginning of the blowout - that the US military should take over operations from BP and ought to set off a "small" nuclear device down in the well-bore to fuse the rock into glass and seal the site permanently. Simmons says, based on his experience growing up in Utah near the government's underground nuclear testing sites in neighboring Nevada, where scores of very large atomic bombs were set off for years with no measurable consequences above ground, that a small nuclear explosion down in the Macondo well is unlikely to have any effect above the undersea rock surface. I have no idea, personally if this is true. Matt Simmons is taking a position so "out there" that even the radical peak oil website TheOilDrum.com won't comment on his remarks (at least not as of early Monday morning July 19). I don't know how to evaluate Simmons's contentions myself, except to say that I don't believe Simmons is a nut, or that he's lost his marbles. We also must suppose that someone in his position is able to talk with an awful lot of the best people in the oil industry. Simmons has put his reputation on the line. A lot of bystanders and commentators are treating him as a fool. Simmons himself is painfully aware of his lonely stance and seems, in his public appearances, to be a very regretful messenger. In the past twenty-four hours, BP has reported some possible leaks coming out of the seabed some distance from the well-bore. Nobody has been able to confirm yet exactly what is happening down there. One other thing Simmons said is that BP should be barred from the media airwaves since, he says, they have lied consistently in order to cover up their criminal negligence and culpability. The company itself cannot be saved because the claims against it are much greater than the value of its assets - but the people running the company could be sent to jail, so the incentive to keep lying remains high. Jesse at the Jesse's Café Américain website makes an excellent point that if Matt Simmons is correct, and it turns out that the US government has been played by BP, then remaining public trust in the competence and legitimacy of government could evaporate. This is not a happy thing to contemplate at a time when the state of the nation and its economy are so fragile. What follows could make the current political situation seem like little more than, well, than a tea party, compared to the politics-to-come.Readers here at Clusterfuck Nation are probably well aware of my past declarations of being allergic to conspiracy theories and crazy ideas generally. I'm not really equipped to evaluate Matt Simmons's warnings about the exact nature of the Macondo blowout and what might happen in the months ahead. But I am confident, having met the guy and corresponded with him and read his books, that he is a straight shooter. I'm sure that he is sincere in proclaiming his extreme discomfort with the position he's taken. Listen and decide for yourselves.
Here's the best way to evaluate Matt Simmons claims. IGNORE THEM.
He has lost all credibility and is spouting his lunacy at more & more obscure locales. He has not been in "day to day" operations at his old company for quite some time and they have publicly repudiated any association with him because he's lost it. It is sad, many folks have stated he is a nice guy - he's also going farther & farther down the absurdity path.
FYI - there is no pressure/temperature state at which an oil/water combination can exist with the oil below the water. Oil floats. Surely you can evaluate that?
so , this spill provides tremendous opportunity for the privileged to
research and containment innovation and oil/gas production.
videos of seafloor gushing and tinny bubbles around subsurface
robotically constructed "oil man", like the "burning man", a deep sea
caricature that looks like a cross between abraham lincon and
johhny depp in metallic pirate costume, at certain angles.
.
Ivo was the son of a fisherman in buras, louisian. at 52 years
of age, on july 4th, 2010 he bled to death in his home there.
he suffered fatal wounds to his arms after succumbing to an
"irrational" need to remove his clothing from his dwelling through
a closed window.
Ivo was brilliant and among the best this race has to offer as
an example of what humanity can be.
yet, there is a lot more to this story and many stories
about real people, succumbing to the events of the day.
these opportunity events, for research and "advancement".
.
condolences to the families.
.
http://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?n=michael-ivo-tesvich&pid=143959568&fhid=9259
speaking of conspiracies check out Skandi r 2
8:44 MDT
Looks like a sound stage to me
http://mfile.akamai.com/97892/live/reflector:45683.asx?bkup=45684
Screen shot
http://i29.tinypic.com/s3zx8l.jpg
glad I got the screen shot otherwise no one would believe me - it is just starting to submerge now (at least that is what they want you to believe) currently at -577 below sl
another screenshot
http://i31.tinypic.com/mnfjk.jpg
While the creativity and (unconscious, but nevertheless dangerous) malice of corporations should not be underestimated -- could it not simply be the ROV bay of the ship Skandi? You know, where ROVs are stored when not in use, where they are checked to make sure nothing broke during the dive, tools changed out, etc.?
You're no fun CD. Here he had clear evidence of a "Capricorn gambit" and you just squashed it without any compassion. Try to ease into it next time.
Just like you tube and google and every other place you go, BP has bought their way to the top to divert people from the truth. Now sites like this are infested with the ROACHES! To all you statistical blow hards that seem to answer everything in two seconds with a thesis, GO AWAY! It's bad enough you fill the sheeple's heads with your crap but stop trying to do it here! Most of us aren't as stupid as you think...
Well said. Yeah, I'm getting tired of all the Matt Simmons doomsday scenarios too.
This is a farce. BP and Obama are gearing up to allow the liability for the spill cleanup to shift over to the government. When the government began approving and supervising the activities of BP with direct participation, they removed any liability for BP. The defense of BP will be, well we followed the instructions of the government, so any claims will have to be addressed by the federal government and paid by the federal government.
I for one am completely done with BP. Let's bring up a new paradigm, a new idea, for corporate failure of this mendacity and magnitude: let's march in, drag out every motherfucking BP executive above the grade of manager, affix them to a post, douse them with the expulsion of their well and light them afire. Can I hear you scream, asshole? Their children and wives should be sold into bondage, mining on some prison planet, if this inbred, backward ass civilization was ever capable of interplanetary travel, which will never happen, because it is a backward ass, inbred civilization captained by the feckless captains of banking.
Fuck mankind. Bring on the deluge.
I am not Chumbawumba, but I could be.
No personal accountability. That is the purpose of the corporate format.
exactly! institutional protection based on systemic, fraud,
importance.
So did the real ponzi start with the inception of the Corporation, and not the FED?Central banking?
the ponzi component of hierarchy is predicated on a deception.
the deception is offered as a means to prosper and is "sold" to
the mark as an arbitrage of prices in fluctuating markets, but
of course that is not what is producing the paper profits. it is the
excess liquidity of the mark/s' paper chasing more paper and the
mark's trust, greed and ignorance of the scheme but perfect adherence
to the scheme. the fed and private central banking.
the corporation provides the social structure and mentality to
produce the hords of marks for the private central banks and the
legal system makes them all blameless for any and all destruction
they may leave in their priveledged wake. systemic importance/structure
and function.
that is the down side. the upside is that it makes possible all that
we see and call contemporary/modern civilization. it seems to work
for some, but not for many and maybe not for much longer for most.
one fatal result/problem of this is that the one's best at fraud tend
to be defered to as authorities by the unthinking many because they
have the most "money" and, after all, isn't that what makes the world
go 'round ?
so , maybe there is no upside?
?
Interesting question. If the corparate veil did not exist - if directors and managers could have been held responsible and punished from the Fed's inception until now - I'm guessing we would be in a different place. Had not thought of that before.
Call me a kook. I bought the EURO at 119 and the EU/CHF down there too. Closed them out today. Now I am staying close to home until after the Cardinal Climax. Something really big is in the offing.
there should be capital punishment for corporations....if they are persons entitled to campaign contribution protection they are also liable for crimes against humanity.....