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Matt Simmons Says Gulf Clean Up Will Cost Over $1 Trillion, Sees BP At $1, Says "We Have Now Killed The GoM"
Matt Simmons shares some startling revelations in his latest Bloomberg TV interview, in which he says none of the propaganda matters on TV 24/7 (photoshopped or not) as the ultimate clean up cost will likely be well over $1 trillion, and a result he is unconcerned about his BP short. He ultimately see the stock going down to $1. What Simmons alleges however is far more startling and audacious: that this is a joint cover up effort between the administration and BP, in which both entities keep throwing sand in the eyes of observers while distracting everyone from the matter at hand: "What we don’t know anything about is the open hole which is caused by
the drill bit when it tossed the blow-out preventer way out of the
hole…and 120,000/day minimum of toxic poison has now covered the floor of
the Gulf of Mexico. So what they’re talking about is the biggest
environmental cover-up ever. And they knew that that well, that riser,
would finally deplete. And then they could say it’s over." On blaming the catastrophe on Transocean: "For two days they kept saying it’s a rig fire. When the rig sank they
could no longer call it a rig fire. It’s a riser leak…Because if they
said the truth they would all go to jail." The conclusion: "Unfortunately, we now have killed the Gulf of Mexico."
On whether the well pressure should be a concern:
“No, it’s a total diversion - that’s the gas condensation that was trapped in the drilling riser which blew off the wellhead at 10:01 PM CT on April 20th, it's a mile-long compressed natural gas."
"What we don’t know anything about is the open hole which is caused by the drill bit when it tossed the blow-out preventer way out of the hole…and 120,000 minimum of toxic poison has now covered the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. So what they’re talking about is the biggest environmental cover-up ever. And they knew that that well, that riser, would finally deplete. And then they could say it’s over. And unfortunately, we now have killed the Gulf of Mexico.”
“Some 5-10 miles away is what the NOIA research vessels have now proved is a deep oil lake that is growing by the day and it’s very toxic oil and its gases are very lethal. Basically if we have a hurricane now, we would have to evacuate the Gulf Coast.”
On the financial implications for BP:
“When people find out the magnitude of the story, I don’t know if we can technically clean up the Gulf but it would cost at least a trillion dollars.”
Simmons on his reaction to the rig explosion:
“First of all when I woke up, when my wife turned on the television at 7:00 AM on the 21st and I saw this shocking news, that one of the greatest deepwater rigs ever built by one of the great companies in the industry, Transocean, was in the middle of this terrible fire, and then they said this was a rig fire, this is fuel on the rig, I know that there was 700 gallons of diesel on the rig, I said ‘This is a lie, the Gulf of Mexico is on fire. Why are they saying this?’ For two days they kept saying it’s a rig fire. When the rig sank they could no longer call it a rig fire. It’s a riser leak…Because if they said the truth they would all go to jail.”
On whether the blame lies squarely with BP:
"I think Transocean need Congressional Medals of Hero for this…I am really disgusted. Other than John Hofmeister, the retired president of Shell America, he's the only other person in the industry who I've seen to speak out."
Simmons on why he is shorting BP stock:
“You bet I did. Because I thought BP was going to go under. I’ve been saying that for months and months and when I read that 20 of the 24 Wall Street analysts had a ‘buys,’ I said ‘ That’s ridiculous, I’m going to short them.’ I’ve never shorted a stock in my life before.
"I have patience. The stock will go to one."
“They promised to clean up the Gulf, is that right? Do you know how much it will cost if they can technically do it? Well over a trillion dollars.”
On whether there is hope for a permanent solution now that the oil has stopped leaking:
“No, because that’s not the gusher. That was a little bit of condensation that would have ended anyways. There’s no way to fix the gusher because there’s no casing left in the hole other than doing a small diameter nuclear bomb…It's the only way. With no casing left in the hole, the odds of the relief well working are zero. What the relief wells do-- if they can find the casing, they then cut a 4 inch hole--and then they have something to capture the mud with. With no casing there, it's like pouring oatmeal down a fire hydrant…The casing is not there. It's scattered over the ocean floor. The government now has gamma ray images of the actual blow-out preventer, which is five stories high, weighs 325 tons and it has two sections of casing that pierced through five stories of metal."
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Damn, that's was an epic take down!
First There Is ..., seriously, thanks for the heads up.
After listening to Simmons I put on my Tinfoil hat.
Observations from a Village Idiot -
At this point, NO ONE on this thread has the real answer - period. Lines drawn, sides taken. That's it. Personally, I know who I am leaning with.
No one has the real answer??? To what question? Fact is, there is no question we are trying to answer - because none of us is part of the solution.
There is a question - what is going on in the gulf? None of us has the absolute answer to that, and I don't think any of us claim to have the answer. But some of us do have the answer to what is not going on in the gulf. Anything that is not consistent with the math and science required to harvest oil from far beneath the sea is quite definately not happening. It is possible to be certain of that. There are right and wrong answers on math and science tests. When dealing with math and science, it is possible to say this answer is not correct. On tests. And in real life.
The folks populating this blog are supposed to be a cut above. Given that, everyone should care whether their speculation is mathematically and scientifically possible. If you don't care, then your credibility is destroyed without saying another word.
"There is a question - what is going on in the gulf? None of us has the absolute answer to that"
We're done here.
EDIT: Now why did you have to go and edit your last post. No need for a retort with that last bit thrown in - I agree.
If you are talking to RicharP, to what last post are you referring? The one directly above?
I don't think I edited that post. I do post my comments before I am finished, tho. Just to secure my place in line, so to speak. Perhaps you saw my comment before I was finished. Sorry if my last paragraph bothers you. In my mind, too many people here and elsewhere are saying, in effect, that they don't care whether they pass their math and science finals. To me, if they are that disinterested in getting the math and science right, they shouldn't be making comments about things that involve math and science. To me, that is a no-brainer. But obviously others don't agree. Fortunately, they are not the ones working on the solution to the blowout.
I agree with your last paragraph. Read my post again.
Can someone please inform me about the actual quality of the oil ? From what BP said initially, is this light crude (like most of the lower 48) or is this a heavy crude, such as what we'd see from South America ?
My personal view is that the GoM is huge and that most of the oil will not actually reach the beaches and hence it will be difficult, legally and technically, to throw a fine to BP for the oil volume that stays in suspension or which never comes to light in that sense. BP will probably commit to funding some long-term research on the matter through a well-respected agency and to keep an eye on the beaches, but other than that.....how can you legally enforce something that can't be demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt ?
Enough of Matt Simmons now please and enough scare-mongering.
Why are you trying to sound like my mom?
It's really freaking me out.
The 7/21/2010 report from Bob Berwyn about the latest NOAA vessles work in the gulf sure sounds like everything is still pending. Simmons makes it sound like its conclusive. hmmm. Any suggestions where to go to confirm the cover up Simmons is talking about?
Incidentally, Simmons had been pursuing wind turbine production of NH3 in the Gulf Of Main. Most interesting and worth the time for edification on the science/technolegy.
Any suggestions where to go to confirm the cover up ...
You could call British Petroleum.
Serious question: if BP and the Feds are the only ones who have access to the center of activity in the gulf, who out there knows enough about anything to have evidence of a cover up? Anybody can claim coverup. That doesn't make them right. I'm asking, who out there is in a legitimate position to claim coverup? Nobody but BP and the Feds can see what is actually happening.
I could say the fact that the well has been capped and no more oil is gushing into gulf speaks volumns about the progress being made, coverup or no. But how do I know the well has actually been capped? On the other hand, who is in a position to provide evidence that it has not been capped?
What is that they say about being able to hold two contradictory thoughts in your mind at the same time? BP both lies and tells the truth.
I'm going to bed. I'll probably dream about farmers and hunters and blacksmiths and such. Folks who were self-sufficient enough once that they could dare challenge the status quo. (My daughter is visiting Jamestown and Coloniel Williamsburg and Monticello this week.) We'll need to pull those folks together to go help the fishermen in the gulf when this is over. Oh, that's right. They are being put on BP's payroll as we speak (the folk's self-sufficient enough to stand up to corporations.) Nevermind.
This may be the longest comment string ever on ZH. Notwithstanding the animosity (Fight Club mode) of the non-scientists towards the scientifically trained, it is clear that the majority of the commentors have no knowledge base upon which to evaluate Simmons' claims. But it should be obvious that Simmons is intentionally making outrageous claims to create controversy, either to create buzz for his consulting business, or to assist BP in sowing confusion about the true situation. Why the government would choose to keep the populace in the dark is another issue, but with the state of public education demonstrated in today's comments, they really don't have to try, as most of our commentators seem unwilling or unable to seriously think about which claims could possibly be true. Even if you don't know enough science to drill your own well, there have been sufficient clues deduced from what has been reported to conclude that the well is damaged, and may not be reparable. This would keep the hole leaking at some significant rate until the formation bleeds out enough for the pressure to equilibrate. Whether the floor of the Gulf collapses (possible but not likely) or not, this could be a very large volume of oil.
With the oil being released at a depth of 5000 feet, and especially if dispersant is used, it is not assured that the oil will float. Crude oil ranges from very light to heavier that water. Without the gas in it, this oil would have a gravity just a few percent below sea water. Thus it would tend to float upwards, but could take a long time to reach the surface. Hurricanes do not have much impact on deep water, so a hurricane is not an automatic disaster that delivers all the escaped oil into the Louisiana marshes. However, those marshes are already damaged from early oil losses that did not see dispersant and floated quickly, and that damage will take years to recover. BP in its mindless pursuit of profits has clearly disregarded environmental impacts of its sloppy greed, probably because your government has told them to do so (previous liability limit was $75MM). Now the government realizes that this event will create damages in the billions, and changes the law retroactively. Makes good politics, but will not undo the damage done to the ecosystem.
I think Simmons is being conservative, it will cost over a trillion easy. Because there is a media black out and now a cover up, this will get allot worse. Democracy Now! is super lib like WBAI here in Manhattan put will let the truth come out. The Obama cult should be feared for letting there own children swin in the toxic waters of gulf. 10 min news clip interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lSdIkZX-qs
tin foil hat country - reading that flakes interpretation of events.
pull the plug on that guy.
gold can be made into a thinner foil and is denser so much better at blocking radiation
And let's not forget this other huge part of the BP/Obama farse:
http://www.financialpost.com/Avertible+catastrophe/3203808/story.html#ixzz0sGacwW4e