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BP's Gulf Oil Well May Be Leaking AGAIN: "The Oil May Be Coming From Cracks And Fissures In The Seafloor"
As I noted last year, the seafloor under BP's leaking Gulf oil well cracked, and could leak for years.
Successful New Orleans attorney Stuart Smith - lead counsel in a lawsuit that resulted in a $1.056 billion dollar verdict against ExxonMobil for contaminating land and attempting to cover it up - says that it is leaking again.
Smith wrote yesterday:
No, this isn’t a post from last year. Oil from the Macondo Well site is fouling the Gulf anew – and BP is scrambling to contain both the crude and the PR nightmare that waits in the wings. Reliable sources tell us that BP has hired 40 boats from Venice to Grand Isle to lay boom around the Deepwater Horizon site – located just 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The fleet rushed to the scene late last week and worked through the weekend to contain what was becoming a massive slick at the site of the Macondo wellhead, which was officially “killed” back in September 2010.
The truly frightening part of this development, as reported in a previous post (see below), is the oil may be coming from cracks and fissures in the seafloor caused by the work BP did during its failed attempts to cap the runaway Macondo Well – and that type of leakage can’t be stopped, ever.
Catch up on how this could possibly be happening – again – by reading or re-reading my July 25 post below. Stay tuned as we will be all over this story as it continues to develop.
Is BP’s Macondo Well Site Still Leaking? Fresh Oil on the Gulf Raises Concerns and Haunting Memories
Fresh oil is surfacing all over the northern quadrant of the Gulf of Mexico. Reports of slicks that meander for miles and huge expanses of oil sheen that look like phantom islands are becoming common, again. Fresh oil, only slightly weathered, is washing ashore in areas hit hardest by last year’s massive spill, like Breton Island, Ship Island, the Chandeleurs and northern Barataria Bay. BP has reactivated its Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program to handle cleanup. It’s a sickeningly familiar scene that has fishermen, researchers and public officials searching for answers, as haunting memories of last year’s calamity come roaring back.
The fifty-thousand-dollar question, of course, is where is all the new oil coming from?
One theory: The Macondo Well site, located just 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, is still leaking untold amounts of oil into the Gulf. Some argue that the casing on the capped well itself is leaking. Others believe oil is seeping through cracks and fissures in the seafloor caused by months of high-impact work on the site, including a range of recovery activities (some disclosed, some not) as well as the abortive “top kill” effort.
In January 2011, a prominent “geohazards specialist” wrote an urgent letter to two members of Congress – U.S. Reps. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and John Shimkus, chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and Economy – suggesting that the Macondo site is leaking oil like a sieve. Here’s an excerpt from that letter (see it in its entirety at link below):
There is no question that the oil seepages, gas columns, fissures and blowout craters in the seafloor around the Macondo wellhead… have been the direct result of indiscriminate drilling, grouting, injection of dispersant and other undisclosed recover activities. As the rogue well had not been successfully cemented and plugged at the base of the well by the relief wells, unknown quantities of hydrocarbons are still leaking out from the reservoir at high pressure and are seeping through multiple fault lines to the seabed. It is not possible to cap this oil leakage.
BK Lim, the letter’s author, has more than 30 years of experience working inside the oil and gas industry for companies like Shell, Petronas and Pearl Oil.
More from Mr. Lim’s letter:
The continuing hydrocarbon seepage would have long term, irreversible and potentially dire consequences in the GOM (Gulf of Mexico)…
The letter is dated Jan. 14, 2011 – and we’ve been seeing more and more evidence that the scenario Mr. Lim describes is indeed taking place deep below the Gulf’s surface.
For example, on March 28, 2011, Paul Orr and his team from the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper – an organization I’ve worked with frequently over the course of the last year – conducted a 50-mile boat patrol and sampling tour of Breton Sound, which lies just off the southeast coast of Louisiana. The excursion was prompted by multiple, increasingly frantic, reports of oil in the area by fishermen and others, including On Wings of Care pilot Bonny Schumaker, who has dozens of Gulf flyovers under her belt.
Mr. Orr took a sample from the southern end of Breton Island National Park – and sure enough, lab-certified tests results established a fingerprint match to BP’s Macondo Well (see link to my previous post and test results below).
The most alarming part of the finding was not simply that the Breton Island sample had BP’s fingerprint on it, but that the test results were nearly identical to those from the fresh oil seen in the early days of the BP spill – instead of the heavily weathered and degraded oil we’ve come to expect in recent weeks and months.
Those test results seem to disprove the other theory surrounding this spate of recent “fresh oil” reports. That is: All the oil BP strategically sunk to the seafloor with nearly 2 million gallons of toxic dispersant is beginning to break free and rise to the surface en masse, and in turn, blacken the coastline with fresh oil. According to civil engineer and petroleum expert, Marco Kaltofen, oil that has been lying on the seafloor for several months would be much significantly more weathered than the fresh oil we’re seeing more and more of.
As you’ll notice from the histograms, the Breton Island sample mirrors the submerged oil sampled from Pensacola Bay on Nov. 5, 2010 (see link to original post with histograms below) and a sample taken from Panama City Beach on July 14, 2010. You don’t have to be a marine biologist to see that this is the same oil with nearly identical weathering.
So we had fresh oil with BP’s signature on it coming ashore in March – more than eight months after the Macondo Well was capped. And since then, members of my team and other researchers have reported fresh oil, of the “only slightly weathered” variety from Grand Isle to Pensacola. One charter boat fishing captain, who frequents the waters around Louisiana’s barrier islands, is describing the current, hauntingly familiar situation on the Gulf as the “second wave” of the BP disaster.
Read my entire July 25 post (with referenced documents) here: http://www.stuarthsmith.com/is-bps-macondo-well-site-still-leaking-fresh-oil-on-the-gulf-raises-concerns-and-haunting-memories
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it probably never stopped leaking and isnt corexit (which i hear they are still spraying) the real problem. gulf depopulation , agenda 21 on target
Corexit, every time ;-)
Did you know that Nalco Chemical is the exclusive producer of the Corexit line of chemicals and is Owned by Goldman Sachs?
Dah da dah dah da da da dah.....
I'll take the box for TARP, Mr. Paulson!
Speaking of Godman Sachs:
http://www.truth-out.org/goldman-sachs-vp-changed-his-name-now-advances-...
Yes of course.Its the new way of marketing your goods ,kinda like Chertoff and his Naked body scanners mandated to airports.
Right out of the chicago criminal bible just ask Rohm how it is done.
Crisis-solution= positive stock valuation on what is in their portfolio.
So easy a criminal can do it.
there is much more to the story however.
Wrong. GS owns less than 1% of the stock. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=NLC+Major+Holders
ehhhhhhhhh!
Well this may look bad at least the Japanese have Fukashima under control.
The Main Stream, Lame Ass Media, which is all owned by 6 corporations, and which is given the same exact talking points and regurgitated 'facts' and 'stories' to report, has said it's all better now, and to eat more crude oil-corexit steeped Gulf Seafood, and to go enjoy lots of water exposure time off the coast of Louisiana, Mississipi, Alabama & Florida.
So, what's the problem?
One common thread in the media is Prince Al Waleed aka Saudi Arabia Inc aka the King of Saudi Arabia. They are major shareholders, business & joint venture partners with ALL the networks. The Saudis are a LOT closer with Israel than the public knows. They have a mutual enemy in Shia muslims and the goyim/infidels.
Always, ALWAYS, follow the power trail/angle... Nationalism, labels, whatever, meainginless, it's about power and control. They'll all lose in the end, as their paradigm is over-leveraged.
To segue off your excellently sarcastic comment, I suspect the major problem --- which they haven't reported yet, of course --- is that mutated MUTATED BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA which appears to have come about thanks to Corexit mixing with those genetically-modified oil-eating bacterium and naturally-occurring amoeba down there in the Gulf, and spreading throughout the lower mainland's river system.
Of course, those Wall Street devils appear not to possess human brains, so it won't be a problem to them.
I read a book about that were eventually they consumed all the oil in the world.
I have not seen oil and my friends with boats have not seen it. My screen name is where I live (near Pensacola Beach).
How about this http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/fort-walton-fl-covered-in-oil-and-dispersant-photos and this http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/7-mile-oil-slick-found-in-gulf-of-mexico-local-official-believes-its-from-bp-disaster
It is still leaking and going ashore from Grand Isle, La. to Gulf Breeze, Fla.; lies are not working anymore. Long time Gulf resident here that works for a Major oil Company (20 years).
I was there Sat & Sun. and saw a few tar balls ( on a paddle board). I have no reason to lie. That site is full of it. I have no agenda and own a small importing business. Just stating what I observe and hear. BP is screwing multiple freinds and business here.
Have youd been fishing or sailing offshore (30 or 40 miles)?
The local fisherman (if they are still in business) will be able to tell you what is going on out there.
Amazing
The lies never stop with you GW. Ans all you idiots who eat it up are just as bad. Story is completely false and a total lie - just lie your 9/11 theories you traitor bastard.
Wow, this post was so faabuulous, you convinced me. You convinced me that:
Troll = Moron.
Thanks for (not) posting!
Should have known GW would be a truther as well. What a piece of work.
My phantom JUNK-button is tingling...
Go back to your american idol and dancing with the stars.
Don't forget the Jersey Shore re-runs!
No, wait. It must be from "cracks in the sea floor" because BP fractured the geological structure that GW's expert is wrong about. Try picking some credible sources some time, GW.
feel free to go back to the oil drum anytime snakehead...in fact you must be lost, I'm sure that's where you ment to post you're comments...this is zero hedge in case you're confused about where you are...
Hey, don't insult The Oil Drum... if Snake head posted a comment like that on TOD it would be taken to tasked. The blog section is "not as lose" as it is on ZH.
GW is wrong. The earth's surface has cracks and seeps all through the ocean floor including volcanic ports spewing out lava or steam. Oil seeps through these cracks around the world. This is normal. BP or the other contractors did not damage the sea floor's crust. Geez. I don't work for an oil company or own any stock.
The earth's core is like a nuke reactor. The heat creates more oil 24x7.
While I agree with everything else you say, none of us know how BP actions have affected the GoM seafloor. Even though seepage occurs naturally, their actions could've significantly altered the flow rate.
Given this falls under the jurisdiction of organized crime (read: government), I'd say we'll likely never know the truth.
No confusion at all. GW spent half of last year posting embarrassing, baseless nonsense about Macondo. What's too bad is that ZH has a contingent of tin hatters who'd be better off at Godlike Productions.
Oh, boy! You really convinced me to believe YOUR position (whatever the fuck it is)! Go run off and play in the sandbox, junior, this is for people who actually know HOW to debate, who understand the concept of applying logical analysis.
Wow, it's like a big oil cheerleading troll reunion here!
Keep sucking up to power guys. Slurp, slurp, slurp. You'll get your reward no doubt about it, just keep sucking.
You too - back to your american idol.
There are 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf including 3200 that aren't plugged properly. Of course this slick must be from Macondo and Matt Simmons was right even though his phantom oil hole has been spewing for 16 months and there's been no sign of oil from it because it was creating a heavier-than-water lake of oil on the bottom that would have filled the Gulf by now based on his "estimate" of leakage rate. Get a grip.
It would be really "nice" if a qualified independant third party had access to all the BP data, etc.. to confirm that Macondo is indeed plugged and not leaking.
And yes there are other documented wells in the area that are leaking and were leaking before Macondo, so it is possible that Macondo is not leaking.
A web site by the name of Sky Truth has been documenting these leaks via satelite photos.
http://oilspill.skytruth.org/
that why he got "heart attack" right after his rant ?
Oh well ...
Oh yeah, that heart attack. The one where he was found simultaneously drowned of a heart attack in his hot tub in both Texas and Kennebunkport.
(Oh fuck me)
Gotta cite for your 3200 improperly capped wells?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/20/national/main20055594.shtml
Good man Snakehead. None of this is going to matter anyway 500 years from now.
its not the crude that is the problem. oil has probably been leaking on the sea floor forever. nature has a way of dealing that. the problem is the corexit 9500.....
Well HPD I read the MSDS for Corexit and it really isn't that bad, all else being equal. High percentage is propylene glycol, with kerosene like distillates, and most likely benzenesulfonic acid IIRC. The biggest problem is also its greatest benefit. Spreading out the hydrocarbons. Giant gobs of oil are terrible to look at, and see turtles and birds flopping around will not help the PR, but when oil is emulsified with Corexit, it spreads it out and has a worse effect, but one that is not as readily seen.
A huge amount of hydrocarbons have been introduced into the food chain, some fairly harmless, some not. The toxic ones are not the real problem, it is the ones that are mutagenic or teratogenic, mainly aromatic hydrocarbons. Killing one fish is nothing, killing off a generation, not good. The long term effects of lower reproduction of fish, and bio-accumulation is what is going to be seen for a while. Oil is readily eaten by many bacteria in nature, but takes time. Corexit may interrupt this breakdown, as colonies of bacteria cannot grow on small, widely dispersed volumes as well as larger amounts. Using a dispersant like Corexit reduces the visibility of the oil, but magnifies the effects.
pods
I see your point but how big is that reservoir? if this coming out of cracks in the floor and not the well head and if those cracks and fissures are expanding due to to pressure, the entire reservoir could bleed out with no way to stop it. that would very defiantly make crude the problem...
Unfortunatley, if the "leakage" rate is high enough, "nature's way" is a massive die-off with an eventual repopulation once the contimainants have worked through the system.
Of course, in the past things have tended to rebound well when the rest of the biosphere has been healthy and well populated. Now, we are already in the midst of a great extinction. It'll be a long time before things work themselves out on this go-round - and the world will look like a very different place I'm guessing.
mother earth will live on just fine...the question is will humans be able to survive....we could nuke the whole planet and it would all be a subduction zone eventually, earth would recover...but not humans
Yes - so true. there are way too many humans on the planet and you are one of them. You know what you need to do for the good of Gaia. Off yourself dude.
So it looks like Matt Simmons was right after all.
No, it not about the Matt Simmons nonsense.
The same nutters who believed in a leaking borehole miles from the well location are simply demonstrting (again) that they are still gullible.
Next Geo Wash will report that radiation from the Japanese nuke failure is seeping out from the GOM floor.
And it is all connected to that hole in Russia where noises of human torture can be heard from over 30,000 ft down. Those are the warnings.
Geo Wash swallowed too much Sigsby Salt on its bagel.
One troll, many screen names.
Hah!
Or, and I think this is at least as likely, you are a pathetic boot licking apologist for power angrily lashing out at anyone saying the Emperor has no clothes. Did I say at least as likely? I'm sorry I meant infinitely more likely. Go crawl back into your BP shill/shareholder hole and STFU.
Haven't seen you or Gasmiinder in awhile...salad days are here again for paid trolls/useful idiots.
Keep licking Barney's plug and he'll get you work in Washington, D.C. They have bridges there where you can move your refrigerator box.
With all the nonsense Geo Wash copies and pastes, it is obvious where the payments are being made. The new BP shorts will use the nutter, and you, to maybe break even on those positions they failed to cover before the well was plugged.
You have never posted anything here worth reading. Take the time to get an education beyond a Certificate of Attendance at Happy Hoppers play school. Maybe you will be able to find a productive job and learn some skills that are marketable (other than to Barney).