Louisiana oil disaster (merged thread)

James:

Somehow, I think being "in" the industry - and a diver and photographer, so you both have some affinity for the environment and know the consequences of crap going wrong - makes you one of the LEAST biased to opine on the matter. I mean, there are well-established rigs in the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary, and diving off their legs is one of the highlights of the trip!! (I'm sure you know that, I'm just pointing out for some others that don't that drilling and environmental stewardship aren't exactly polar opposites.)*

One could make a quite convincing argument that if all the extremists hadn't blocked shallower-water drilling, perhaps there might not be quite so much focus on deep-water locales which have certainly exacerbated this particular event. Then again, I think most wells in the North Atlantic definitely qualify for 'deep water' if only because of the way the shelf drops off up there....so maybe its wrong for me to be blaming 'deep water' in part for current events. Maybe the unprecedented part is more the complete failure of the BOP.

Anyway, it is important to hear what you know, I think. There's a firestorm of fingerpointing coming down the pike, and the "lack of regulation" seems to be one of the common media memes. Regulatory capture and noncompliance -- if present -- no doubt should be pointed out (and rooted out). But regulatory capture is a government failing, not an industry one.

And if on the other hand, regulation and CYA delays slowed the cleanup effort (did Jindal ever get his approval to build sand berms or did he just go ahead and do it instead of waiting for them to get their fingers out?), then that even more underscores the failure on the administrative, not industry, side of the fence.

Somehow I don't think there will be any winners once this is all over...what little has been in the news about procedures followed as the rig prepped to move do sound like someone took a shortcut. Despite that, I do think that a lot of the pressure on "the industry" is nothing more than a sideshow and distraction to allow the usual suspects to tidy up their own fouled nests.

*speaking of which, I'd love to get a chance to meet you and buy you a beer on the Fling or Spree after a day of diving some time. You can laugh at both my poor camera skills and poor air retention...

All this administration gives a damn about is who to blame, whose 'ass to kick', they're lawyers remember.

I know little about the oil industry but it seems to me that a lot of very clever people are working overtime to achieve the impossible and are pushing the technology envelope like they would in a war-time situation to solve a problem that is occurring a great distance from the surface. Threatening to fire top people sounds too much like that war-time German leader getting rid of his best generals because things weren't turning out too well...

Sadly, the investors (often pension funds) will be the ones to lose out in the end (in addition to those on the coast) because someone will have to stump up the money for the punitive fines threatened and it will reflect in the share price.

I know little about the oil industry but it seems to me that a lot of very clever people are working overtime to achieve the impossible and are pushing the technology envelope like they would in a war-time situation to solve a problem that is occurring a great distance from the surface. Threatening to fire top people sounds too much like that war-time German leader getting rid of his best generals because things weren't turning out too well...

Sadly, the investors (often pension funds) will be the ones to lose out in the end (in addition to those on the coast) because someone will have to stump up the money for the punitive fines threatened and it will reflect in the share price.

You are quite right John, and a good 40% of that money will be going into some lawyers' pockets. They're already gearing up here for the bonanza; and unfortunately it's coming all the way from the top at the White house. The press spokesman today was already indicating that they expect BP to pay for lost wages even for those workers on rigs unrelated to the accident but who have lost hours as a result of the present moratorium imposed after the spill.........

You are quite right John, and a good 40% of that money will be going into some lawyers' pockets. They're already gearing up here for the bonanza; and unfortunately it's coming all the way from the top at the White house. The press spokesman today was already indicating that they expect BP to pay for lost wages even for those workers on rigs unrelated to the accident but who have lost hours as a result of the present moratorium imposed after the spill.........

It's getting very risky for companies in other countries to do any business in the USA. Even my sister-in-law, British the legal director of a big American International, is getting concerned that should anything go wrong she might get dragged off to jail in America under laws intended to counter international terrorism!

Found today on Facebook:

1,000,000 People Who Want to Plug the BP Oil Spill with Sarah Palin

Category:

Common Interest - Politics

Description:

Sometimes, disaster calls for thinking outside the box. A radical departure from the norm, if you will.

And sometimes, the ability to shift your view, to change the paradigm, to think far beyond the conventional wisdom, gives you the opportunity to alter more than one mistake and give dual purpose - in other words, killing two birds with one stone.

Now, we have been presented with the opportunity to not only plug the worst oil spill in U.S. history, but also the opportunity to finally find a purpose for Sarah Palin the erstwhile former Vice-presidential candidate and current $100,000 a gig convention speaker.

Ms. Palin's "Drill Baby Drill" showed her drive and initiative, and we have no doubt that when we hit one million people, she'll show her resolve, and take one for the team, doing what no one else on earth has been able to do - stop the BP Oil spill disaster by allowing herself to be the plug that ends the 798,000 gallon-a-day leak that threatens to destroy our coasts.

Post deleted ... just venting