Stupak: Oil well's blowout preventer had leaks, dead battery, design flaws

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

Stupak: Oil well's blowout preventer had leaks, dead battery, design flaws

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 12, 2010; 1:53 PM

A senior House Democrat said that the blowout preventer that failed to stop an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico had a dead battery in its control pod, leaks in its hydraulic system, a "useless" test version of one of the devices that was supposed to close the flow of oil and a cutting tool that wasn't strong enough to shear through joints that made up 10 percent of the drill pipe.

In a devastating review of the blowout preventer that BP said was supposed to be "fail-safe," Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said in a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday that the device was anything but fail-safe.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) pressed BP on why it had assured regulators in its exploration plan that it could deal with a spill 50 times larger than the current one when the current one seems to have defied control technology. "The American people expect you to have a response comparable to the Apollo project, not 'Project Runway,' " Markey said.

Stupak said that the committee investigators had also uncovered a document prepared in 2001 by the drilling rig operator Transocean that said there were 260 "failure modes" that could require removal of the blowout preventer.

"How can a device that has 260 failure modes be considered fail-safe?" Stupak said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/12/AR2010051202190.html?hpid=topnews

[BootinUp]

1. The problem is we need to de-regulate these fuckers.

:sarcasm:

[pundaint]

3. If you mean that in the sense of taking a divers regulator when he's 150 feed down, YES!

[breadandwine]

5. Yep, deregulate the oil industry. Unleash their full natural potential!!!!!!

Pay no attention to this:




•••••• Video - BP's "Crack In The World" - from 1965 movie to real life nightmare ••••••

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8269354&mesg_id=8269354

[breadandwine]

6. Here's what we need ----

••••• Video - PLAN B - Nuke the oil leak!!!! The Russians did it. Should we????? •••••


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8298323

[breadandwine]

7. What we need is drill baby drill!!!!!!!

•••••• Video - Had enough of "Drill Baby Drill"? Maybe you need more.......... ••••••••




http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8302834&mesg_id=8302834

[breadandwine]

8. Get rid o' them lousy rer-gya-lators and Dermacrits !!!!!!

And we don't need no STINKIN' public hearings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Shut em up and shut em down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JDPriestly]

2. And are these devices installed in other rigs? How many?

[dipsydoodle]

4. As far as I'm

NONE. There is/was no requirement in the USA.

[Texifornia]

9. Every well drilled has a BOP

Their failure rate is one of the "dirty little secrets" of the oil & gas industry.

[Strelnikov_]

11. Every one n/t

[Strelnikov_]

12. "Blowout at Lodgepole" Part 1 is a good overview of BOP/drilling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp9jMIXz1dg

[daleo]

15. I went through that one, living in Edmonton Alberta

It went on for weeks, months - the air was foul. It was clear that the companies were trying to do things on the cheap, and didn't care about the million people affected by the gas. I have thought about the similarity to the current situation - the scale is much different, but there are similarities in terms of politics and corporate greed.

[Mark D.]

10. This Is A World Emergency

Not a corporate emergency. Not that of a few states or even the gulf. Not even a national emergency. Every available navy, should be involved in containment efforts. Every available engineer, including the worlds largest weapons manufacturer, GE, should be trying to figure out a mechanical solution. Every scientist, including those in Switzerland looking for black holes, need to get involved. Drop whatever they are doing if it's not an urgent priority. If it's not more urgent than this, which it likely is not. No holds barred, no expense spared (BP and Haliburton will ultimately pay for any and all expenses for those involved, but lets get this solved first). I know BP did it, I know the coast guard is the government hand in the clean-up, and they are 'working on it' but it is not enough. Everyone who has a voice needs to cry out for the need for the entire world to work together.

Let the UN, if it's actually good for anything, be the central planner for this effort. Even at the low estimate of 200,000 gallons a day, if that were true. Even just one day adds immeasurable damage to the world's future in fishing and marine life. I don't know exactly how all of the above will figure out how to stop this, and clean it up in a non-toxic way. I only know if they all work together, they can. If they wait until the oil is washing onto Europe's shores (it's just a matter of time) should it be as bad as they say it could be (a million gallons a day) and it does take the 3 months for BP to stop this, it will be too late. Rather than get mad at corporate corner-cutting that allows these disasters, in an under-enforced, under-regulated market, this has to be the focus of our demands. Economic crisis or not, the world can't afford NOT to get involved. RIGHT NOW!

[breadandwine]

16. Meanwhile, President Obama looks like a deer-caught-in-headlights.

He was for offshore oil drilling before he was against it or something. This is the problem with caving in to the GOP. He looks ridiculous in the midst of the crisis trying to play all sides of the issue and unable to show a firm hand of leadership. He can't figure out whose side he's on.

"If you run a Republican against a Republican, the Republican will win every time."

-----Harry Truman.

[Lagomorph]

13. Here's how the last one went.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I

[northernlights]

14. criminal negligence. homicide. speciescide. millions of lives destroyed

by these lying, greedy fuckers.

Please, US, PLEASE, take the reins and call the shots. If necessary, IMPLODE that BP GUSHER SHUT.

And then FINE BP, Halliburton, Transocean and MMS (yes, the porn-dogs that didn't do their jobs) INTO OBLIVION. And jail the "leaders" who signed off on this mess. :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: