Tin Foil time...why did so many oil rigs "break free?"

[Atman]

Okay, I know this was a strong storm. But hell, we've had oil rigs in the North Sea, in Katrina-like conditions all the time, that don't break free and drift upriver. WTF? And now, all we hear about is how the poor oil companies don't have enough refining capacity. Is this the set-up for BushCo's new America Funds Refineries program? Didn't anyone think to check the mooring lines? Anything?

Sorry...I'm just venting. A few days of this shit, and I am just at a loss. We saw the rise of the human spirit after the Asian tsunami's. Yet here at home, all I'm seeing is the worst of people, almost of them beuarocrats or government officials or some such. When will America learn? Republicans have NO LEADERSHIP ABILITIES. Their primary role is to whine about how unfair rich people have it at the hands of the teeming masses out to take their stuff. That and war war war. Every freaking time. Ugh. I guess I need thicker tin foil.

[ck4829]

1. Details please

If this is true, the price of oil will skyrocket.

[htuttle]

4. A link from yesterday

Apparently CNBC reported that the Coast Guard said seven rigs were adrift:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1737189

I thought I'd also read that the LOOP terminal was underwater yesterday (they never got around to increasing it's height as they'd planned), but I had the impression that the water was going to recede at some point.

[CottonBear]

2. Category 5 Hurricane = oil rigs on the loose.

NOLA Mayor is pissed off. This morning he said that NOLA is a NATIONAL disaster because there will be NO oil production in the gulf and that 25% of the US domestic oil supply is processed through the NO & Gulf Coast refineries and ports.

[pecwae]

3. Good question

I was listening to a Repub engineer Monday night saying those rigs are built for 250 MPH winds and the ONLY trouble they would experience is to have to stop pumping for a time. I'd like to hear his explanation now.

[Kagemusha]

10. Yes, they have to stop pumping because THEY'VE MOVED.

So the engineer wasn't realy wrong, was he. (Just economical with the truth. Miser.)

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. When is the last time that an oil rig broke loose during a

hurricane?

I don't remember EVER hearing of that happening.

[jim3775]

7. When is the last time a cat5 hit a bunch of oil rigs?

Never, until now.

[Atman]

17. Wrong, Jim

This is not the first time, not by a longshot.

[Zynx]

15. Ivan and Dennis both did.

Dennis destroyed a super rig as well.

[AngryAmish]

6. Because they got hit by a big hurricane.

It is all over the news.

[AlCzervik]

8. Now you stop making sense!!

:D

[theboss]

9. We actually should build more refineries

But that's an issue for another day.

I imagine the reason the rigs broke free is that there was a very large storm there this week.

[Spinzonner]

11. I assume they're designed to break free

under a given load and stay relatively intact.

Rigid things BREAK with sufficient force.

It's much better to let them float free and then haul them back on-station than have to perform significant repair or reconstruct them.

[AngryAmish]

12. See Texas Tower

[edhopper]

13. "But hell, we've had oil rigs in the North Sea,

in Katrina-like conditions all the time"
No, the North Sea can be rough, with high and occasionally really big rogue waves. But there is nothing like Katrina at Cat. 5 there.
And rigs there have been damaged and lost.

[Zynx]

16. Indeed. The North Sea is bad, but never Cat. 5 bad or anything close.

A cat 5 or even a 4 is a lot different than a little bit of rough wave action.

[Atman]

14. A couple of points...

First and foremost, when a post acknowledges its roots in "tin foil hat" territory, would it be too much to ask that you read it that way? I didn't make a post stating "I think oil companies deliberately scuttled their rigs!" now, did I? I posed a question that has been bugging me, for good reason. Those of you with the snide, condecending remarks, save 'em for the "serious" posts. This was a "throwing an idea in the air" post. Lighten up.

Second, speaking of lightening up, I did a Google on Camille and oil rigs and found very little mention of any. Actually, I found one result which mentioned an oil rig "leaking," but not about any breaking free and drifting ashore. Sorry. And remember, Camille had 25 foot surges and 200 mph winds. Hmmm. That's all...hmmmm.

Finally, this is almost off-topic, but well worth a read...Richard Nixon's reaction to Camille, found in one search...

---

Immediately after President Nixon sent 1,000 federal troops into the area, Governor John Williams declared martial law. Using federal troops and state police, all roads leading into the area where the eye had crossed the coast were sealed off. Military and local police imposed a curfew. The first problem to overcome was the thousands of dead farm animals, pets, and wildlife. Camille's incredible storm surge had drowned thousands of animals. Heavy equipment was brought in to bury thousands of dead cows, horses and pets. Next, insects and rodents had quickly overrun the stricken area - feeding on dead animal carcasses and rotting food. Rattlesnakes, fire ants, and rats bit dozens of victims as they sifted through the rubble. In an attempt to control fire ants, low flying spray planes roared up and down the Mississippi coast, dropping 100,000 pounds of mirex.

The state and federal government supplied thousands of bulldozers and dump trucks to cart away the twisted wreckage. Some of the debris was simply burned. What was not burned - was buried. Convoys of dump trucks continued removing debris, day after day for the rest of 1969. The disaster relief effort after Hurricane Camille was the largest in United States history until Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Finding shelter for the army of homeless people proved to be a monumental task. As time passed, more of Camille's homeless found shelter or left the area permanently.

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm

So, Bush...now is your Nixon moment. Better take it, because your next "Nixon moment" is likely to trump even this one...your fucking resignation!