Drill, baby, drill!

[ace's n 8's]

Just heard; 1000 barrels leaking a day,,,,,, and it could take a few months to seal.

[Suze3221]

Originally Posted by stumbler

Shall we just fuck in front of them and scare the children?

Originally Posted by Kimiko

Funny you should say that...they're running in and out of here every three seconds or so.

Originally Posted by Suze3221

If this is the you two old timers having a pop at those members who dare to disagree with the you, i'd say you were a pair of patronising arseholes. I think, perhaps, Deidre isn't as crazy as we've been lead to believe.

Originally Posted by Kimiko

No, this is Stumbler saying he wants to fuck, and me telling Stumbler that I have two children who were running in and out of the room I'm in. What's WRONG with you?

Yeh, right... there you go. Being a patronising twat once again.

Originally Posted by stumbler

Or like one of my good friends did, got fired from the rig he'd worked on for nearly 15 years, and put out of the patch, because he told the truth about what killed one of the hands. And all for nothing Ace, because the last thing OSHA wants is the truth, so no one is going to pay except the guys that try to stand up against it.

Well, I don't know what the safety standards are at your end but it's taken very seriously here. You talk as if there's a death every day. Can that really be right?

Well folks, that's me just had the call to go offshore tomorrow. I'll bid thee farewell and hope I get the chance to talk to you all again...

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by ace's n 8's

Just heard; 1000 barrels leaking a day,,,,,, and it could take a few months to seal.

And I finally did see some pictures that had what appeared to me to be Gulf Coast Crude (its kind of a thin dark brown). But that does not explain to me why everything until now has looked more like condensate.

I would love to know these things.

The Total Depth of the well blowing out.

The average depth of oil wells around it.

How much open hole (no metal casing) the well blowing out has. If they have a lot of open hole the well could be blowing out of several pay zones at once.

I'm also really wondering why we haven't seen the remote control submarine video tapes of the well head. They've got them and lots of government agencies should be demanding them, which would then make them public record and we could all see it for ourselves.

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by Suze3221

Well, I don't know what the safety standards are at your end but it's taken very seriously here. You talk as if there's a death every day. Can that really be right?

There is somewhere in the world I can guarantee you. And I would bet there is an oilfield related death in the US every day.

But you can prove it to yourself. First, because even before you set foot on that offshore platform you were already aware of several famous fatalities. Second, within your first year, you'll start to know the names of some of those who died. And just hang there long enough and you'll see someone die in front of you.

Here's the truth. On the very best of rigs and circumstances I accepted the fact that no one nor nothing could protect me from all the variables we dealt with and my disability and death could result in an instant. I freely accepted that risk because that's what they were paying me for.

As an example I would bet the 11 people who died in that blow out were in the process of trying to save the rig and the drilling operation instead of their own lives when it exploded and caught fire (two different things).

And I think all of us should admire and respect the fact that one of the things they willingly agreed to do was save the rig or die trying.

But I've only seen the best of rigs and circumstances maybe twice in nearly 40 years in the oilfield. And I've known way more than 40 men who have died trying.

Originally Posted by Suze3221

Well folks, that's me just had the call to go offshore tomorrow. I'll bid thee farewell and hope I get the chance to talk to you all again...

And be safe and work hard out there Suze. It takes everybody. Have you made it up to see the rig floor yet? That's where the action is.

[Suze3221]

Originally Posted by stumbler

There is somewhere in the world I can guarantee you. And I would bet there is an oilfield related death in the US every day.

But you can prove it to yourself. First, because even before you set foot on that offshore platform you were already aware of several famous fatalities. Second, within your first year, you'll start to know the names of some of those who died. And just hang there long enough and you'll see someone die in front of you.

I really find it hard to believe there are so many deaths in your oilfields. Ok, i'm new to this and i've heard the horrific stories but I have never actually met anyone who's been part of a real evacuation, never mind witnessing a death. I worked in my old job for three years and witnessed a death. Not pretty but that's life! (or death )

Originally Posted by stumbler

And be safe and work hard out there Suze. It takes everybody. Have you made it up to see the rig floor yet? That's where the action is.

Us catering staff are the hardest workers!

The rig floor? *confused* They always take you a tour of the platform but you can't take anything in when you arrive, as they are so big, which is a pity. I still find it a buzz, looking out to sea and the only thing you can see is other rigs...

[stumbler]

One way a person can get an idea about how dangerous working in the oilfield is is by looking at the oilfield version of gallows humor.

Such as:

The Operation Manager had flown out to the offshore platform to meet with the Rig Superintendent and as they were walking towards his office they heard a scream and looked in that direction to see someone in mid air who had fallen off the rig.

"Oh my, is that an employee or a contractor"? The operation manager wanted to know.

"Well, right now he's an employee, but as soon as he hits the water he's a contractor," the Rig Superintendent reassured him.

(There were times I wanted to kill him, but I miss that fucking MusicMachine at times like these).

[Suze3221]

Haha! Good one and I totally get what you're saying. I remember MM but I don't remember why. He must have amused me somewhere along the line...

Ok, must go now as it'll be late before I get to Aberdeen. I wish they'd give me 24hrs notice!

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by Suze3221

I really find it hard to believe there are so many deaths in your oilfields. Ok, i'm new to this and i've heard the horrific stories but I have never actually met anyone who's been part of a real evacuation, never mind witnessing a death. I worked in my old job for three years and witnessed a death. Not pretty but that's life! (or death )

First, let's admit this. If I'm not mistaken your on platform in or near the North Sea. That means two things. First and foremost, a universal 50 year effort by everyone from Oil Company CEO's through the roughnecks and right down to the kitchen staff have gone into creating the highest standard of oilfield safety there is. For two very simple reason. One, its dangerous enough to work with heavy moving things but its a lot harder and more dangerous when the rig can and does move too.

But more importantly you can't afford mistakes on platforms because there is nowhere to run.

And you are working with not only some of the best and most experienced but also toughest fucking hands working in one of the hardest places in the world.

Originally Posted by Suze3221

Us catering staff are the hardest workers!

I believe that and one more. Sometimes no matter how tough they are roughnecks don't know what crybabies they can really be.

[QUOTE=Suze3221The rig floor? *confused* They always take you a tour of the platform but you can't take anything in when you arrive, as they are so big, which is a pity. I still find it a buzz, looking out to sea and the only thing you can see is other rigs...[/QUOTE]

Ok since I've always had one foot on dry ground and the other one close to it I may not know the proper term and you should school me. What I'm talking about is where they are actually drilling the hole. Sometime watching the roughnecks actually work their iron.

Done right (on dry land at least) it can be poetry in motion.

[ace's n 8's]

Originally Posted by stumbler

And I finally did see some pictures that had what appeared to me to be Gulf Coast Crude (its kind of a thin dark brown). But that does not explain to me why everything until now has looked more like condensate.

I would love to know these things.

The Total Depth of the well blowing out.

The average depth of oil wells around it.

How much open hole (no metal casing) the well blowing out has. If they have a lot of open hole the well could be blowing out of several pay zones at once.

I'm also really wondering why we haven't seen the remote control submarine video tapes of the well head. They've got them and lots of government agencies should be demanding them, which would then make them public record and we could all see it for ourselves.

Underwater Robots Deployed to Contain Massive Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Times of London

An oil slick covering 400 miles is threatening a slow-motion catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico’s delicate marine life, with 42,000 gallons a day now gushing from an uncapped well after a rig explosion.

• print
• email
• share
• recommend (0)

Debris and oil from the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform float in the Gulf of Mexico after the rig sank, off Louisiana April 22, 2010, in this handout photograph. The oil drilling rig that had burned for 36 hours in the Gulf of Mexico sank Thursday as hopes dimmed for 11 missing workers and the risk of a major oil spill loomed, officials said (Reuters).

An oil slick covering 400 miles is threatening a slow-motion catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico’s delicate marine life, with 42,000 gallons a day now gushing from an uncapped well after a rig explosion.
Two days after declaring that there was no leak and that oil on the surface was residue from on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that burst into a fireball on Tuesday, officials said the slick was coming from the seabed and was now 25 times the size it was on Friday.
"It’s 1,000 barrels (a day) emanating from 5,000 feet below the surface," said Rear-Admiral Mary Landry, of the U.S. Coast Guard, who is overseeing the emergency response. "Absolutely, this is a very serious oil spill."
BP, which leased the rig, said last week that it was doing everything in its power to contain the spill and resolve the situation "as rapidly, safely and effectively as possible," using underwater robots, 700 personnel, five aircraft, 32 vessels and nearly 200 miles of floating booms.
One third of the global supply of oil dispersant is ready to be deployed.
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by Suze3221

Haha! Good one and I totally get what you're saying. I remember MM but I don't remember why. He must have amused me somewhere along the line...

Ok, must go now as it'll be late before I get to Aberdeen. I wish they'd give me 24hrs notice!

Notice they did give you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Be packed up, out that door, and bitching every step of the way in an hour Suze. (international oilfield standard).

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by ace's n 8's

Underwater Robots Deployed to Contain Massive Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Times of London

An oil slick covering 400 miles is threatening a slow-motion catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico’s delicate marine life, with 42,000 gallons a day now gushing from an uncapped well after a rig explosion.

• print
• email
• share
• recommend (0)

Debris and oil from the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform float in the Gulf of Mexico after the rig sank, off Louisiana April 22, 2010, in this handout photograph. The oil drilling rig that had burned for 36 hours in the Gulf of Mexico sank Thursday as hopes dimmed for 11 missing workers and the risk of a major oil spill loomed, officials said (Reuters).

An oil slick covering 400 miles is threatening a slow-motion catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico’s delicate marine life, with 42,000 gallons a day now gushing from an uncapped well after a rig explosion.
Two days after declaring that there was no leak and that oil on the surface was residue from on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that burst into a fireball on Tuesday, officials said the slick was coming from the seabed and was now 25 times the size it was on Friday.
"It’s 1,000 barrels (a day) emanating from 5,000 feet below the surface," said Rear-Admiral Mary Landry, of the U.S. Coast Guard, who is overseeing the emergency response. "Absolutely, this is a very serious oil spill."
BP, which leased the rig, said last week that it was doing everything in its power to contain the spill and resolve the situation "as rapidly, safely and effectively as possible," using underwater robots, 700 personnel, five aircraft, 32 vessels and nearly 200 miles of floating booms.
One third of the global supply of oil dispersant is ready to be deployed.
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London

Ace, despite the excellent performance of the Times of London, you can't believe a fucking word of this because the Times ain't saying it. British Petroleum is.

Now just suppose Ace that BP stepped up there and said something like: Look, we really fucked up, we're blowing wide open, totally uncontrolled from multiple pay zones, and there's no way to stop it because our BOP's and floor valves failed.

We'll get it stopped but its going to take maybe about three months and until then there ain't really shit we can do about this.

I wouldn't fucking say that either. I'd say we were doing everything we could to stop the flow too. And just like them I wouldn't mention its the equivalent of trying to stick a wet noodle up a wildcat's ass either.

[ace's n 8's]

Originally Posted by stumbler

Ace, despite the excellent performance of the Times of London, you can't believe a fucking word of this because the Times ain't saying it. British Petroleum is.

Now just suppose Ace that BP stepped up there and said something like: Look, we really fucked up, we're blowing wide open, totally uncontrolled from multiple pay zones, and there's no way to stop it because our BOP's and floor valves failed.

We'll get it stopped but its going to take maybe about three months and until then there ain't really shit we can do about this.

I wouldn't fucking say that either. I'd say we were doing everything we could to stop the flow too. And just like them I wouldn't mention its the equivalent of trying to stick a wet noodle up a wildcat's ass either.

** drops head walks away ashamed** just trying to help, I thought that there was some relevant information in this publication,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,me sorry.......

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by ace's n 8's

** drops head** just trying to help, I thought that there was some relevant information in this publication,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,me sorry.......

Fuck you too Ace.

See you later.

[redeyed]

Shreveporttimes
Looks like you are right Stumbler in that they are hoping the robots wil help. Maybe they will get the BOP's closed..and it doesn't back feed through the stem..

[Kimiko]

Originally Posted by Suze3221

Yeh, right... there you go. Being a patronising twat once again.

Really? And who resorted first to name-calling? Try not to sleepwalk while your out there on that rig.

[love_chocolate]

You really don't think that the rig was blown up in anything but an accident, Think of all the shat that will be raised, I have worked on Rigs all over the world, and if you want to see some real fireworks, try a natural gas rig. Because of the nature and the oil business in particular, we always had the money to buy and operate the best safety equipment. It is the nature of the job, of course there are accidents, there will be, accidents happen. That is one of the reasons that the pay is among the highest. Anyway get over it, America has always had a love for her vehicles, and the gas and oil used to heat, and until America gets off of her dependance on oil and gas, then accidents will happen, as I said the nature of the business!

[RandyKnight]

Originally Posted by love_chocolate

You really don't think that the rig was blown up in anything but an accident, Think of all the shat that will be raised, I have worked on Rigs all over the world, and if you want to see some real fireworks, try a natural gas rig. Because of the nature and the oil business in particular, we always had the money to buy and operate the best safety equipment. It is the nature of the job, of course there are accidents, there will be, accidents happen. That is one of the reasons that the pay is among the highest. Anyway get over it, America has always had a love for her vehicles, and the gas and oil used to heat, and until America gets off of her dependance on oil and gas, then accidents will happen, as I said the nature of the business!

I agree completely but you wont make a lot of friends around here with those words..

Now gang all at once..LETS CONVERT TO NAT GAS LAND BASED !!!

[love_chocolate]

Originally Posted by RandyKnight

I agree completely but you wont make a lot of friends around here with those words..

Now gang all at once..LETS CONVERT TO NAT GAS LAND BASED !!!

Gee, I guess I have better get out my time worn copy of "How to make friends and influence people". I worked on the biggest gas field in the world for Exxon in Sumarta, as a matter of fact I spent alot of time in Indonesia. And yes, before you ask, it was land based!

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by love_chocolate

You really don't think that the rig was blown up in anything but an accident, Think of all the shat that will be raised, I have worked on Rigs all over the world, and if you want to see some real fireworks, try a natural gas rig. Because of the nature and the oil business in particular, we always had the money to buy and operate the best safety equipment. It is the nature of the job, of course there are accidents, there will be, accidents happen. That is one of the reasons that the pay is among the highest. Anyway get over it, America has always had a love for her vehicles, and the gas and oil used to heat, and until America gets off of her dependance on oil and gas, then accidents will happen, as I said the nature of the business!

By the looks of the flames it appeared to me the blowout has plenty of natural gas behind it as well as the oil.

And I don't think many people are paying attention but we are actually in the process of converting to natural gas and ethanol. The public relations campaign has already begun. Likewise it appears they are in the process of converting the northeastern seaboard to natural gas. They'll probably ship it to Louisiana first and then up the coast to double the tranportation costs but they're gettin' 'er done.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by redeyed

Shreveporttimes
Looks like you are right Stumbler in that they are hoping the robots wil help. Maybe they will get the BOP's closed..and it doesn't back feed through the stem..

Nope. The Times isn't a real fucking newspaper. Doesn't count. Here's a hint: I've had op-eds published in there!

[redeyed]

They are all saying the same thing...

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

Nope. The Times isn't a real fucking newspaper. Doesn't count. Here's a hint: I've had op-eds published in there!

Well that's enough for me.

Hey, you guys, cancel the Times of London.

[stumbler]

Hey you guys let me ask you a question. How deep is this well anyway?

I've been looking for the total depth in news stories, and even resorted to sending emails to reporters, for the past three days and can't find the answer to what is an absolutely essential and most basic factor in the fire, blowout, rig sinking, and efforts to kill the well.

HOW DEEP IS THE FUCKING WELL??

The fact I can't seem to find that I believe is a story all to itself.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by stumbler

Well that's enough for me.

Hey, you guys, cancel the Times of London.

No no no... the Times of LONDON is fine... the Times of SHREVEPORT is not.

[stumbler]

PS I should retract or at the very least alter one of my theories of what happened and how. They were not drilling when the explosion occurred. They were cementing with Halliburton which is just about the same as saying: "That figures."

Dick Cheney actually did for Halliburton the same thing he did for our nation. Run it into the ground and fuck it up nearly beyond repair.

Its gotten to the point that a woman called the police not long ago to report she'd been raped by a Halliburton hand.

The police said they would send an officer right over but wanted to know what made her so sure it a was a Halliburton hand that had raped her.

"Well," she said after a short pause, "I had to help him."

[redeyed]

Its aclually called The Shreveport Times

[King Nothing]

I'm aware. I used a rhetorical device to emphasize the difference between the two papers.

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

No no no... the Times of LONDON is fine... the Times of SHREVEPORT is not.

I thought you said you got published in the Times of London?

And I already wrote that paper in New Orleans that I can't pronounce and won't even try to spell.

Now Schultz, take off your boot and sock. I want to check to see if your toes are webbed.

[King Nothing]

ACK!!! I'm not a native! I'm not Dixie! No webbed footage, here!!!!!

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

ACK!!! I'm not a native! I'm not Dixie! No webbed footage, here!!!!!

Just checking. Not that I have anything against Coonasses (Louisana roughnecks). I like them and they are a lot of fun. You just need to know they are Coonasses, because hardly ever touching dry ground (hence the theoretical webbed toes) makes them crazier than Okies. Just something you want to consider before you say; "yeah sounds like a good idea to me."

We studied Justin Wilson for our research.

[redeyed]

Originally Posted by stumbler

Hey you guys let me ask you a question. How deep is this well anyway?

I've been looking for the total depth in news stories, and even resorted to sending emails to reporters, for the past three days and can't find the answer to what is an absolutely essential and most basic factor in the fire, blowout, rig sinking, and efforts to kill the well.

HOW DEEP IS THE FUCKING WELL??

The fact I can't seem to find that I believe is a story all to itself.

This is all I found, it says more than 18,000 feet..

[redeyed]

Originally Posted by stumbler

Just checking. Not that I have anything against Coonasses (Louisana roughnecks). I like them and they are a lot of fun. You just need to know they are Coonasses, because hardly ever touching dry ground (hence the theoretical webbed toes) makes them crazier than Okies. Just something you want to consider before you say; "yeah sounds like a good idea to me."

We studied Justin Wilson for our research.

Hell I always though it was the whiskey...

[redeyed]

And one from Beaumont.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ne...g_workers.html

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by stumbler

We studied Justin Wilson for our research.

Good lord, are you old?!

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by redeyed

And one from Beaumont.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ne...g_workers.html

YOU'RE A FUCKING ACE, RED.

Thanks man. Holy Shit, man 18,000 feet.

Here's the goods:

The semi-submersible rig has been under lease by BP since 2007. It had completed cementing and casing of an 18,000-foot exploratory well,

Like I thought, a wildcat. The good news this looks like a huge strike. The bad news is they might not have got their casing cemented and this well could come up around their well head, or break through the sea floor several hundred feet from the well. That would make if a Glory Hole which are a bitch to kill.

Originally Posted by King Nothing

Good lord, are you old?!

Let me put it this way King. Back when I broke out in the oilpatch we didn't drill holes, we didn't even have drilling rigs. Back when I broke out the whole crew would just run out there, grab a dinosaur, hit him in the head with a rock and then just wring the oil out of his tail.

And that's before the rigs were made of wood and the men were made of iron.

Which of course was way before the only skill, endurance and professionalism a roughneck needed was to be able to piss in a cup. Or in your better operations pour someone else's clean warm piss in a cup.

[King Nothing]

Right...



Goodness gracious, YOU CAN SEE THE OIL SPILL FROM SPACE!!!

At least it's heading to Florida.

[downwind]

Originally Posted by Whitey44

Obama and McCain were both craking me up when they were presenting their energy proposal packages during the campaign in 2008. Neither of them knew much about the topic and seemed to be making it up as they went along. :D

There is an arguement for electing people with technical backgrounds as leaders of countries. For example, Germany's Chancellor, Angelina Merkel, has a PhD in Physics.

And don't forget Herbert Hoover was a mechanical engineer

[ohms_law]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

At least it's heading to Florida.

That really is a good thing, actually. The coastal ecosystem is way more fragile then out in deeper water.

[King Nothing]

That and, if it hits Florida, it's fucking Florida.

And the shitty part of Florida on top of that!

[ohms_law]

haha

Yea! Fuck Florida!

[`üñö ñéöñ]

Thou shall taketh thy iron pipes and shoveth them in thy arse! As long as man continues raping Mother-Earth, he shall forever be the scourge of all existence.

[love_chocolate]

Originally Posted by stumbler

By the looks of the flames it appeared to me the blowout has plenty of natural gas behind it as well as the oil.

And I don't think many people are paying attention but we are actually in the process of converting to natural gas and ethanol. The public relations campaign has already begun. Likewise it appears they are in the process of converting the northeastern seaboard to natural gas. They'll probably ship it to Louisiana first and then up the coast to double the tranportation costs but they're gettin' 'er done.

Well of course, I expect that they would, got to make those almighty bucks, and keep the shareholders happy, and wanting to invest more!

[love_chocolate]

Originally Posted by stumbler

PS I should retract or at the very least alter one of my theories of what happened and how. They were not drilling when the explosion occurred. They were cementing with Halliburton which is just about the same as saying: "That figures."

Dick Cheney actually did for Halliburton the same thing he did for our nation. Run it into the ground and fuck it up nearly beyond repair.

Its gotten to the point that a woman called the police not long ago to report she'd been raped by a Halliburton hand.

The police said they would send an officer right over but wanted to know what made her so sure it a was a Halliburton hand that had raped her.

"Well," she said after a short pause, "I had to help him."

Well Hell at least she got it right!

[ace's n 8's]

Fire May Be Set in Attempt to Burn Off Oil Spill Off Gulf Coast


Times of London

The plan emerged as the Coast Guard warned that the oil rig disaster will develop into one of the worst spills in U.S. history if the well is not sealed.
Authorities dealing with the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico are considering deliberately setting fire to the petroleum on the sea's surface.
The plan emerged as the Coast Guard warned that the oil rig disaster will develop into one of the worst spills in U.S. history if the well is not sealed.
BP leases the Deepwater Horizon platform that exploded 50 miles from the Louisiana coast April 20, killing 11 workers. It is constructing a giant dome that could be placed over the leaks as a back-up plan to try to stop the oil from spreading.


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/28...ll-gulf-coast/

[ohms_law]

This thread has been way too serious, for way too long.


Drill, baby, drill!

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by ace's n 8's

Just heard; 1000 barrels leaking a day,,,,,, and it could take a few months to seal.

Oh look! BP lied. It's actually 5x worse than we were initially led to believe...


April 28, 2010
Size of Spill in Gulf of Mexico Is Larger Than Thought
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and LESLIE KAUFMAN
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/29spill.html

NEW ORLEANS — Government officials said late Wednesday night that oil might be leaking from a well in the Gulf of Mexico at a rate five times that suggested by initial estimates.

In a hastily called news conference, Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry of the Coast Guard said a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had concluded that oil is leaking at the rate of 5,000 barrels a day, not 1,000 as had been estimated. While emphasizing that the estimates are rough given that the leak is at 5,000 feet below the surface, Admiral Landry said the new estimate came from observations made in flights over the slick, studying the trajectory of the spill and other variables.

An explosion and fire on a drilling rig on April 20 left 11 workers missing and presumed dead. The rig sank two days later about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast.

Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for exploration and production for BP, said a new leak had been discovered as well. Officials had previously found two leaks in the riser, the 5,000-foot-long pipe that connected the rig to the wellhead and is now detached and snaking along the sea floor. One leak was at the end of the riser and the other at a kink closer to its source, the wellhead.

But Mr. Suttles said a third leak had been discovered Wednesday afternoon even closer to the source. “I’m very, very confident this leak is new,” he said. He also said the discovery of the new leak had not led them to believe that the total flow from the well was different than it was before the leak was found.

The new, far larger estimate of the leakage rate, he said, was within a range of estimates given the inexact science of determining the rate of a leak so far below the ocean’s surface.

“The leaks on the sea floor are being visually gauged from the video feed” from the remote vehicles that have been surveying the riser, said Doug Helton, a fisheries biologist who coordinates oil spill responses for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in an e-mail message Wednesday night. “That takes a practiced eye. Like being able to look at a garden hose and judge how many gallons a minute are being discharged. The surface approach is to measure the area of the slick, the percent cover, and then estimate the thickness based on some rough color codes.”

Admiral Landry said President Obama had been notified. She also opened up the possibility that if the government determines that BP, which is responsible for the cleanup, cannot handle the spill with the resources available in the private sector, that Defense Department could become involved to contribute technology.

Wind patterns may push the spill into the coast of Louisiana as soon as Friday night, officials said, prompting consideration of more urgent measures to protect coastal wildlife. Among them were using cannons to scare off birds and employing local shrimpers’ boats as makeshift oil skimmers in the shallows.

Part of the oil slick was only 16 miles offshore and closing in on the Mississippi River Delta, the marshlands at the southeastern tip of Louisiana where the river empties into the ocean. Already 100,000 feet of protective booms have been laid down to protect the shoreline, with 500,000 feet more standing by, said Charlie Henry, an oil spill expert for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, at an earlier news conference on Wednesday.

On Wednesday evening, cleanup crews began conducting what is called an in-situ burn, a process that consists of corralling concentrated parts of the spill in a 500-foot-long fireproof boom, moving it to another location and burning it. It has been tested effectively on other spills, but weather and ecological concerns can complicate the procedure.

Such burning also works only when oil is corralled to a certain thickness. Burns may not be effective for most of this spill, of which 97 percent is estimated to be an oil-water mixture.

A burn scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday was delayed. At 4:45 p.m., the first small portion of the spill was ignited. Officials determined it to be successful.

Walter Chapman, director of the Energy and Environmental Systems Institute at Rice University, said a 50 percent burn-off for oil within the booms would be considered a success. Admiral Landry called the burn “one tool in a tool kit” to tackle the spill. Other tactics include: using remote-controlled vehicles to shut off the well at its source on the sea floor, an operation that has so far been unsuccessful; dropping domes over the leaks at the sea floor and routing the oil to the surface to be collected, an operation untested at such depths that would take at least two to four more weeks; and drilling relief wells to stop up the gushing cavity with concrete, mud or other heavy liquid, a solution that is months away.

The array of strategies underscores the unusual nature of the leak. Pipelines have ruptured and tankers have leaked, but a well 5,000 feet below the water’s surface poses new challenges, officials said.

Reached in southern Louisiana on Wednesday, where he was visiting the response team’s command center, Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, said he did not yet know what went wrong with the oil rig. BP, which was leasing the rig from Transocean, is responsible for the cleanup under federal law.

Until Wednesday night, the well had been estimated to be leaking 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, each day.

The response team has tried in vain to engage a device called a blowout preventer, a stack of hydraulically activated valves at the top of the well that is designed to seal off the well in the event of a sudden pressure release — a possible cause for the explosion on the rig.

Mr. Hayward said the blowout preventer was tested 10 days ago and worked. He said a valve must be partly closed, otherwise the spillage would be worse.

There are a number of things that can go wrong with a blowout preventer, said Greg McCormack, director of the Petroleum Extension Service at the University of Texas, which provides training for the industry.

The pressure of the oil coming from below might be so great that the valves cannot make an adequate seal. Or in the case of a shear ram, which is designed to cut through the drill pipe itself and seal it off, it might have encountered a tool joint, the thicker, threaded area where two lengths of drilling pipe are joined.

Still, Mr. McCormack said, “something is working there because you wouldn’t have such a relatively small flow of oil.” If the blowout preventer were completely inoperable, he said, the flow would be “orders of magnitude” greater.

Mr. Hayward, of BP, said the crude spilling from the well was very light, the color and texture of “iced tea” and implied that it would cause less environmental damage than heavier crude, like the type that spilled from the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound in 1989. He said in most places it was no more than a micron thick and in the thickest areas was one-tenth of a millimeter, or the width of a hair.

Mr. Hayward declined to answer questions about any potential political fallout and said BP “will be judged primarily on the response.”

As the investigation into the cause continued, officials, scientists and those who make their living on the Gulf Coast were focused on the impending prospect of the oil’s landfall.

Campbell Robertson reported from New Orleans, and Leslie Kaufman from New York. Henry Fountain and Liz Robbins contributed reporting from New York.

[Rockprincess]

Oh, what a surprise!!! That news is just so very upsetting-what a mess...

[stumbler]

I've been watching the British Petroleum spokesman tell a bunch of lies yesterday. Such as, they don't know what caused the blowout or why their BOP's failed.

They damn sure know what they were doing at the time of the explosion, and the Blow Out Preventers should be tested just about every day to make sure they work and there are no leaks.

Today British Petroleum admitted the well is leaking (I'd call it flowing) from more than one place. I'd sure like to know what they mean by that. It could be the worst case scenario where the well has gotten to the surface on the outside of their casing and well head.

The question of the day, however, is have they started drilling the relief wells yet? It looks like that's the only way they will be able to kill the well and stop the flow of oil and gas.

[Steel Rod]

Originally Posted by Kimiko

Remember back a year or two ago when we were being told that offshore oil drilling was perfectly safe, environmentally sound, and all that? Remember when Sarah Palin was exhorting her rabid crowds with chants of "DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!"?

Now we have a grim reminder of what can happen. A drilling rig off the Gulf Coast near New Orleans sank caught fire and sank into the Gulf, spewing untold amounts of crude oil into the water. Eleven people are missing and likely dead. Nice work.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36683314...s-environment/

And out of the number of rigs still out there operating and their track record thus far, Id say all in all were not doing that bad. The key is to hurry and fix the problem when it happens. We do have the resources
to fix the problems we create. And make BP pay for all of it.

[twofeathers]

Derail for a min..........

Hey Stumber hello. Have you heard about Obama opening (or thinking about it) up the coast for off shore drilling? I believe I read it a newpaper but havent looked futher into it