News On Seepage Detected 'Some Distance From Well'

There is no reason to panic as of yet.  There is some indications that there is "seepage" but what exactly is coming out is unknown as of yet, the exact location is unknown as of yet and just how bad the seepage might be is also unknown.  These factors will not be known right away, so better not to panic as of yet. It will be today (Monday) at the earliest that we could find out what this is all about.

The concern does grow when it is found that the President is prepared to order BP to open the top of the well again.  This would be done in order to relieve pressure on the well which could be causing the problems in seepage.  BP is going to fight this no doubt as if they open the well again and the 'seepage' stops then that is the indication that would show this 'seepage' is being caused by the capped wellhead.  We don't know that this is the case, as a matter of fact we don't know much at all.  Due to that lack of knowledge it is better to have a wait and see approach rather than a panic attack until we know more.

There are normal and known leaks that occur on the seabed, so that is why there is no need to panic just yet as we do not know the location of these "anomalies" as of yet.  Thad Allen sending the letter to BP is a precautionary one and is intended to make it known to BP that the government is aware of the possibility of problems, as well as wanting constant monitoring of said anomalies, and is prepared to demand immediate action should the anomalies be found to be related to the well & capping procedure. It is again, not surprising that BP will do what they can to protect themselves in this matter, and hopefully the government via Incident Command is doing all they can to get accurate and timely information to ensure that any and all precautions are taken and that the correct information is obtained.


Incident Commander Thad Allen sent a letter to BP which states:

Bob Dudley 

Chief Managing Director

BP Group

501 West Lake Park Boulevard

Houston, Texas 77070

Dear Mr. Dudley,

My letter to you on July 16, 2010 extended the Well Integrity Test period contingent upon the completion of seismic surveys, robust monitoring for indications of leakage, and acoustic testing by the NOAA vessel PISCES in the immediate vicinity of the well head. Given the current observations from the test, including the detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head, monitoring of the seabed is of paramount importance during the test period. As a continued condition of the test, you are required to provide as a top priority access and coordination for the monitoring systems, which include seismic and sonar surface ships and subsea ROV and acoustic systems. When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed.

As the National Incident Commander, I must remain abreast of the status of your source control efforts. Now that source control has evolved into a period beyond the expected 48 hour interval of the Well Integrity Test, I am requiring that you provide me a written update within 24 hours of your intentions going forward. I remain concerned that all potential options to eliminate the discharge of oil be pursued with utmost speed until I can be assured that no additional oil will spill from the Macondo Well.

You may use your letter of 9 July as a basis for your update. Specifically, you must provide me your latest containment plan and schedule in the event that the Well Integrity Test is suspended, the status and completion timelines for all containment options currently under development, and details of any other viable source control options including hydraulic control that you are considering. You should highlight any points at which progress along one option will be impacted by resource trade-offs to achieve progress along another option. Include options for and impacts of continued twice-a day seismic testing versus once a day testing.

As you develop the plans above, note that the primary method of securing the source is the relief well and this effort takes precedence. Therefore, I direct you to provide a detailed plan for the final stages of the relief well that specifically addresses the interaction of this schedule and any other activity that may potentially delay relief well completion.

Have your representative provide results on the monitoring efforts and source control requirements described above during today’s BP and Government Science Team call at 8:00 PM CDT.

Sincerely,

THAD W. ALLEN

Letter from Thad Allen To Bob Dudley of BP

As is noted in the letter, Incident Command is now knowledgable about the situation and is going to do everything in their power to make sure that BP knows it, and responds to it.

Now it is understandable that people are concerned.  We've seen the problems with transparency from both BP as well as the government with nearly everything regarding this disaster.  It is normal to be fearful due to the amount of misinformation that has been put out there as well, and sometimes it is hard to know what is truth vs what is fabrication.

As I was reading the discussion about this on The Oil Drum, there were a few who were expressing concern about whether this news was cause for panic or not.  Each person stated they lived somewhere on the gulf coast and were truly fearful.   This is understandable, again as I said, due to the lack of clear and concise information.  We are left to try and figure this out on our own which should never be the case in times of a disaster.

The response to these concerns were varied with some people laughing, and others being very understanding of the concern.  The two most informative & compassionate answers given were:

No, don't panic. The scare stories about methane tsunamis etc. are meant to scare you. What the motivation is, I have no idea. There's a seep 1000+ feet from a troublesome well three days after they capped it and prevented lots of oil from escaping into the water. The Gulf seeps anyway. People who have a lot more competence than you and I are watching things and there's a plan to kill it.

And this one:

Stay, fill the car with gas, pack a bag, get $300 cash and watch the news. Do everything else normal. It is not time to hit the OH CRAP button yet. Relax and call a relative. You will be fine.

Edit: And go see professional & get some help tomorrow. Perfectly normal what you are going through. Drink two beers if it might make you feel better. You will be good to go no matter the outcome if you prepare your mind. In this case, we are talking very low chance that events will directly impact you. Smile, I am and I live in Gulf Shores.

The Oil Drum Thread Talking About the "Seepage" Part I
The Oil Drum Thread Talking About the "Seepage" Part II

Both hold a lot of truth to them.  Don't panic because there are experts in the field who are working on this matter, and they will be giving it their full attention to try and determine what is going on.  It is too soon to have all the information that is needed released to the public as of yet, but I trust that we will get the information one way or another, even if it is revealed to us by an 'anonymous source' who is going to get the truth out.  We also know that people who are experts in various fields are watching this closely, like the guys at the Oil Drum, who know when bullshit information is being offered and when it isn't.  They have had ongoing discussions regarding the information being offered vs what is able to be seen simply by virtue of watching the ROV camera's and understanding the information being relayed through them.  They are  not perfect and will ask questions of each other as well, but for the most part they usually debunk information pretty quickly and will happily answer questions or explain things to make it easier for the average joe to understand.

If you are concerned, do as the second comment suggested, and prepare to leave.  Pack a bag, get some cash and then go ahead and live like you would if this was not happening, but be ready to go if you think you need to.  Much like anyone living on the gulf coast would do for hurricane season.  I have this done already, bags packed, hurricane kit at the ready, cash stashed in my "go bag", car filled with gas and a couple of gas cans filled & stored, and am ready to evacuate due to a hurricane should the need arise, but having lived on the coast for close to 10 years, I can say that I have never needed to implement my evacuation plans, and have lived through numerous hurricanes.  I did not prepare for anything with regards to this disaster, I did mine for the normal hurricane preparation that I do every year in April.

I'm not going to suggest that people need to go talk to a professional unless you are feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope with this situation.  I would suggest that you try and calm down, have a drink if that is your prerogative  and not worry to the point that it is overwhelming to think about.


Now this next comment from the Oil Drum (From the Part II section) is a perfect example of what I am talking about. This was posted by a commenter who goes by the name of Rovman.

As I have stated before,I work with ROVs and have done for many years. I have spent many many hours looking at footage from ROV cameras as part of my work and am very familiar with how ROVs work, what they do, and what you see in the monitors and what it is that is causing what you see. I have also spent many hours over the past few weeks watching the feeds from the Gulf. In that time, I have seen many interesting things but at no point have I seen anything which I can say is definitively, or even slightly likely to be, an oil or gas leak from the ocean floor. What all of the above videos show without exception is almost certainly silt kicked up from either thruster wash or the ROV itself contacting the ocean floor. There may be some small natural seeps, but I've not seen footage of any so far. There may even be some leaks that are to be worried about, but I haven't seen any evidence of this at all yet.

The ROVs involved in this task are very powerful. The Oceaneering Millenium, which is the commonest vehicle there produces 220hp and weighs 8,800lbs in air. They are trimmed to be 'heavy' and so will naturally settle to the bottom if power is lost. It is quite usual to have the ROV sitting on the bottom with a small amount of upward vertical thrust still applied. This sends a continuous wash of water down to the sea bed and kicks up silt, even though the vehicle is sat stationary on the sea floor. It really takes very little to disturb this very fine silt and create a sh*t storm. One the ROV takes off from the bottom, it trails with it a fair amount of silt and this creates a continuing sh*t storm for several tens of seconds as well. A classic sign that what you are seeing is silt kicked up is what appears to be black lumps with a trail of 'smoke'. These are what the commentator in the above video refers to as rocks thrown up by the erupting sea floor. They are no such thing, they are small lumps of mud trailing a plume of silt behind them.

Another thing to be aware of is the apparent scale of what you are seeing. When you see the stack it is easy to forget that it is about 5 or 6 stories high, and that the ROVs are the size of a minivan. They look a lot smaller. On the other hand, when a 'rock' flies past the camera it is easy to think it is a foot across. It isn't. It's probably about the size of a small coin.

I'd also caution people about trying to interpret the sonar images. There were comments a few threads ago which were wildly off. If you want to know what you are looking at, post a picture or a video clip and I or someone else with experience will take a look. These things are much harder to interpret than the video images.

I do get tired saying the same things over and over again, but I'm happy to continue to do so in an effort to educate people and counteract the rising tide of nonsense out there.

This comment was posted in response to someone linking to some Youtube videos they claimed showed "explosions on the seafloor".   You can see that this is detailed and reasonable explanation for many of the things that are seen but may or may not be misunderstood or mis-characterized by people who are unfamiliar with what they are seeing, or don't have an understanding of this type of work.

This goes to show that panic infused scenario's can easily become the norm just as much as "everything is fine don't worry".   We must not be complacent.  Be concerned, but don't panic at each and every story that comes along.  The more information we can obtain the better to determine the situation.

I'll keep a watch on the situation like everyone else and update as I get newly confirmed information.

Detailed History, both Past & Present, of BP's Safety Violations, Spills, Fines, & Corrective Measures

We've gotten sporadic reports of BP's history of safety violations, but ProPublica has put out a new piece that covers the very detailed and egregious history that BP has with safety violations and the deliberate attack on anyone who dares to report those violations.  It is an incredibly good read and should be passed along to everyone you know.

I'll post some excerpts of it to give you an idea on what we are up against in fighting to make BP do what is right in the wake of the damage they are causing to the Gulf, its inhabitants and our country as a whole.

Years of Internal BP Probes Warned That Neglect Could Lead to Accidents

A series of internal investigations over the past decade warned senior BP managers that the company repeatedly disregarded safety and environmental rules and risked a serious accident if it did not change its ways.


Similar themes about BP operations elsewhere were sounded in interviews with former employees, in lawsuits and little-noticed state inquiries, and in e-mails obtained by ProPublica. Taken together, these documents portray a company that systemically ignored its own safety policies across its North American operations - from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico to California and Texas.

A 2001 report noted that BP had neglected key equipment needed for emergency shutdown, including safety shutoff valves and gas and fire detectors similar to those that could have helped prevent the fire and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf.

A 2004 inquiry found a pattern of intimidating workers who raised safety or environmental concerns. It said managers were shaving maintenance costs with the practice of "run to failure," under which aging equipment was used as long as possible. Accidents resulted, including the 200,000-gallon Prudhoe Bay pipeline spill in 2006, the largest ever spill on Alaska's North Slope.

During the same period, similar problems surfaced at BP facilities in California and Texas.

In 2002, California officials discovered that BP had falsified inspections of fuel tanks at a Los Angeles-area refinery and that more than 80 percent of the facilities didn't meet requirements to maintain storage tanks without leaks or damage. Inspectors were forced to get a warrant before BP allowed them to check the tanks. The company eventually settled a civil lawsuit brought by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for more than $100 million.

In 2005, an emergency warning system failed before a Texas City refinery exploded in a ball of fire. BP's investigation of that deadly accident -- conducted by a committee of independent experts -- found that "significant process safety issues exist at all five U.S. refineries, not just Texas City." It said "instances of a lack of operating discipline, toleration of serious deviations from safe operating practices, and apparent complacency toward serious process safety risk existed at each refinery." BP spokesman Odone said that after the accident the company adopted a six-point plan to update its safety systems worldwide. But last year the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined BP $87 million for failing to make safety upgrades at that same Texas plant.

It is difficult to compare safety records among companies in industries like oil exploration. Some companies drill in harsher environments. And bad luck can play a role. But independent experts say the pervasiveness of BP's problems, in multiple locales and different types of facilities, is striking.

......

In August 2006, just five months after the spill at Prudhoe Bay, a pipeline safety technician for a BP contractor in Alaska discovered a two-inch snaggle-toothed crack in the steel skin of an oil transit line. Nearby, contractors were grinding down metal welds, sending a fan of sparks shooting across the work site. The technician, Stuart Sneed, feared the sparks could ignite stray gases, or the work could make the crack worse, so he ordered the contractors to stop working.

"Any inspector knows a crack in a service pipe is to be considered dangerous and treated with serious attention," Sneed told ProPublica. "The crack could have created a hellacious leaker with people grinding on it."

But instead of receiving compliments for his prudence, Sneed -- who had also complained that week that pipeline inspectors were faking their reports -- was scolded by his supervisor for stopping the work. According to a report from BP's internal employer arbitrators, Sneed's supervisor, who hadn't inspected the crack himself, said he believed it was superficial.

The next day, according to multiple witness accounts and the report, that supervisor singled out Sneed and harassed him at a morning staff briefing. Within a couple of hours, the supervisor sent emails to colleagues soliciting complaints or safety concerns that would justify Sneed's firing. Two weeks later, after a trumped up safety infraction, he was gone.

During the investigation BP inspectors substantiated Sneed's concerns about the cracked pipe. The arbiter also investigated Sneed's account of what happened when he reported the problem. Not only did the report confirm his account, but it determined that he was among the best at his job.

"They say it's your duty to come forward," said Sneed of BP's corporate policies and public statements, "but then when you do come forward, they screw you. They'll destroy your life."

"No one up there is ever going to say anything if there is something they see is unsafe," he added. "They are not going to say a word."
.........

For years the BP subsidiary that refined and stored crude oil was allowed to inspect its own facilities for compliance with emission laws under the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the agency that regulates air quality in Los Angeles. The thinking was that companies had the technical knowledge and that self-inspection was cheaper and more efficient.

But in 2002, eight years after the program began, inspectors with the management district thought BP's inspection results looked too good to be true. Between 1999 and 2002, BP's Carson Refinery had nearly perfect compliance, reporting no tank problems and making virtually no repairs. The district began to suspect that BP was falsifying its inspection reports and fabricating its compliance with the law.

The management district sent its own inspectors to investigate, but when they tried to enter BP's plant, the company turned them away. According to Joseph Panasiti, a lawyer for the management district, the agency had to get a search warrant to conduct inspections required by state law.

When the regulators did finally get in, they found equipment in a disturbing state of disrepair. According to a lawsuit the management district later filed against the company, inspectors discovered that some tanker seals had tears that were nearly two feet long. Tank roofs had gaps and pervasive leaks, and there were enough major defects to lead to thousands of violations.

"They had been sending us reports that showed 99 percent compliance, and we found about 80 percent noncompliance," Panasiti told ProPublica. "It was clear that no matter what was said, production was put ahead of any kind of environmental compliance."

.....

Final design drawings, called "as-built" drawings, are considered an essential safety component. They prove that a piece of equipment -- say a shutoff valve or an engine winch -- was built the way it was supposed to be. Those drawings are thus the final checks to make sure the equipment operates properly. They also serve as instruction manuals for emergencies. If there is a fire on deck or a blowout, for example, operators under extreme stress and danger can use the design drawings to find the hidden kill lever that can shut an engine down before it explodes.

Abbott told ProPublica that as-built documents had been issued for only 274 of more than 7,100 pieces of equipment, the equivalent of constructing a house without having an architect or engineer sign off on the blueprint.

ProPublica Report on the Extensive History behind BP's Deliberate & Willfully Egregious Safety Violations


With the reporting we have seen on how deeply ingrained the safety violations are within the entire BP company is, on every level, it is surprising to me that they have been allowed to continue to operate.  It also shows that simply fining this company means absolutely nothing to them and they see these fines as simply the cost of doing business, rather than an attempt to get them to follow the rules and regulations set in place.


We also know that just recently.    How recently?  Tuesday, May 25, 2010.  Yes just 2 weeks ago.  This spill didn't get any real publicity due to the ongoing spill in the Gulf but it happened, and no doubt will continue to happen as long as BP is allowed to operate, as they have proven time and time again that safety is low on the list of priorities for them in scheme of things.

Oil spill shuts down Alaska pipeline

A power failure at a pump station along the trans-Alaska pipeline caused up to several thousand barrels of crude to spill into a containment area Tuesday morning. The station, which has failed before during maintenance operations, is located near Delta Junction, about a hundred miles south of Fairbanks.

The trans-Alaska pipeline is operated by Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., a consortium of five oil companies. BP, which is currently dealing with a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, owns a majority interest of 47 percent.

Alaska Dispatch Report

The 'other' spill BP will be keeping quiet

Few in the US know that BP owns the controlling stake in the transalaska pipeline. Unlike with the Deepwater Horizon rig, BP keeps its name off the big pipe.

There's another reason for the company to keep its name off the pipe - its management of it stinks. The pipe is corroded, undermanned and "basic maintenance" is a term BP has never heard of.

How does BP get away with it? The same way the Godfather got away with it, bad things happen to folks who blow the whistle. BP has a habit of hunting down and destroying the careers of those who warn of pipeline problems.

In one case, BP's CEO of Alaskan operations hired a former CIA expert to break into the home of whistleblower Chuck Hamel, who had complained of conditions at the pipe's tanker facility.

BP tapped his phone calls with a US congressman and ran a surveillance and smear campaign against him. When caught, a US federal judge said BP's acts were "reminiscent of nazi Germany."

This was not an isolated case. Captain James Woodle, once in charge of the pipe's Valdez terminus, was blackmailed into resigning from the post when he complained of disastrous conditions there. The weapon used on Woodle was a file of faked evidence of marital infidelity. Nice guys, eh?

With the Gulf Coast dying of oil poisoning, there's no space in the press for British Petroleum's most recent spill
(H/T Regina @ Palingates for this link)

BP's Cost Benefit Analysis 
The Daily Beast has obtained a document—displayed below—that goes to the heart of BP procedures, demonstrating that before the company’s previous major disaster—at a moment when the oil giant could choose between cost-savings and greater safety—it selected cost-savings. And BP chose to illustrate that choice, without irony, by invoking the classic Three Little Pigs fairy tale.

The BP spokesman, Scott Dean, tells The Daily Beast: “Those documents are several years old,” and that since then, “we have invested $1 billion into upgrading that refinery and continue to improve our safety worldwide.”

The Daily Beast Uncovers Shocking Memo re: BP's Cost Saving Analysis

So BP spokesperson Scott Dean states that they "continue to improve our safety worldwide", yet as we've seen from the ProPublica article that is just not true.  Perhaps in other parts of the world they have tried to improve safety but certainly not here and in fact they, along with others in the Oil & Gas Industry are working very hard to ensure that regulations do not get tougher for them, and are willing to spend a lot of money to see that come to fruition.

Oil Companies Weigh Strategies to Fend Off Tougher Regulations

The oil and gas industry is a formidable presence in Washington. It spent more on federal lobbying last year than all but two other industries, with $174.8 million in lobbying expenditures, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.

Political action committees set up by the oil and gas producers contributed an additional $9 million last election cycle to Congressional candidates, with Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Valero Energy and Chevron leading the way, the data showed. (BP ranked 19th, with $75,500 in contributions, most to Republicans.)

Oil & Gas Industry will Spend Millions To Help Them Fight Tougher Regulations



NASA has been keeping track of the spill and has some pretty amazing pictures of the spill and how it is spreading.  They do have an "Oil Spill Page" which you can visit and see some of the unique and varied images they offer.

This is but one example of the pictures that they have:

Ribbons and patches of oil that have leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well offshore appear silver against the light blue color of the adjacent water. Vegetation is red.





It can seem overwhelming taking in all this information, and I know first hand how distressing it can be to think of this stuff day in and day out, but we have to stay informed, we have to know what we are facing, both in terms of the damage that is happening now, and the damage we can expect to see in the future from the effects of this spill, but we also need to know and understand why & how this happened as well as what we can to to prevent this from happening again.  We will never make the Oil & Gas industry 100% safe, but we can make it safer, we can force them to follow tougher regulations, we can work towards ending our own oil addiction that has allowed these companies to get to this point of power and control over us and our environment, and we can change how we think about allowing our politicians to fight for these companies over what is best for this country as a whole.

**Extremely Disturbing Video of the Real Impact Of The Oil Spill on Wildlife**

WARNING:
This is a disturbing piece of video and animal lovers will be heartbroken & enraged!

If a picture is worth a thousand words then this video is worth a million or more.


http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/raw-video-spill-s-threat-to-wildlife-turns-real-20186003

Impacts of spill on Gulf Coast wildlife quickly coming into focus


The wildlife apocalypse along the Gulf Coast that everyone has feared for weeks is fast becoming a terrible reality.


Pelicans struggle to free themselves from oil, thick as tar, that gathers in hip-deep pools, while others stretch out useless wings, feathers dripping with crude.


Dead birds and dolphins wash ashore, coated in the sludge. Seashells that once glinted pearly white under the hot June sun are stained crimson.


In Louisiana, along the beach at Queen Bess Island, oil pooled several feet deep, trapping birds against unused containment boom. 


The futility of their struggle was confirmed when Joe Sartore, a National Geographic photographer, sank thigh deep in oil on nearby East Grand Terre Island and had to be pulled from the tar.


"I would have died if I would have been out here alone," he said.


With no oil response workers on Queen Bess, Plaquemines Parish coastal zone management director P.J. Hahn decided he could wait no longer, pulling an exhausted brown pelican from the oil, the slime dripping from its wings.


"We're in the sixth week, you'd think there would be a flotilla of people out here," Hahn said. "As you can see, we're so far behind the curve in this thing."
Gilly Llewellyn, oceans program leader with the World Wildlife Fund in Australia, said she observed the same behavior by dolphins following a 73-day spill last year in the Timor Sea.


"A heartbreaking sight," Llewellyn said. "And what we managed to see on the surface was undoubtedly just a fraction of what was happening."


The prospect left fishing guide Marino shaking his head, as he watched the oil washing into a marsh and over the body of a dead pelican. Species like shrimp and crab flourish here, finding protection in the grasses. Fish, birds and other creatures feed here.
"It's going to break that cycle of life," Marino said. "It's like pouring gas in your aquarium. What do you think that's going to do?"

NOLA.com



Latest Gulf bird numbers: 724 collected, 547 dead, 177 alive oiled, 25 released to date:
IBRRC.org

**Update On Gulf Oil Spill**

It seems that with each passing moment the news grows more grim coming from the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON—The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be leaking at a rate of 25,000 barrels a day, five times the government's current estimate, industry experts say.

Basing their calculations on government data and standard industry measurement tools, the experts said the Gulf spill may already rival the historic 1969 Santa Barbara, Calif., and 1989 Exxon Valdez disasters.

Ian MacDonald, professor of oceanography at Florida State University who specializes in tracking ocean oil seeps from satellite imagery, said there may already be more than 9 million gallons of oil floating in the Gulf now, based on his estimate of a 25,000 barrel-a-day leak rate. That's compared to 12 million gallons spilled in the Valdez accident.

Interior Department officials said it may take 90 days to cap the leaking well. If the 25,000 barrels a day is accurate and it leaks for 90 days, that's 2.25 million barrels or 94.5 million gallons.

Experts: Oil May Be Leaking at Rate of 25,000 Barrels a Day in Gulf

So the 5,000 gallon daily is a low ball estimate of what is flowing into the Gulf at this point?  What other news are we going to find out?

BP plan deemed major spill from Gulf well unlikely

The worst U.S. oil spill in decades reached into precious shoreline habitat along the Gulf Coastas documents emerged showing British Petroleum downplayed the possibility of a catastrophic accident at the offshore rig that exploded.

BP suggested in a 2009 exploration plan and environmental impact analysis for the well that an accident leading to a giant crude oil spill— and serious damage to beaches, fish and mammals — was unlikely, or virtually impossible.

The plan for the Deepwater Horizon well, filed with the federal Minerals Management Service, said repeatedly that it was "unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities."

The company conceded a spill would impact beaches, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, but argued that "due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected."

Robert Wiygul, an Ocean Springs, Miss.-based environmental lawyer and board member for the Gulf Restoration Network, said he doesn't see anything in the document suggesting BP addressed the kind of technology needed to control a spill at that depth of water.

Documents Show BP Didn't Plan for Major Spill


To give you an idea on just what is going on underneath the water:

Just when you thought that it could not get worse, it turns out not only could it get worse but there is a good chance it will.  Ben Raines from the Hunstville Press Register has written a startling piece:

A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster in the Gulf makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.

"The following is not public," reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28. "Two additional release points were found today in the tangled riser. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."

Asked Friday to comment on the document, NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen said that the additional leaks described were reported to the public late Wednesday night. Regarding the possibility of the spill becoming an order of magnitude larger, Smullen said, "I'm letting the document you have speak for itself."

In scientific circles, an order of magnitude means something is 10 times larger. In this case, an order of magnitude higher would mean the volume of oil coming from the well could be 10 times higher than the 5,000 barrels a day coming out now. That would mean 50,000 barrels a day, or 2.1 million gallons a day. It appears the new leaks mentioned in the Wednesday release are the leaks reported to the public late Wednesday night.   

"There is no official change in the volume released but the USCG is no longer stating that the release rate is 1,000 barrels a day," continues the document, referred to as report No. 12. "Instead they are saying that they are preparing for a worst-case release and bringing all assets to bear."

The emergency document also states that the spill has grown in size so quickly that only 1 to 2 percent of it has been sprayed with dispersants.

The Press-Register obtained the emergency report from a government official. The White House, NOAA, the Coast Guard and BP Plc did not immediately return calls for comment made early this morning.

Leaked report: Government fears Deepwater Horizon well could become unchecked gusher


So was this unexpected like we've been lead to believe it was?  Yeah, not so much if you take into account that BP has had a lot of problems reports Publica.

BP Had Other Problems in Years Leading to Gulf Spill

BP, the global oil giant responsible for the fast-spreading spill in the Gulf of Mexico that will soon make landfall, is no stranger to major accidents.

In fact, the company has found itself at the center of several of the nation's worst oil and gas–related disasters in the last five years.

In March 2005, a massive explosion ripped through a tower at BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas, killing 15 workers and injuring 170 others. Investigators later determined that the company had ignored its own protocols on operating the tower, which was filled with gasoline, and that a warning system had been disabled.

The company pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and was fined more than $50 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Almost a year after the refinery explosion, technicians discovered that some 4,800 barrels of oil had spread into the Alaskan snow through a tiny hole in the company's pipeline in Prudhoe Bay. BP had been warned to check the pipeline in 2002, but hadn't, according to a report in Fortune. When it did inspect it, four years later, it found that a six-mile length of pipeline was corroded. The company temporarily shut down its operations in Prudhoe Bay, causing one of the largest disruptions in U.S. oil supply in recent history.

BP faced $12 million in fines for a misdemeanor violation of the federal Water Pollution Control Act. A congressional committee determined that BP had ignored opportunities to prevent the spill and that "draconian" cost-saving measures had led to shortcuts in its operation.

Other problems followed. There were more spills in Alaska. And BP was charged with manipulating the market price of propane. In that case, it settled with the U.S. Department of Justice and agreed to pay more than $300 million in fines.

At each step along the way, the company's executives were contrite.

"This was a preventable incident. ... It should be seen as a process failure, a cultural failure and a management failure," John Mogford, then BP's senior group vice president for safety and operations, said in an April 2006 speech about the lessons learned in Texas City. "It's not an easy story to tell. BP doesn't come out of it well."

In a 2006 interview with this reporter after the Prudhoe Bay spill,published in Fortune, BP's chief executive of American operations, Robert Malone, said, "There is no doubt in my mind, what happened may not have broken the law, but it broke our values."

Malone insisted at the time that there was no pattern of mismanagement that increased environmental risk.

"I cannot draw a systemic problem in BP America," he said. "What I've seen is refineries and facilities and plants that are operating to the highest level of safety and integrity standards."

Nonetheless, Malone, who spent three decades at BP and was promoted to the CEO of BP America shortly after the Texas refinery blast, promised to increase scrutiny over BP's operations and invest in environmental and safety measures.

He told Congress that it was imperative BP management learn from its mistakes.

"The public's faith has been tested recently," he said. "We have fallen short of the high standards we hold for ourselves and the expectations that others have for us."

Time will tell whether the accident that killed 11 workers and sent the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig -- a $500 million platform as wide as a football field -- floating to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was simply an accident or something else.

Malone, who retired last year, declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for BP was not available for comment.

BP Had Problems Leading Up To Gulf Spill

Of course this couldn't have happened at a worse time for this area.

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Another thing to remember in all of this...it isn't just the environment that is going to be effected by this spill, not just the wildlife and the sea animals, but also our people.  There are those who are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, who depend on the ability to fish, shrimp etc...to live, pay bills and to attempt to recover from past devastations.  This is going to cost people everything they have.  Some generational businesses will be going under...permanently.   How much damage can people survive and continue to have hope?  How many times can a person lose it all and still pick themselves back up?  

I know that there will be more to report, and I dread it deeply because I know it is only going to get worse. The photos we will see are going to be devastating. The death toll on our wildlife will be more than we want to know about. The damage to our environment will be more destructive than we want to think about. People will lose everything and it will be heartbreaking to hear about.


We must bear witness to this. We must remind ourselves and our family, our friends, our neighbors and our country that this is unacceptable.