How bad is the Gulf oil situation? Check out this article...

[Keedy]

Originally Posted by Griffstar

Okay Citizen, remain calm and step away from the boycott.
There is no way you can avoid buying gas from BP. Gasoline is a fungible product, mixed repeatedly in pipelines, storage tanks, transport trucks, etc. All of the major oil companies trade their product with each other at some point in the distribution system. Sure you can boycott a local BP station, almost all of which are now owned and operated by a small businessman who is a franchisee. You know the guy on the corner who supports the little league, buys the hog at the county fair, hires the single mother of three to work the cash register...that guy. Trust me, right now they wish they had branded up with another brand like there is no tomorrow. Sadly they likely have a long-term contract and it wont change soon. They are no more Big-Oil then they are big pop or big candy. Cut them some slack, its not their fault.

Also to be considered is: Would any other oil company have reacted better? We'll never know for sure, but i'm willing to bet not. BP isn't alone in their hunger for money, and willingness to cut corners to increase profit at the expense of safety and anything else. As a matter of fact, at one point i was boycotting Exxon Mobile because of their fight to decrease how much they were required to pay out for ExxonValdez, and at the time i frequented BP stations more often than not as a better option.

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by CajunCamaroChic

Wow, where do I begin................. Yes, the president may be using this as an excuse to halt drilling, which is idiotic, but you should come down here and see for yourself the damage which continues to mount. You truly have no clue. Before the president's first visit, BP had the beach here in Louisiana cleaned except for very minor evidence, it was really a bad decision and backfired. Before I go off, I'll just let it stand.

heh, word of warning on that guy: he is a conspiracy nut. Take what he says with a grain of salt

Back on topic: read the whole article, scary stuff indeed! And though it is scary and very serious, one thought that popped up while I was reading: so THIS is how pirates of darkwater starts....


And ya know, I can't help but think that MAYBE if people hadn't INSISTED that we only build deepwater wells and not drill off shore that this issue may not have happened. think about it: If the drills are closer to shore, people would be a LOT more sensitive to even small spills as it would affect the shore line quickly. This would result in stepped up safety regulations for any drills close to the shore. And if something catastrophic like this did happen, at least we wouldn't have a mile of water between us and the problem /rant

[mickss]

Do as I say, not as I do!

[CajunCamaroChic]

Originally Posted by Brokinarrow

heh, word of warning on that guy: he is a conspiracy nut. Take what he says with a grain of salt

Back on topic: read the whole article, scary stuff indeed! And though it is scary and very serious, one thought that popped up while I was reading: so THIS is how pirates of darkwater starts....


And ya know, I can't help but think that MAYBE if people hadn't INSISTED that we only build deepwater wells and not drill off shore that this issue may not have happened. think about it: If the drills are closer to shore, people would be a LOT more sensitive to even small spills as it would affect the shore line quickly. This would result in stepped up safety regulations for any drills close to the shore. And if something catastrophic like this did happen, at least we wouldn't have a mile of water between us and the problem /rant

You are very correct. We tried to continue with shallow water drilling as this type of accident could have been fixed fairly quickly with minimal impact. Yeah, I should have known better than to respond to the guy, just very passionate and touchy about it right now.

[Keedy]

Ixtoc1 was at 160' depth is not the issue. this can happen at any depth.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by 2ndgenz28

I dunno, I think were the only fools who sell all of our oil then rebuy it.

That the excuess they use, all oil drilled in the US is sold on the open market, then bought back at market prices.

I beleive most place directly use the oil they pump.

I was referring to the supply and demand effect on price. If the US imports more, there is less for everyone else. Therefore, everyone's price goes up.

Most countries who export oil also import it. Its a really screwy system. About the only way to control your own oil would be to have a nationalized system. Otherwise, you pretty much need to play according to the strange rules of the global market.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by CajunCamaroChic

You are very correct. We tried to continue with shallow water drilling as this type of accident could have been fixed fairly quickly with minimal impact. Yeah, I should have known better than to respond the guy, just very passionate and touchy about it right now.

Originally Posted by Keedy

Ixtoc1 was at 160' depth is not the issue. this can happen at any depth.

Didn't the 'Cap' they tried to use, fail, because of the cold from the great depth?

[Keedy]

Originally Posted by PQ

Didn't the 'Cap' they tried to use, fail, because of the cold from the great depth?

http://www.project-syndicate.org/com...nelov9/English

Pemex tried to put a device called a “sombrero” over the Ixtoc leak to collect the oil at the ocean floor, but the plan failed because the structure could not be kept in place. Formation of methane hydrate was noted, but was not decisive. In the case of Deepwater Horizon, a huge dome could be put in place, despite the greater depth, thanks to deployment of modern unmanned underwater vehicles, robots, and positioning tools, but the formation of methane hydrates clogged the device and rendered it useless.

[2ndgenz28]

That cap was dumb, I could tell by desing it would fail, 1 it was to small / light and 2nd the hole in the top was to small, that hole should of been 3-4ft around
so it could not be plugged.

look like it was an 8in pipe

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by 2ndgenz28

That cap was dumb, I could tell by desing it would fail, 1 it was to small / light and 2nd the hole in the top was to small, that hole should of been 3-4ft around
so it could not be plugged.

look like it was an 8in pipe

I think he was talking about the first gigantic one they tried a month ago, not the current one.

[2ndgenz28]

Just in general it looked to be just for show.

Whats the max PSI rating for a leak like that?

[2001ragtop]

hope they fix the leak soon.

[Muscle Master]

why not extract the drill and bomb the oil well shut?

[2001ragtop]

Originally Posted by Brokinarrow

heh, word of warning on that guy: he is a conspiracy nut. Take what he says with a grain of salt

hope they fix the leak soon.