Stephen A. Lawrence wrote: > Apparently, when BP was constructing the first gigantic cap for the > > well, some geologists experts from other oil companies were warning > > them that it would not work because hydrate ice would form and block > > the pipe. You'd think they would know that! > > What makes you think they did not know that, or at least suspect very > strongly that it would happen?
> . . . They knew the > probability of success was low, but the main point was to *appear* to be > doing something. > I doubt that, because the latest fix is working. They are getting most of the oil, and I just read that with additional equipment in a few days they expect to get it all. With this latest fix, they cut the pipe and attached something to it. I gather they did not do this earlier because they feared that cutting the pipe might increase the flow (which it did) and then the attachment might not work. So they considered this risky but in the end had no alternative but to try it. Since they finally did succeed, it stands to reason they were trying to succeed and hoping to succeed. Experts from other oil companies and the government were involved. I am sure they would not have countenanced a fake or half-hearted effort by BP. If they had thought this was window dressing that would not work, they would have said so. Other companies and BP's partner in the well have been very critical of BP. I get the strong impression that no one knew what to do, but some people thought the first cap would not work. It is a shame they tried all those other methods first but it is somewhat like complaining: "why is that you always find something the last place you look?!?" I also read that they are able to skim a lot of the oil off the water, which surprises me. That's good news. I did not know that was possible. I guess we are all learning a lot more about deep sea oil drilling than we ever wanted to know. Especially Obama is. He said months ago that drilling is safe. I am sure he was sincere. If anyone had asked me, I would have said, "I suppose it is safe." But I would add that no technology is ever perfectly safe, and a blow-out is always possible. That's not something Obama or any other official can say, but any knowledgeable person knows it. There are many steps they might have taken to lessen the damage, or prevent the blow out. "60 Minutes" had an excellent segment on this, as I think I mentioned here. Someone accidentally actuated a rod which destroyed the gasket in the blow-out preventer. They knew it was destroyed because bits of the gasket were coming up with the drilling mud. Obviously they should have stopped and repaired the thing. Any other company would have, I expect. BP's operations are far more sloppy and dangerous than the others. As I mentioned here, they had over 700 major dangerous events over a reporting period when the other companies had 1 to 10 each. - Jed
