GOM OIL Spill headed for the Coast ?

[ROLLTIDE]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather forecasts from NOAA’s National Weather Service indicate winds from the north will help keep oil leaking from the incident site off the Louisiana coast away from shoreline. The latest NOAA oil-spill trajectory analyses do not indicate oil coming to shore over the next three days; this assumes that the rate of oil release does not increase and that the weather remains as forecast.

[Squirrelmonkey]

looks like shrimp season this year could finish off our coastal fleet........and finish off the oyster beds that katrina started on

[BAMAMAMA1964]

there goes the seafood.:( hope they get it all before it hits the island.

[ROLLTIDE]

If they don't manage to stop it somehow today then it will be on our coast Sat afternoon .

[Squirrelmonkey]

break out the dawn.............

[ROLLTIDE]

break out the dawn.............

Cass is returning to HCW ?

[ROLLTIDE]

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse....c/2931/532703/

[Katfive]

The oyster beds in Black Bay will be the first to be affected this weekend. MuNkIe, Biloxi's are next in line. I'm going to eat some chargrilled oysters this weekend, I don't think you'll be able to get them for quite a while after!

[Squirrelmonkey]

the only operational beds around since Katrina are pass christian................

so much for the best oysters on earth

[Katfive]

the only operational beds around since Katrina are pass christian................

so much for the best oysters on earth

That's the area I'm talking about. Did you know when you launch a boat out of Louisiana they call that area the Biloxi Marsh, but when you launch out of Mississippi they call it the Louisiana Marsh? I've never figured out why no one wants to claim it!

[ROLLTIDE]

They are going to try to burn the oil next hour over the GOM

[BAMAMAMA1964]

They are going to try to burn the oil next hour over the GOM

lets hope it works!!

[Katfive]

OK, Joe Nathan or anyone else who might know, when they developed the whole idea of deep water drilling, did they really not come up with a way to shut off the well head in case of a blowout? I keep seeing the unmanned subs trying to close a valve at the surface with no luck. We're talking about an industry that has hundreds of billions of dollars of profits a year - did the oil industry really not devise a plan with several back-ups to address this scenario? The left is gonna crucify the whole indutry just at a time when expanded drilling is taking shape, and it just seems to me that this was a huge faux pas on the whole industy's part!

[Windwatcher]

OK, Joe Nathan or anyone else who might know, when they developed the whole idea of deep water drilling, did they really not come up with a way to shut off the well head in case of a blowout? I keep seeing the unmanned subs trying to close a valve at the surface with no luck. We're talking about an industry that has hundreds of billions of dollars of profits a year - did the oil industry really not devise a plan with several back-ups to address this scenario? The left is gonna crucify the whole indutry just at a time when expanded drilling is taking shape, and it just seems to me that this was a huge faux pas on the whole industy's part!

I'm on it, Kat! Stand by for another one of my inventions.

[Squirrelmonkey]

I will claim it if they would let me!!!!!!!!!

I was unaware that it was called the biloxi marsh! I have to buy a Louisiana saltwater license to fish it is all i know

[Squirrelmonkey]

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY VIDEO LINKS OF THE BURN????????

[nightrider]

I'm on it, Kat! Stand by for another one of my inventions.

They had at least four fail safe devices to prevent this kind of incident. Just none of them worked in this case or the signs to activate were ignored. All of the equipment is manufactured and tested to national standards and functioned tested prior to shipment offshore. More than likely when the service companies that installed these devices where finished they checked again to see if they functioned. They either didn't work when they installed or they didn't install properly. The number one reason for accidents that I see is ignoring a problem.

Google Subsurface safety valves, BOPs, and Wellhead systems.

[Joe-Nathan]

OK, Joe Nathan or anyone else who might know, when they developed the whole idea of deep water drilling, did they really not come up with a way to shut off the well head in case of a blowout? I keep seeing the unmanned subs trying to close a valve at the surface with no luck. We're talking about an industry that has hundreds of billions of dollars of profits a year - did the oil industry really not devise a plan with several back-ups to address this scenario? The left is gonna crucify the whole indutry just at a time when expanded drilling is taking shape, and it just seems to me that this was a huge faux pas on the whole industy's part!

My "stayed at a Holiday Inn Express" answer:

These drill ships are designed in a way that this is not supposed to happen under normal conditions. This is one of those one in a million scenarios that is not supposed to happen. They had finished drilling the hole was in the process of cementing and casing the hole for temporary abandonment until the infrastructure could be built to produce the well. We will not know for a long time what really happened.

Now current situation:
They are in the process of capping the well. It takes a lot of work to do this. You have the mangled drill rig floating below the water surface in the way. You have all the anchor lines/ piping in the way. And you have all the debris on the sea floor near the bore hole entry point.
So ROV's have to cut the well (which allows more oil to flow into the water). Then they have to install a BOP to cap the well. This has to be done by another drill ship, which is in route. It will take several days to two weeks for the new drill ship to set up before it can begin the CAPPING operations. So until then we get this nice oil sheen.

Now please note that most of this oil is light crude which will evaporate or break up from the wind/wave action. Will it reach the Florida coast? My guess is no, so the Fl governor can quite is yapping and go back to fixing his state's economy. The LA and Miss marshes might get some oil, LA's Pass-a-Loutre and Breton Sound area the most likely impacted areas.

So K5 there are plans for this sort of accident, but it just takes a long time than normal b/c of the location (5000' water) and the fact that most of the rigs that can do the Capping are currently drilling.

[Joe-Nathan]

GOM Oil Spill Channel 2 MODIS Aqua-1 Sat Image from April 27th:

[Katfive]

I'm on it, Kat! Stand by for another one of my inventions.

Well, Wind, my understanding is that they're currently designing and making a large concrete funnel shaped dome to put over the leak with a tube to the surface where a vessel could collect the oil from the tube. They'll just need something to create a large sucking sensation on the end of the tube and store the fluid. Perhaps you could work on that part!