Robot Hits Vent At Deepwater Horizon Rig
Posted on 23 June 2010 by LynThomas in Uncategorized
Tens of thousands of gallons more oil have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude.
The further set-back, is yet another in the line of many, in the nine-week effort to stop the oil gusher, as thick pools of oil washed up on Pensacola Beach in Florida.
Gas rose through the vent that carries warm water down, to prevent ice-like crystals, hydrates, from forming, when the robot hit it.
Before the problem with the containment cap, it had collected about 700,000 gallons of oil in 24 hours and sucked it up to a ship on the surface. That’s oil that’s now pouring into the Gulf. Another 438,000 gallons was burned on the surface by a different system that was not affected by the issue with the cap.
In May BP had to abandon the attempt to place a four-story containment box over the well, after ice crystals clogged it, threatening to make it float away.
The smaller cap, which had worked fine until now, had been in place since early June. To get it there, though, crews had to slice away a section of the leaking pipe, meaning the flow of oil could be stronger now than before.
The current estimate is that 2.5 million gallons a day are spilling into the Gulf. Anywhere between 67 – 1127 million gallons have been spilt since April 20, from the Deepwater Horizon rig, which is 5000 feet underwater. BP was leasing the rig from Transocean Ltd.
BP said Wednesday that Dudley has been appointed to head the new Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, which is in charge of cleaning up the spill. He takes over from the loose-lipped BP CEO Tony Hayward, who has been widely criticized for his handling of the crisis.
In Florida, dozens of workers used shovels to scoop up pools of oil that washed up overnight, turning the sand orange.
Tar balls have been reported as far east as Panama City, Florida and heavier oil is predicted to wash ashore further east along the coast line in the coming days. Oil has also washed up on beaches in Alabama and coated wetlands in Louisiana.
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23 June 2010
[...] Tens of thousands of gallons more oil are gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude. Read how BP CEO has been removed as head of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico… [...]
Some body please kill all BP employees it obivious they don’t want to stop the oil spill. Shit what wrong with us.