I dont' have a good feeling about it......
news reports don't appear to be too optimistic about it either
hope i'm wrong though
news reports don't appear to be too optimistic about it either
hope i'm wrong though
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It's a joke...
These guys will never be able to cap it sadlyComment -
Oil will gush until December.Comment -
Crystal ball says--outcome isn't clear try back later.Comment -
I think by the end of the summer they will be able to have drastically reduce the flow with the relief wellsComment -
Should be called the financial relief wells since they are most likely gonna make a ton off them.Comment -
I think this spill is getting blown out of proportion by this day and age's mediaComment -
keep this crap out of here, BP= betphoenix
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As the biggest oil spill in our nations history, I don't think its getting enough attention. Especially if it goes on to be the biggest spill in the world and we still have just one private company in charge of it.Comment -
not the biggest oil spill by a long shot yetComment -
It's already the biggest spill in United States history. I am guessing it will go on to be the biggest in the world.Comment -
false
Lakeview gusher was biggest in US history...Comment -
what has been bigger?Originally posted by excel
This same thing happened in 1979, took them 9 months to get it right..in 200 feet of warer, not 5000Comment -
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If some scientists, who say BP and the U.S. Coast Guard are underestimating how much oil is leaking now, are right, the current gusher could easily eclipse the demise of Ixtoc(138million gallons) I in the Bay of Campeche. By their count, instead of the 210,000 gallons leaking per day, it's more like 4 million.Comment -
Who cares if it is the biggest. Lives are ruined, the environment is screwed and wildlife are gone. You guys sound like the morons in Washington arguing over pork while people starve.Comment -
The Lakeview Gusher Number One is regarded as the largest recorded U.S. oil well gusher. Located about a half-mile east of the Taft-Maricopa Highway (State Route 33), in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, the site is marked by a Caltrans guide sign and a bronze plaque. It is also identified as State Historic Landmark #485.
[edit] Background
Drilling at Lakeview Number One well was started by the Lakeview Oil Company on January 1, 1909. As the drilling continued, and only natural gas was found, the Lakeview company partnered with Union Oil Company which wanted to build storage tanks on Lakeview property.[1]
The Lakeview gusher after the flow had partially subsided and the well surrounded by a sandbag berm, 1910.
While modern well drilling techniques have advanced safety features such as blowout preventers that reduce the chances of a gusher, early twentieth century oil well drilling technology could not contain the high pressures encountered at Lakeview. The gusher began on March 14, 1910 as the drill bit found the 2,440-foot level. [2]
The well casing is a steel pipe liner that contains oil as it is pumped from the depths. During drilling, the casing also guides the drill bit and drive shaft in a roughly-straight line. Pressure blew at least part of the well casing out, along with an estimated 9 million barrels (378 million gallons/1.4 billion liters) of oil, before the gusher was brought under control 18 months later, (about September 1911). [3]
Initial flow from the gusher was 18,800 barrels per day. The peak flow during the gusher was estimated to be 90,000 barrels per day. The large flow created a creek of crude oil running downhill from the well site. Crews rushed to contain the river of crude oil with a system of improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Remarkably, the gusher never caught fire during its 18-month duration.[4]Comment -
Experts worst case scenario 4million leaking a day would make it around 185million gallons leaked the biggest ever was 138million gallons. They are not sure exactly how much is leaking.Comment -
nothing compared to what Saddam did in 91..
The Gulf War oil spill is regarded as the largest oil spill in history, resulting from the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
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[edit] Cause
Iraqi forces opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers into the Persian Gulf.[1] The apparent strategic goal was to foil a potential landing by US Marines.[1]
The immediate reports from Baghdad said that American air strikes had caused a discharge of oil from two tankers. Coalition forces determined the main source of oil to be the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait.[citation needed] American airstrikes on January 26 destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Persian Gulf.[citation needed] Several other sources of oil were found to be active: tankers and a damaged Kuwaiti oil refinery near Mina Al Ahmadi, tankers near Bubiyan Island, and Iraq's Mina Al Bakr terminal.[2]
[edit] Environmental impact
The oil spill, which began on January 23, 1991, caused considerable damage to wildlife in the Persian Gulf especially in areas surrounding Kuwait and Iraq.[2] Estimates on the volume spilled usually range around 11 million barrels (462 million gallons or 1.75 billion liters);[3] the slick reached a maximum size of 101 by 42 miles (4242 square miles or 6787 km²) and was 5 inches (13 cm) thick in some areas. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the size of the spill, figures place it several times [4] the size (in gallons spilled) of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and almost twice the size of the 1979 Ixtoc I blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
The New York Times reported that a 1993 study sponsored by UNESCO, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States found the spill did "little long-term damage": About half the oil evaporated, a million barrels were recovered and 2 million to 3 million barrels washed ashore, mainly in Saudi Arabia.[5]
More recent scientific studies strongly disagree with this 1993 assessment. Marshlands and mud tidal flats continued to contain large quantities of oil, over ten years later, and full recovery is likely to take decades.
Dr. Jacqueline Michel, US geochemist (2010 interview – phonetic transcript of radio broadcast)[6]:The long term effects were very significant. There was no shoreline cleanup, essentially, over the 800 kilometers that the oil – - in Saudi Arabia. And so when we went back in to do quantitative survey in 2002 and 2003, there was a million cubic meters of oil sediment remained then 12 years after the spill.... [T]he oil penetrated much more deeply into the intertidal sediment than normal because those sediments there have a lot of crab burrows, and the oil penetrated deep, sometimes 30, 40 centimeters, you know a couple of feet, into the mud of these tidal flats. There’s no way to get it out now. So it has had long term impact.Dr. Hans-Jörg Barth, German geographer (2001 research report)[7]:
The study demonstrated that, in contrary to previously published reports e.g. already 1993 by UNEP, several coastal areas even in 2001 still show significant oil impact and in some places no recovery at all. The salt marshes which occur at almost 50% of the coastline show the heaviest impact compared to the other ecosystem types after 10 years. Completely recovered are the rocky shores and mangroves. Sand beaches are on the best way to complete recovery. The main reason for the delayed recovery of the salt marshes is the absence of physical energy (wave action) and the mostly anaerobic milieu of the oiled substrates. The latter is mostly caused by cyanobacteria which forms impermeable mats. In other cases tar crusts are responsible. The availability of oxygen is the most important criteria for oil degradation. Where oil degrades it was obvious that benthic intertidal fauna such as crabs re-colonise the destroyed habitats long before the halophytes. The most important paths of regeneration are the tidal channels and the adjacent areas. Full recovery of the salt marshes will certainly need some more decades.The Financial Times, in reference to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, cited the 1993 optimistic assessment of the Gulf War oil spill as evidence that "Initial warnings of catastrophic environmental damage from oil spills can turn out to be overdone".[8]
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I think it's good that they're trying to cap it. Kudos to them! Thank God for BP.Comment -
They should have consulted my dad weeks ago - there is nothing that man can't do with a bit of tarp, a few 6 inch nails and a roll of duct tape .. he'd have had this shit stopped almost instantly - ... probably ...
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