I don't buy BP but because it's gasoline here is the baddest.
Ow, and i forgot, also because i don't have a car

Live Video from ROV monitoring the damaged riser

On NPR an interview with scientists suggested that the leak might be 70-100 thousand barrels a day instead of 5 thousand. Here is a realated article from WBUR.

They made their estimates by analyzing the flow in the the live video stream mentioned above.

Amazing, disgusting, and widely damaging all round that the oil is still gushing out after so long!


Oil spill: Barack Obama criticises BP boss Tony Hayward

One 'killer' comment in there is:

... He said that while BP had nearly doubled the amount of oil being funnelled from the leaking wellhead since Friday, it was now "trying to increase that production rate, close the venting valves and move to a greater capacity".

He said BP was hoping to move a second production platform into the area to increase the amount of oil that could be siphoned off.

Adm Allen added that BP was also preparing a bigger rig to process a greater capacity of oil in severe weather. ...

My interpretation of that is that BP considers it cheaper to let the oil leak out than to get more tankers there to collect it for processing or disposal.


Contrast that with a small idea of the consequences:

OIL KILL - The Gulf of Mexico Killing Fields BP Doesn’t Want You Thinking About

Commentary by Dr. Joe MacInnis ...

IMAGINE A SUBMERGED PLUME OF OIL four times as high as the Empire State Building. It begins at the seafloor, thundering out of a shattered twenty-inch pipe with so much force that the sediments seem to sway. ...

... As it rises, it swells into thunderheads, roiling clouds, and ragged columns. Smaller plumes break away from the main plume and drift sideways in the currents. Some of these shaggy, stunted plumes remain suspended and never reach the surface.

After rising more than a thousand meters, the widening plume slithers into the lower layers of the sunlit zone. Slow moving currents shear it into shattered smoke and upward streaming strands. For many kilometers in every direction, seawater is shot through with black threads, small droplets, and greasy vapors. When the oil reaches the surface, there are places where the smell of swamp rot and sulfur can make men sick. ...

The cell-swarm of killing continues right up to the surface where phytoplankton—the lungs of the planet—are savaged by the violence of the oil and the chemicals used to disperse it. Trillions upon trillions upon trillions of dead diatoms and dinoflagellates rain down through the filthy procession of upward moving oil. In deep water they merge with uncounted corpses of copepods and in deeper water still, the lifeless remnants of big fish, small fish, turtles and invertebrates. ...



And many species depend upon that area for spawning and for their continued existence.

Who knows what next?


It's our only planet.
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Amazing, disgusting, and widely damaging all round that the oil is still gushing out after so long!


Oil spill: Barack Obama criticises BP boss Tony Hayward

One 'killer' comment in there is:

... He said that while BP had nearly doubled the amount of oil being funnelled from the leaking wellhead since Friday, it was now "trying to increase that production rate, close the venting valves and move to a greater capacity".

He said BP was hoping to move a second production platform into the area to increase the amount of oil that could be siphoned off.

Adm Allen added that BP was also preparing a bigger rig to process a greater capacity of oil in severe weather. ...

My interpretation of that is that BP considers it cheaper to let the oil leak out than to get more tankers there to collect it for processing or disposal.

Of course it is cheaper to let it gush. There is a provision in US law that puts a cap on the damages. BP knows it will pay the max anyway so why bother to skim any up at all? Skimming and collecting costs BP cash. The duty is to the shareholders to not spend any money it doesn't have to spend. Ergo, let it gush!

I'm just waiting for the first human death not on the platform. Then the US can have its Bhopal trial of BP's exec's.

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Amazing, disgusting, and widely damaging all round that the oil is still gushing out after so long!


Oil spill: Barack Obama criticises BP boss Tony Hayward

One 'killer' comment in there is:

... He said that while BP had nearly doubled the amount of oil being funnelled from the leaking wellhead since Friday, it was now "trying to increase that production rate, close the venting valves and move to a greater capacity". ...

My interpretation of that is that BP considers it cheaper to let the oil leak out than to get more tankers there to collect it for processing or disposal.

That does indeed appear to be the case:

BP will pay 'many billions of dollars in fines' for oil spill, White House warns

... the effort cannot be expanded because the company does not yet have vessels big enough to capture more of the oil...

... So it must be considered cheaper to destroy the Gulf rather than hire more oil tankers.


And there's oil tankers to spare in the Caribbean:

Mixed Signals for Oil Tanker Market in April

... In the Caribbean market, rates were hit by ample tonnage availability...


Meanwhile, the mess gets worse:

Gulf oil spill 'may top 100,000 barrels a day'

BP’s oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may be up to four times the scale estimated...


Battle to bring BP to account for oil spill intensifies

... Tuesday's meeting also gave a taste of the fury that many in Washington feel against BP. Edward Markey, chairman of the house energy and environment subcommittee, claimed that BP was "either lying or they are grossly incompetent" as he castigated the company for underestimating the amount of oil spewing into the ocean...

Contrast that with a small idea of the consequences:

OIL KILL - The Gulf of Mexico Killing Fields BP Doesn’t Want You Thinking About

Commentary by Dr. Joe MacInnis ...

IMAGINE A SUBMERGED PLUME OF OIL four times as high as the Empire State Building. It begins at the seafloor, thundering out of a shattered twenty-inch pipe with so much force that the sediments seem to sway. ...

... As it rises, it swells into thunderheads, roiling clouds, and ragged columns. Smaller plumes break away from the main plume and drift sideways in the currents. Some of these shaggy, stunted plumes remain suspended and never reach the surface.

After rising more than a thousand meters, the widening plume slithers into the lower layers of the sunlit zone. Slow moving currents shear it into shattered smoke and upward streaming strands. For many kilometers in every direction, seawater is shot through with black threads, small droplets, and greasy vapors. When the oil reaches the surface, there are places where the smell of swamp rot and sulfur can make men sick. ...

The cell-swarm of killing continues right up to the surface where phytoplankton—the lungs of the planet—are savaged by the violence of the oil and the chemicals used to disperse it. Trillions upon trillions upon trillions of dead diatoms and dinoflagellates rain down through the filthy procession of upward moving oil. In deep water they merge with uncounted corpses of copepods and in deeper water still, the lifeless remnants of big fish, small fish, turtles and invertebrates. ...



And many species depend upon that area for spawning and for their continued existence.

Who knows what next?

It's our only planet.
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

You've just gotta love the British response to Obama expecting BP to clean up it's own mess.

Cameron faces 'anti-British' row over BP

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Reality Internet Personality

BP's upper Execs may be both lying and/or grossly incompetent, One to cover the other and their fat reeking profits.

Won't be the first time, won't be the last among upper corporate muckity-mucks

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Neither the British people nor the British government have any responsibility for what a private company got up to in the Gulf of Mexico.

Then who does have responsibility when a multi-national screws up like this? All of us pointing fingers at each other does no good. Shouldn't each country and each individual be doing everything they can to fix this mess, and prevent the next? If the UK government and people have any clout with BP, use it! If you tell me that no country or individual has any clout with a large multinational, then it is time to rethink how these organizations operate. A simple act of the UK parliament (or any other major world government) could change things very quickly.

As is usual with the tabloid press, they just want to find scapegoats and sell copy.

As much as I hate the yellow rags, they may be doing us a favour by stirring up public reaction.

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generally speaking Gasoline retailers buy their product from Wholesalers not from the individual Gasoline producers. Additives are added when they purchase the gas from the Wholesaler. It would be incredibly inefficient if every gasoline company had its own supply in every city across the country. they get gas much like we your Grocery store gets its products, from a wholesaler

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

The nature of the gasoline business today means that many of you can be sending money to BP without being aware of it. Each of the major oil companies operates several "profit centres". The production division sells crude to anybody who wants it. The refining branch buys crude from wherever, and then sells refined product wherever. As the earlier post said, the retailer buys from whatever refiner gives him a good deal at the time.

Not to let BP off the hook, but they just happened to be the first major producer to be this unlucky. It could be anybody next time. Our best bet in the long run is to apply pressure to ALL oil producers, by calling for stricter regulations and oversight, and to show our general dissatisfaction by buying less of EVERYBODY'S oil products.

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Taken to its extreme, if no one bought BP at all, not wholesalers or re-sellers or consumers of gasoline and other oil products, then BP's income would dry up and as a publicly owned company they would have to make some hard decisions about what to do to with their assets. At some point the company would have to declare bankrupcy, sell off their assets and shut down. If that happened, who would be responsible for the clean-up and compensation to individuals and businesses affected by this spill?

Taken to its extreme, if no one bought BP at all, not wholesalers or re-sellers or consumers of gasoline and other oil products, then BP's income would dry up and as a publicly owned company they would have to make some hard decisions about what to do to with their assets. At some point the company would have to declare bankrupcy, sell off their assets and shut down. If that happened, who would be responsible for the clean-up and compensation to individuals and businesses affected by this spill?

That's why we have bankruptcy courts. BP's creditors under legislation or regulatory fines or resulting from civil negligence move to the head of the list when it comes time to carve up the corpse.

A major, messy bankruptcy, with the traditional creditors like banks and major suppliers looking on helplessly as BP is cut up and fed to the masses, might be what we need to wake up the rest of the oil industry.

In any event, if we believe the BP CEO's public statements, thay have money in the bank right now to cover the cleanup costs. It would still be there if BP went bankrupt today. We just need to make sure the money is used for that, and not spirited away to the shareholders while nobody is watching.

Actually, something like Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today would be in the public's interest. This would allow the courts to control how BP spends the money in the bank, and how they shuffle other assets to avoid liability.

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Taken to its extreme, if no one bought BP at all, not wholesalers or re-sellers or consumers of gasoline and other oil products, then BP's income would dry up and as a publicly owned company they would have to make some hard decisions about what to do to with their assets. At some point the company would have to declare bankrupcy, sell off their assets and shut down. If that happened, who would be responsible for the clean-up and compensation to individuals and businesses affected by this spill?

That's why we have bankruptcy courts. BP's creditors under legislation or regulatory fines or resulting from civil negligence move to the head of the list when it comes time to carve up the corpse.

A major, messy bankruptcy, with the traditional creditors like banks and major suppliers looking on helplessly as BP is cut up and fed to the masses, might be what we need to wake up the rest of the oil industry.

In any event, if we believe the BP CEO's public statements, thay have money in the bank right now to cover the cleanup costs. It would still be there if BP went bankrupt today. We just need to make sure the money is used for that, and not spirited away to the shareholders while nobody is watching.

Actually, something like Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today would be in the public's interest. This would allow the courts to control how BP spends the money in the bank, and how they shuffle other assets to avoid liability.

I think we all know, that in such a scenario, the 'legal eagles' and the so-called administrators would end up richer than their wildest dreams of avarice. Twenty or so years ago, I worked for a company in administration and the fees that Arthur Andersen were 'charging' would've made anyone's eyes water - even today! If it were not for the insanely high fees, for actually doing nothing (apart from staying in the best hotels in the county and eating extremely well), the company would've been OK. Still as it was only about 200 workers who were out of a job, I guess that made it OK, when they stripped it bare. The company being put into administration, only came about, through one large Japanese customer, not paying for what they'd received.....I won't name them, but I've never bought any of their products, even if they do make some nice digital cameras. I don't think the 'knock-on' effect has been considered, in this.

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Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

I think we all know, that in such a scenario, the 'legal eagles' and the so-called administrators would end up richer than their wildest dreams of avarice.

I hear you. But what choice do we have? Let the BPs of the world carry on their own merry way because the legal fees are high?

I don't think the 'knock-on' effect has been considered, in this.

Knock-on effect on anybody living and working on the Gulf has already begun. Knock-on effect on anybody living or working near the Atlantic is next. Knock-on effect on BPs suppliers and shareholders is just one of many issues.

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Taken to its extreme, if no one bought BP at all, not wholesalers or re-sellers or consumers of gasoline and other oil products, then BP's income would dry up and as a publicly owned company they would have to make some hard decisions about what to do to with their assets. At some point the company would have to declare bankrupcy, sell off their assets and shut down. If that happened, who would be responsible for the clean-up and compensation to individuals and businesses affected by this spill?

That's why we have bankruptcy courts. BP's creditors under legislation or regulatory fines or resulting from civil negligence move to the head of the list when it comes time to carve up the corpse.

A major, messy bankruptcy, with the traditional creditors like banks and major suppliers looking on helplessly as BP is cut up and fed to the masses, might be what we need to wake up the rest of the oil industry.

In any event, if we believe the BP CEO's public statements, thay have money in the bank right now to cover the cleanup costs. It would still be there if BP went bankrupt today. We just need to make sure the money is used for that, and not spirited away to the shareholders while nobody is watching.

Actually, something like Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today would be in the public's interest. This would allow the courts to control how BP spends the money in the bank, and how they shuffle other assets to avoid liability.

I think we all know, that in such a scenario, the 'legal eagles' and the so-called administrators would end up richer than their wildest dreams of avarice. Twenty or so years ago, I worked for a company in administration and the fees that Arthur Andersen were 'charging' would've made anyone's eyes water - even today! If it were not for the insanely high fees, for actually doing nothing (apart from staying in the best hotels in the county and eating extremely well), the company would've been OK. Still as it was only about 200 workers who were out of a job, I guess that made it OK, when they stripped it bare. The company being put into administration, only came about, through one large Japanese customer, not paying for what they'd received.....I won't name them, but I've never bought any of their products, even if they do make some nice digital cameras. I don't think the 'knock-on' effect has been considered, in this.

I think we also know that bankrupcy is a gamble for any creditor, but the corporate creditors would have a better chance than, say, the Nature Conservancy or some shrimp boat owner, at getting assets from a bankrupt BP. The big losers would be stockholders, who are currently selling off their holdings (which explains the stock's huge drop in value). The stockholders didn't make the decisions that caused the oil spill, but the execs and board members, who are more directly to blame, will do just fine.

Actually, something like Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today would be in the public's interest. This would allow the courts to control how BP spends the money in the bank, and how they shuffle other assets to avoid liability

Seeing as how Barack Petroleum isn't a US company, I don't think US Bankruptcy laws apply to it. From what I know and that isn't much, British re-organization and bankruptcy laws are radically different than the USA's. No chapter 11.

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Anyone seen what BP are doing to Google?!


BP's Disaster Containment Plan: Throw Plenty of Money at Google

When it comes to containing the damage from the worst oil spill in history, BP will spare no expense --- on public relations, that is. Its latest move: Throw as much money as possible to buy up Google ads, as a way to route people to a Web site that is long on deception and spin, and short on the truth. ...


... So, why still hasn't BP got the tankers in place yet to catch all the gushing oil rather than just a poor 10% or so?...


That is already a very bad mess for a long time to come...

Regards,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Amazing, disgusting, and widely damaging all round that the oil is still gushing out after so long!


Oil spill: Barack Obama criticises BP boss Tony Hayward

One 'killer' comment in there is:

... He said that while BP had nearly doubled the amount of oil being funnelled from the leaking wellhead since Friday, it was now "trying to increase that production rate, close the venting valves and move to a greater capacity". ...

My interpretation of that is that BP considers it cheaper to let the oil leak out than to get more tankers there to collect it for processing or disposal.

That does indeed appear to be the case:

BP will pay 'many billions of dollars in fines' for oil spill, White House warns

... the effort cannot be expanded because the company does not yet have vessels big enough to capture more of the oil...

... So it must be considered cheaper to destroy the Gulf rather than hire more oil tankers.


And there's oil tankers to spare in the Caribbean:

Mixed Signals for Oil Tanker Market in April

... In the Caribbean market, rates were hit by ample tonnage availability...

So why STILL no greater proportion of collection or even 100% recovery of the gushing oil?!

BP bosses arrive for Obama crisis talks

... Estimates of how much oil is gushing out of the well have again risen dramatically.

A government panel of scientists now believes 35,000-60,000 barrels are leaking each day, up from its estimate last week of 20,000-40,000.

BP managed to place a cap over the leaking oil pipe earlier this month, and is now collecting some of the oil.

It has now begun burning some of the oil brought to the surface in an effort to increase the amount of oil that can be dealt with each day. ...


I think we can be very sure that the volume of gushing oil has been greatly underestimated all along.

And many species depend upon that area for spawning and for their continued existence.

Who knows what next?

It's our only planet.
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Just one very small part:



Delicate patterns in the sea breaking on Orange Beach, Alabama, more than 90 miles from the BP oil spill, cannot distract from the mess four to six inches deep on parts of the shore


And a further expansion of the mess:

Cuba braces to contend with BP oil spill

... A relative lack of economic development has kept the north Cuban coast – just 90 miles from Florida – a haven for manatees, migratory sea turtles and sharks. White sand beaches are an important draw for tourists who provide an economic lifeline to the communist state.

Ramon Pardo, head of Cuban civil defence, said Havana was taking all precautions. "The preparation of the coast, vigilance, creating all necessary conditions, preparing the people who live on the coasts that could be impacted."...


It's our only planet.
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

In painful brief:

What a deadly mess!


What will get sick from the slick?

Far from the tar-coated beaches and clean-up crews seen on nightly news programmes, the Deepwater Horizon disaster is exacting an ongoing and largely unknown toll. In the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, floating oil slicks and subsurface plumes threaten a highly diverse ecosystem. According to a 2009 inventory by the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, the area around the ill-fated rig hosts 1,728 species, among them whale sharks, tarpon, tuna, sea turtles and sperm whales. With no end in sight for the spill, researchers are now struggling to understand the scope and nature of the damage to deep-ocean ecosystems through some of the Gulf's largest residents. ...


[edit]

Biologists find 'dead zones' around BP oil spill in Gulf

Methane at 100,000 times normal levels have been creating oxygen-depleted areas devoid of life near BP's Deepwater Horizon spill, according to two independent scientists

[/edit]


Feelings and exasperation run too high to comment...

The executives certainly need pulling down to earth and stripped of all their earthly worth, at the very least...

Regards,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)