Capping the BP Horizon (Dallas: how much, attorneys, calculating)

[loves2read]

everyone seems to be forgetting that BP has NEVER done a flow rate test on this well--they are proceeding with adding the new cap after letting it run free for several days into the Gulf without doing do
The company has refused requests by scholarly teams to do exactly that when BP claimed it was "too difficult" given the broken machinery at the well head site...

IF BP is allowed to cap that well now WITHOUT testing the flow rate--there is NEVER GOING TO BE AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF THE OIL THAT HAS FLOWED OUT--
Legally that is like a get out of jail card for their attorneys

with the Exxon Valdiz--that was a tanker with a known/verified capacity based on documents both on and off the ship
and there was STILL arguments about the amount of oil going into the Sound and doing the damage...

BP has under "estimated" the flow from the get-go
there is no way they want the flow determined because that will automatically set fines under the Clean Waters Act that will be heard in Federal court--
something totally separate from the money already set aside for cleanup
that money would be DAMAGES--which the oil has certainly caused

IF the government lets BP get away with doing this--
Obama--and I voted for him--deserves NOT to be re-elected
they are SO STUPID about how they are treating BP
maybe this has something to do with Halliburton's liability also--
but that flow rate is of primary importance in calculating damages to the Federal govt and to the state of LA for recovering lost oil revenue that should have gone to the state as tax money...
millions of dollars by now I am pretty sure if the full capacity flow was documented...

BP's attorney are going to do everything they can to make the company as bulletproof as possible and a huge step in the right direction is to leave as "unassertained" "undocumented" "speculative" "unverified" "guestimate"
amount of oil that has gushed into the Gulf...

letting them get away with it is like letting a murderer walk away and dispose of the murder weapon right under the eyes/authority of the police...

what about the Coast Guard taking over the well/oil recovery sitauation????
I thought BP was supposed to be doing stuff ONLY with the Coast Guard's oversight?
Where is the Minerals Management Service or Eric Holder--they should be SCREAMING about what BP is doing
Because if they connect the relief well and then try to go in to check the flow rate--all bets are off...

[unexpected]

You do realize that it IS actually impossible to accurately determine the flowrate from a broken wellhead right?

I know there's been a lot of interest in the BP oil spill by everyone, but please do not trust what a reporter/blogger writes down. There's an incredible amount of misinformation out there.

BP is effectively measuring the flowrate by determining how much oil they're capturing. If they're capturing 50,000 barrels of oil a day, and no more oil is leaking, well, then there's your flow rate.

[loves2read]

my husband works in o/g--has for the past 40 years--he is the one who says they might cap the well w/o taking an accurate flow rate
if they are able to put that new cap on and TURN OFF THE WELL--then they would probably justify not turning it on
just because they say that they are capturing 50K a day does not guarantee an accurate rate of what the flow is....or was -- before they started capturing larger quantities--

it appears that there was plenty of flow going into the water and staying down--the plume effect--that has been discussed...

but it is to BP's benefit to have a low a reported flow rate as possible-==
you can't disagree with that...

my husband hears from the engineers at his office who read other engineers' blogs/emails and hear them talk--

it is very possible that if the well is leaking outside the cement casing then it will continue to leak--capped or not

[DaveG99]

and this is in Dallas?

[unexpected]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

and this is in Dallas?

YES!!! This is very relevant to the interests of Dallas citizens. Has nothing to do with politics at all.