Archive for May, 2010
BPs Top Kill is a failure-gusher continues to spill oil in huge quantities
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May 30, 2010- It is now 40 days since the oil spill caused by the explosion, fire and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig started. BP’s much publicized “Top Kill” operation to plug the oil gusher has come a cropper, as oil continues to flow out in large quantities, leading many to believe that this environmental disaster may now even exceed the Exxon Valdez disaster!
This is certainly not good news for anybody. The oil spill now threatens large parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Wildlife, marine animals, as well as people who depend on the sea for their livelihood (fishermen and shrimp farmers). Entire beaches on the south coast are threatened by the spreading slick. The incident highlights how just one well in the hundreds that are already in operation in the Gulf region can pose a danger that was not anticipated.
BP’s Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles was quoted in some media reports as saying that the Top Kill attempt was now a failure. Suttles was also quoted as saying BP will now turn to the “lower marine riser package”, or LMRP, technique, which he hopes will be operating within four to seven days.
Lets hope this operation will be successful.
BP Oil Spill worse than the Exxon Valdez spill? Experts debate
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May 27, 2010- The Deepwater Horizon oil rig accident may be causing more damage than earlier estimated, say some experts. BPs intital estimates of about 5000 barrels per day may be too much on the lower side. The Washington Post quotes that U.S. Geological Survey Director Dr. Marcia McNutt said at a news conference Thursday that two teams of scientists, using different methods, have preliminarily determined that between 17 and 27 million gallons of oil have gushed into the ocean so far, which makes it comparable to the oil spill caused by the Exxon Valdez supertanker, which ran aground off Alaska’s coast in Prince William Sound about a decade back.
This also implies that the average spillage rate would be around 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day, which is far higher than BPs earlier estimates.
Meanwhile the reports coming in from various sources say that the “Top Kill” operation started by BP to staunch the oil flow is progressing well. President Obama has already put a moratorium on further drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, for at least six months.
In Washington, Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, who is leading the emergency review into the whole accident is believed to have blamed the earlier (Bush) administration for “reprehensible” culture that developed within the Minerals Management Service, the regulatory agency in the government that issues permits for offshore oil drilling.
CSB releases report on power plant safety violations after Kleen energy explosion
Pipe Cleaning Practices that Led to Kleen Energy Explosion Are Common Across Gas Energy Industry, Survey Data Show
CSB Public Meeting Planned Next Month in Connecticut to Consider New Safety Recommendations
Washington, DC, May 19, 2010 – The practice of using flammable natural gas to clean power plant piping, which led to the fatal explosion at Connecticut-based Kleen Energy on February 7, has been commonly used across the gas-fired power generating industry, CSB investigators said today.
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The explosion, which killed six workers and injured at least 50 others, occurred during a “gas blow” – a plannedExample of a gas blow. Note: this photo was not taken at Kleen Energy effort to clean out new fuel-gas piping leading to combustion turbines by directing high-pressure natural gas through the pipes and out of vents located near ground level, adjacent to the power generation building. The gas accumulated above the lower explosive limit and ignited, causing massive damage to the new billion-dollar facility, which was nearing completion.
The ignition source for the blast has not been determined. CSB investigators said the construction site had many possible ignition sources, and that gas blows could also self-ignite if debris ejected from piping impacted other objects nearby, creating sparks – adding to the risk of the practice.
The plant was designed to use a “combined cycle” to efficiently generate electricity. In this type of facility, natural gas is combusted to drive massive turbines, and then residual heat is recovered from the exhaust gases to produce additional power through the use of steam turbines. Newly constructed pipes frequently have debris and other contaminants that can damage gas turbine blades, necessitating some form of pipe cleaning prior to start-up.
CSB investigators will present the new findings, derived from a survey of 62 representatives from the combined-cycle gas power industry, at professional society meetings in Maryland and Connecticut this week. Thirty-nine survey respondents (63%) indicated their companies had at some time used flammable natural gas to blow out piping. Only one of those 39 respondents said a flare was used to safely combust the gas prior to venting to the atmosphere.
According to the survey, using natural gas to clean pipes remains the most common single practice in industry, employed by 37% of respondents. The other respondents reported using nitrogen, which is nonflammable, or inherently safer alternatives such as air, steam, or cleaning pigs. On February 25, 2010, eighteen days after the explosion at Kleen Energy, the CSB stated that natural gas blows were “inherently unsafe” and urged industry to seek alternatives.
“The industry survey confirms that there are readily available safe alternatives to using flammable natural gas for pipe cleaning,” said CSB Investigator Dan Tillema, P.E. “At the same time, a disturbing number of companies continue to use natural gas which creates the serious risk of a fire or explosion.”
“Venting any significant amount of natural gas into a workplace is an open invitation to disaster,” said CSB Chairman John Bresland. “With more than 120 new gas power plants slated for completion in the next five years, there is an urgent need to ensure safety during the construction and maintenance of gas piping. The CSB will be considering recommendations to promote safer practices in industries that use natural gas as fuel.”
In February 2010, the CSB issued urgent safety recommendations to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to prohibit indoor venting of natural gas during purging operations within the national fuel gas code, known as NFPA 54. However, the explosion at Kleen Energy occurred during outdoor venting of a massive quantity of gas. Power plants are in any case exempt from the national fuel gas code, which is developed and maintained by nongovernmental consensus committees administered by the NFPA and the American Gas Association, an industry group.
Chairman Bresland said he anticipated the CSB would convene a public hearing in Connecticut in late June to consider further recommendations to prevent accidents involving the planned venting of natural gas at workplaces.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
BP’s containment dome attempt fails to stop the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
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May 11, 2010 -BPs attempt to contain the oil spill due to the Deepwater Horizon disaster has prima facie failed its mission. It is suggested that methane in an ice crystal form has prevented the containment dome from succeeding in its mission of containing the oil spewing from the gusher. Experts from the oil industry said that icy hydrates are always a problem at these ocean depths and this was a known factor before the operation began. The operation, probably never attempted on an open gusher this big and this deep, was anyway challenging to begin with. With question marks over the success of this containment dome, the world is waiting to see what would be the next steps that BP takes in containing the looming environmental disaster. It has been suggested by some to have some kind of local heating in the dome to melt the hydrates, but it is really challenging to come up with such and arrangement in so short a time and which will operate at such a depth.
Meanwhile oil droplets have been spotted near the Alabama coastline near Dauphin island according to some media reports. Some beachgoers have spotted several pea sized balls of a viscous sludge, most likely oil from the open oil well. Authorities have already visited the area but no official statement has been issued upto now, although some news reports quoted Coast Guard officials as saying that they had collected about half a dozen “tar balls” from the beach.
The world is watching how BP handles this crisis. For sure, after this event, deepwater oil drilling will never be the same again.
Deepwater Horizon Disaster-BP starts containment dome operation
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May 07, 2010 -After the massive oil spill due to BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, today the containment operation began when a large dome was lowered into the sea, to prevent any further oil leaking out of the capped well. The containment dome will be positioned by remotely operated subsea vehicles.
Here’s a video on Youtube showing the operation.
Meanwhile the oil slick has reached Freemason island near the Louisiana coast, much earlier than what the NOAA had predicted. Within the next 72 hours it is also expected to wash ashore on the Alabama coast and the Florida panhandle.
One wonders what will be the final result and impact of this incident, not only on BP, but also the environment in the Gulf of Mexico and the southern states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, the efforts of lobbyists to allow the Obama administration to permit offshore drilling and the longterm effects on marine life.
