With a tip of my hat I will introduce myself… I am a simple layman but pardon me, it appears a great deal of plain factual information is missing from all of the cacophonous material being continuously broadcast by the Main Stream Media (MSM) from Lousiana concerning the British Petroleum (BP) underwater oil gusher spewing forth in the Gulf Of Mexico. Since I did reasonable well in high school physics, there are many things about this oil gusher that have me scratching my head. Expert after expert have offered their opinions, ranging from representatives of BP to Dr. Chu the White House energy secretary, but in the midst of all this technical prattle (Blow Out Preventers and such) the real facts are still missing. I provide a list of what I am looking for below the fold.
The first bit of information that I am looking for is comprhensive GEOLOGICAL information for that area of the Gulf where the BP Oil drilling rig burned and collasped into the ocean releasing the underwater oil gusher.
The second bit of information that I am looking for is the results of the the original BP GEOLOGICAL SURVEY estimate of the size of the OIL RESERVE in that location.
The last bit of iinformation that is critcal is an accurate reading of the FLOW RATE of the oil spewing out of the BP underwater gusher.
Neither BP or the Government is willing to release this information to the general public, because with it a high school student (who has successfully completed a pre-college course in introductory physics) could come up with a fact based estimate as to how much oil will be released into the ocean.
Corporate stupidity on behalf of BP prevented them from releasing this critical data to the public. They followed the kneejerk reactions of most corporations, which is to “whitewash” the severity and damage caused by their neglegence. There would have been less public outrage is they were “straight” with the public and provided the real fact regarding the situation. Instead BP proposed a succession of “Rube Golberg” gimmicks that might have a statistical chance of stopping the outflow of oil from the underwater gusher.
The measured oil outflow pressure would in effect specify the amount of counter-pressure needed to equalize the outflow pressure of the oil. Simple physics says if out-pressure = in-pressure = no-flow in either direction. The stuff used is actually irrevelent as long it is able to maintain its integrity under the required pressure.
Most important is the size estimate of the reserve and the geological shape of the reserve along with the geology of the area. This information will reveal whether ONE ADDITIONAL well drilled into the reserve will lower the outflow pressure of the current underwater gusher sufficiently to allow normal stoppage procedures and eventual cap off. It is my belief that the BP proposed so-called “relief well” scheduled to be finished in late August WILL NOT reduce the pressure in the OVERALL RESERVE enough to allow plugging of the current out of control underwater gusher and provide for its eventual cap off. This is my hunch, but given the data listed above I could make my prediction based on factual data. The geological data for the area is critical. This is the information we need instead of endless animations of BP’s “top hats” and “top kills”.
President Obama handled this horrific diaster in a clumsy stupid manner. Faced with the greatest disaster in the history of the nation, the Obama adminstration was content to hold to the legal position that BP was financially responsible for the damage. What Obama failed to understand is that there are some things that CANNOT be measured in terms of the almighty dollar,i.e. there are some things that rise above monetary value, they are PRICELESS! Instead of commissioning a raft of study groups “to make sure this does not happen again”, Obama needs to bring the Oil Barons together in the Oval Office and issue the following edict. “This is a NATIONAL EMERGENCY! I want you to form a consortium to drill the BP reserve with the number of wells needed to reduce the pressure in the BP reserve the fastest, so that the current BP broken well head gusher can be effectively shut off. We will resolve the financial and propriety issues with such an operation after we have secured the situation in the Gulf. For your future in offshore drilling in America, I expect FULL COOPERATION!” I can only hope that someone in the White House will urge the President to adopt this suggestion and move quickly in this respect. This I hope both for the Obama administration and the future of the folks who live along the southern coast lines of America.