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BP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by the fund, which was created by the oil company in May last year.
Emails expose BP's attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Seeded on Sat Apr 16, 2011 3:58 AM EDT
Article Source: Guardian Unlimited- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (15)
Those concerns go far beyond academic interest into the impact of the spill. BP faces billions in fines and penalties, and possible criminal charges arising from the disaster. Its total liability will depend in part on a final account produced by scientists on how much oil entered the gulf from its blown-out well, and the damage done to marine life and coastal areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The oil company disputes the government estimate that 4.1m barrels of oil entered the gulf.
- 7 votes
#1 - Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:28 AM EDTWhite House claims that the worst of the BP oil spill was over were undermined yesterday when a senior government scientist said three-quarters of the oil was still in the Gulf environment and a research study detected a 22-mile plume of oil in the ocean depths.
Bill Lehr, a senior scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) departed from an official report from two weeks ago which suggested the majority of the oil had been captured or broken down.
"I would say most of that is still in the environment," Lehr, the lead author of the report, told the house energy and commerce committee.
- 6 votes
#2 - Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:30 AM EDTAnd we are giving them subsidies... NIIIIIIIIIIIICE....
- 6 votes
#3 - Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:43 PM EDTAnd the teaBAGGERS continue to say NOTHING about it. But they DO condemn the poor and needy cause they get pennies compared to the BILLIONS that big industry gets!
- 6 votes
bk - do you have any knowledge of potential robotic or sonar-type research proposed or scheduled that would look for the continuously leaking seams from the various faults, as well as continued leakage from any of the three BP wells that have been documented?
that these bad boys are horribly bad is not even under debate by those with eyes open, but the mission of all of us is to find the current and future damages, expose them, and press for immediate mitigation from the private source -
BP's profit stream made off the backs of a stressed out and manipulated population here and in europe.
as we have previously discussed, just as the beaches and gulf bottom are littered with silent remains of marine life forms, the giant temples of the oil-addicted sub-culture are littered with those silent stooges who cannot face the consequences that their entire lives have been nothing but a lie.
- 6 votes
#4 - Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:58 PM EDTMick, there is whole range of high resolution seabed and sub-seabed geophysical techniques that can be used (some are routinely employed) to map (the first requirement) the seafloor. That mapping exercise can b deployed using Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) or Deep Towed-vehicle. We only send in the ROV or sample the seabed soil to confirm the various features interpreted eg the geochem soil profile of hydrocarbon content across the suspected leaking fault line. I can send you links and tech literatures if you email me your contact email.
The reason we do this is because the marine survey can be horribly expensive if it is not properly planned. I would recommend it being done in at least 2 stages or better in 3 stages. The survey normally cost between USD20,000/day to USD50,000/day depending on the system used on top of a mobilisation lumpsum fee that could cost from USD200,000 to USD 1 million. That is what geohazards company charged the oil companies. But with Gulf locals willing to chip in with local resources, I reckon the cost can be a lot cheaper. Most of the equipment are manufactured and produced from the US. Considering the amount of suffering by such a large mass of people, this independent survey should have been done soon after the disaster to take out all the guessing games.
That this was not done strongly (I bet my bottom dollar on this and that is why I came in to put my 2 cents worth in July10) implies wholesale cover up ranging from the volume of oil spilled, the magnitude of the disaster, the magnitude of destruction and the criminality behind the disaster. The Macondo prospect in particular the proposed well A and Well B locations (never mind the 3rd well location which was even worse in geohazards risk) is very high in the geohazards risk ranking even based on publicly available information. I have listed about 50% of the less technical ones in my articles.
The survey would be extremely useful in planning the master rehabilitation of the gulf, not piecemeal "poking" solution here and there. It can also be used to examine how bad the situation is with regard to the leaking abandoned wells. I suspect this was not done because the truths that will be revealed from such a survey will be extremely "ugly" and bad especially for those who had not been complying with the safety regulations and offshore exploration requirements.
Even before starting the new survey, all the oil companies have stacks of seabed and subseabed survey data which they are required to archive and submit to govt regulatory bodies, which we can examine and compile to narrow down the focus. The ocean is a big place and survey takes time and money. Hey why not get the funds off BP research allocation.
But if we just want to prove that BP had drilled at the 3rd well in addition to well A and Well B, we can demand to investigate all the drilling operation records, unadulterated ROV videos since day 1 of exploration and other seabed information. We had already deciphered the existence of the 3rd well and others secrets of the deep from the bits and pieces of information. It is just a matter of zooming in to the specifics. That would be the fastest way - which I had been advocating. Why is the govt dragging its feet in sending in independent geohazards experts? The presidential oil commission did not do a good independent job other than mimicking BP's investigation with some changes.
- 6 votes
What happens to the precautionary principle when Ms. Lubchenco is addressing what is being claimed to be the worst environmental disaster that has ever been inflicted on the United States? Why is it that the lack of scientific certainty elicited from a marine scientist, one who has often been described by her supporters as “world class,” and whose job it is to protect our coastal and offshore waters, is awfully hard to look at as anything other than knee jerk deniability regarding subsurface oil plumes regardless of her claim to the contrary? How did the precautionary principle play into her deliberative processes regarding these now confirmed subsurface plumes when so much more was at stake than getting some more fishermen off the water?
- 4 votes
It is interesting to note that both BP and OBAMA us the same PR firm. So they know how to spin any negative news. Like Obama's swimming with his kids while down in the GULF. What was left out was that it was at a Navy Base POOL and not in the Ocean. So PR works for you when you place the right backdrop in the background.
- 2 votes
#5 - Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:45 AM EDTWith all due respect, sir, PR firms aside, your statement doesn't hold water. I personally wouldn't swim off the Gulf beaches in Texas. Florida is another story.
- 2 votes
To Mr. BK LIM KTR here, If someone was to HIRE a ROV and go down to the WELLS... I bet they would meet with an untimely "Accident" that their ROV would suddenly Implode on them in some "Freak 1 of a Million Accident" namely called finding the "TRUTH" but it would cost them their lives.
I still remember watching Anderson Cooper reporting how they lost access along the Beaches and to the Oil Rigs and I know it was not because he was gay either. This is like the 9/11 Pentagon. When the FBI rushes in and grabs 86 Video Camera files you just smell DIRT. Or in Oklahoma City when the Video is Scrubbed here again you smell DIRT!
Then again, When they SCREAM TERRORIST and then the TERRORIST all have an FBI HANDLER that GAVE THEM THE BOMB... You SMELL DIRT! Why would the FBI give a Terrorist a BOMB? Isn't that Aiding and Abetting? Treason? Conspiracy? Murder? Yet a Worse ACT of Treason on the US Constitution of the United States? If they will do it ON LAND... Surely they'll do it under Water where they can HIDE it a 1 Mile away from EYES.
- 3 votes
#6 - Sun Apr 17, 2011 3:03 AM EDTDidn't realise you are MajWilliamMartin. Hi, welcome to Newsvine.
Are we talking about another James Bond movie here? LOL!. No need to down 5000ft to see, we send the AUV and stay at sea level. If the vessel sinks, we should be able to stay afloat in a sea of oil provide the oil is thicker than 2 microns.
- 3 votes
I post under this name... One of them anyway... I am sending you 2 Movies I just STOLE off a Hard-drive... That will open your eyes to something else.
As far as the AUV or ROV.. I was saying that because I think they would blow a guy out of the water. I know with the USGS hiding all the DATA that something is up. That big quake there last year that suddenly also disappeared just like all of our Quakes here in Montana that HAPPEN and then suddenly UNHAPPEN and the Counter that says 409 Quakes in 7 days and then suddenly drops to 258 Quakes in 7 days a day later.
I am worried though about the San Juan area. The PLATE Setup is just like Japan's and the Plate runs E/W and there has been so many quakes lately. I will include the 1990 to present in my Email. A Tsunami released from that area headed NORTH with Florida at 10FT above Sea Level would about destroy that KEYS and Much of Florida Area. The Reason I bring this is is because of the DWH and it's 18,000 foot well, The Sea-Water into the Well, the 27,000 Other Leaking Wells I emailed you about that are in the Gulf and now the BAHA area is getting Double Quakes (Same Fault) E/W and that area is getting his repeatedly now 3 times a week or more.
They just revised Yellowstones (AREA) and it is a lot BIGGER then thought. Maybe clear over towards Kennewick, WA. Would explain the two Hot Springs I live next to 50+ Miles from Missoula N.W. near PLAINS. I also want you to watch a Youtube Link. OK. I sure enjoy your writings and I pass them to my friends all the time.
KTR
- 4 votes
#7 - Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:48 AM EDTKTR
There is a lot of geology on the plate (tongue in cheek). It is too much for any one geologist to handle. My experience is more in man-made disasters. We however need to understand natural occurrence to draw the line. Will look into the videos and see if I can pick up something.
Thanks for dropping in.
- 2 votes
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