New evidence cites more BP oil spill mistakes | Full Page

Based on the initial information, regulators approved BP's well sealing plan, which called for placing the top of the cement at roughly 17,300 feet below the surface of the water. The cement was pumped April 19, the day before the explosion. But Skripnikova said that after she flew back from the rig she and others re-examined the analysis, and on the day of the explosion she identified the shallower gas zone. That would have meant the cement should have been placed at just under 17,000 feet below the surface of the water.

This will mean that BP gave the info that the gas strata was expected at about (17,300 + 1000-5000) = 13,300 ft. 5000ft is the water depth and 1000ft is the required length of cementing above the expected gas level.

"This is a critical factor, where the hydrocarbons are found," said Rice University engineering professor Satish Nagarajaiah. "I think further studies are needed to determine where this exactly was and what response was initiated by BP if they knew this fact."

Of course BP knew this gas level existed. The Texaco Rigel well which is about 2.43 km from BP Macondo Well A hit it. So did well B just 3000 ft from well A. Remember they had to plug and abandon well B at 13,300ft after encountering gas. BP was given permission to cement plug the only 750ft above the bottom of the hole at 13,300ft bml.

08 -14 Mar10 Well 02 (Well B)

BP reported a well control event that took 7 days to get under control. A series of BP internal emails released by Congress showed the surrounding rock formation actually collapsed on the drill. BP was then given special permission to cement the well at a shallower depth than normally required because the hole caved in on drilling equipment. Another BP email released by congress showed that unnamed MMS official at 11 p.m. on March 11 gave the special permission to insert the cement plug about 750 feet above the bottom of the hole.

http://bklim.newsvine.com/_news/2010/08/25/4966322-twisted-tale-of-the-missing-3rd-well-that-blew-art-of-mass-deceptionpart-2

So Well B confirmed the occurrence of gas strata at 13,300 ft, 13,100ft or 12,900ft depending on which email or drilling logs used. BP's exploration management had to know since they were the ones who gave the final permission for the drilling crew at Well B to cement plug and abandon well. Tony Hayward knew as well because on 17 March he sold off 220,000 BP shares. So did 4 other BP directors who sold more than a total of 500,000 shares following Tony Hayward's action. So did Goldman Sachs and Haliburton by their respective stock market and acquisition actions.

As experienced oil men, they knew the destructive forces of "undetected" shallower gas and the consequence on the cement bonding. They only need to trigger the well blowout after the well had reached the reservoir. If the blowout occurred (before reaching the reservoir as in well B) there would be no ensuing oil gush. The blowout would end up at the very worst with a sunken rig but no long lasting oil spill and no big windfalls in the fallen BP stock, no excuse to use massive dosage of corexit, no population reduction from the toxic oil spill etc....etc.

You get the picture, NOW! That is why BP made sure the 4th drilling team at the 3rd well (S20BC) 720ft NW of well A remained ignorant of the drilling problems and gas encounter at well A and Well B, by hiring entirely new sets of crew and no handover. This is against standard safety rules and policies (even BP's). So now we know why BP went to extraordinary lengths to keep the new drilling crew in the dark about the shallow gas problems and occurrence. They wanted to the problems to multiply until it became uncontrollable. Now you understand why I said the control floodgates were opened at the right time, the right sequence at the right places for this mega oil spill disaster to happen. Without this, it would have not have happened. Yes a blowout or an uncontrollable well situation might have happened (accidentally) but not such a well-orchestrated mega oil spill.

See http://bklim.newsvine.com/_news/2010/07/30/4781973-why-is-bps-macondo-blowout-so-disastrous-beyond-patch-up

On 13 Feb BP told MMS they were trying to seal cracks in the well. It took 10 days to plug the first cracks. In early March , BP told MMS they were having trouble maintaining control of surging natural gas (according to emails).

A March 10 e-mail to Frank Patton, the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s drilling engineer for the New Orleans district, from BP executive Scherie Douglas said BP planned to sever the pipe connecting the well to the rig and plug the hole. “We are in the midst of a well control situation on MC 252 #001 and have stuck pipe,” Douglas wrote, referring to the subsea block, Mississippi Canyon 252, of the stricken well. “We are bringing out equipment to begin operations to sever the drillpipe, plugback the well and bypass.” Bloomberg News (31 May 2010).

BP knew more than what they are admitting. They confirmed the gas strata when well B encountered ...and had to plug the near-blowout well 750ft above 13,100 ft. This fact came out during the congressional hearing. See my past articles.

The BP scientist is only confirming what had already been evident. Questions must be asked why the presidential commission did not investigate into this.

My postulation that BP must have drilled a 3rd well 720 ft NW of well A stemmed from this fact. A sidetrack well from well B seabed location would have to deviate at a very high degree to bypass this plugged depth section (750 ft above 13,100ft bml) and might miss their target at 18,000ft bml. If they nearly lost the well B hitting the gas strata vertically, hitting it at an angle would even be worse. That is why they had to drill vertically from a 3rd location.

If Texaco Rigel well also hit the said gas strata from 2.43km (away from well A) and well B (300ft away), the 3rd well at 720 ft away should have hit the same gas strata as well. By the way the gas strata is not a localised occurrence being part of the rock formation. If BP knew this and does not pass this critical information to the new set of drillers; why?

Withholding critical information which led to the disastrous blowout killing 11 crew and countless wildlife and slowly killing thousands others over the next 10 years ...is this not criminal?

The Game is ....rightly called Spreading the Blame ...the real culprits aka puppet master (aka corporate criminals) are hidden from prosecution. They got back their lives but not the Gulf Victims and the American Tax payers who ultimately foot the bill of the disaster. Transfer of wealth at its slickest low. The key message in all the reports is the same; spread the blame to public listed companies, load the American tax payers with the relief bill and spare the corporate criminals who perpetuate the crime of mass destruction in the first place. Where is Justice?

BP's Internal Report: Spreading the Blame Around:
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/09/bps-internal-report-continues-blame-game
BP released the findings of its internal probe of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on Wednesday. The 193-page report accepts some of the blame for the explosion and subsequent spill, but also points the finger at its partners in the operation. In the eight key findings in the report, the company only directly takes responsibility for one of the problems that led to the disaster.

http://www.boemre.gov/pdfs/maps/DWHFINAL.pdf
REPORT REGARDING THE CAUSES OF THE APRIL 20, 2010
MACONDO WELL BLOWOUT
September 14, 2011
BP, as the designated operator under BOEMRE regulations, was
ultimately responsible for conducting operations at Macondo in a way that
ensured the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources,
and the environment. Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, was
responsible for conducting safe operations and for protecting personnel onboard.
Halliburton, as a contractor to BP, was responsible for conducting the cement job,
and, through its subsidiary (Sperry Sun), had certain responsibilities for
monitoring the well. Cameron was responsible for the design of the Deepwater
Horizon blowout preventer ("BOP") stack.