- On April 22, AP reported the news - an initial April
20 explosion, then a larger one igniting Deepwater Horizon's oil drilling
platform that burned for more than a day before sinking and releasing thousands
of barrels of oil daily into surrounding waters, enough potentially to
cause the greatest ever environmental disaster if not sealed in time to
prevent.
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- Transocean Ltd. owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon
platform under contract to BP Exploration and Production Inc., a division
of BP - 4th on Fortune Global 500 with $239 billion in 2009 operating revenue
and $14 billion in profits. It ranked fourth behind Royal Dutch Shell,
Exxon Mobil and Wal-Mart. Of the world's 10 largest companies, six are
oil giants. Transocean, an offshore drilling contractor, owns operates
about 140 drilling rigs. More on its culpability below.
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- On April 29, the Institute for Southern Studies published
"Facts and Figures" about the Gulf explosion and emerging disaster
saying:
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- -- the rig operated 41 miles off Louisiana's coast;
-
- -- the explosion and fire occurred on April 20;
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- -- 126 crew members operated the platform, 11 remain
missing and are presumed dead;
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- -- since 2001, 69 deaths and 1,349 injuries have occurred
from Gulf drilling operations as a result of 858 fires and explosions on
90 big rigs and 3,500 production platforms;
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- -- the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued 150
reports "documenting non-compliant offshore drilling operations;"
-
- -- 172 Gulf spills exceeding 2,100 gallons have occurred
in the past decade;
-
- -- as of late April, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) estimated about 5,000 barrels a day being leaked;
new information places it much higher; more on than below;
- -- at first, BP officials lied in reporting leakage of
1,000 barrels a day; they're still lying about the problem's severity;
so is the complicit Obama administration and major media to cover up the
magnitude of the crisis;
-
- -- investigative journalist Wayne Madsen calls it a potential
"mega-disaster....volcanic-level in size (that if) not stopped within
90 days (will cause) irreversible damage to the marine eco-systems (in
the Gulf), north Atlantic Ocean, and beyond (and, according to) some Corps
of Engineers experts....it could take two years to cement (the) gaping
chasm;"
-
- -- the Gulf threatened area is top ranked "with
the largest total seafood landings in the lower 48 states;" it produces
50% of the nation's wild shrimp and contains over 400 species, now threatened;
-
- -- in total, the Gulf accounts for about 20% of America's
commercial fishing; the growing slick threatens to devastate it and the
regional economies; continuing to spread, NOAA reported that it threatens
the coastal areas of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and potentially Texas,
Florida's east and west coasts, its Keys, and beyond.
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- Obama Administration Complicity
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- On May 11, 2009, Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar (rancher,
former Colorado senator, and notorious pro-business flack with a dismal
environmental record), filed a legal brief in the US Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia to overturn or amend an earlier ruling blocking
new drilling in the Gulf's outer continental shelf, including the Deepwater
Horizon site. In July, it was partly approved provided an environmental
impact study assessed the risks and found them acceptable. It's not been
completed and perhaps never seriously undertaken.
-
- Like its predecessors since at least the 1980s, the Obama
administration has close industry ties across the board, including Big
Oil. It thus bears equal responsibility for the consequences as a willing
co-conspirator. In fact, it actively intervened to exempt BP from preparing
an environment assessment on the Deepwater Horizon site, and after the
incident continues to grant "categorical exemptions" for deep
water drilling - 27 in all, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
-
- In March, Obama exceeded the oil-run Bush administration
in proposing offshore exploration from Delaware to Florida as well as the
latter state's Gulf coast. Those plans are on hold but remain in place
unless state officials can stop them. Avoidable accidents happen because
of decades of regulatory laxity and oversight, at least since the Carter
administration, in deference to powerful industry interests, including
Big Oil.
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- BP's History of Violations
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- On May 5, Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum reported that
BP has "the worst safety and environmental record of any oil company
operating in America." In recent years alone, it pled guilty to two
crimes (among many), paying over $730 million in fines and settlements
to the federal and state governments and civil lawsuits for "environmental
crimes, willful neglect of worker safety rules, and penalties for manipulating
energy markets."
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- It paid the largest fine in OSHA history ($87 million)
for willful negligence, causing the deaths of 15 workers and 170 injured
from its March 2005 Texas City Refinery explosion. In September 2005, OSHA
cited BP for 296 "Egregious Willful Violations" and others related
to the explosion, fining the company another $21 million.
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- In August 2006, spills caused by pipeline corrosion shut
its Prudhoe Bay, Alaska operation. In March 2006, National Geographic News
reported the spillage of 267,000 gallons (about one million liters) in
the North Slope's tundra, "raising a new round of questions from environmental
groups about proposed plans to open more land" to drilling.
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- In September 2001, OSHA fined BP $141,000 after an explosion
killed three workers at its Clanton Road facility. OSHA levied additional
fines in September 2005 for 301 violations, and in April 2006 for two "willful
violations" over its shutdown procedures.
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- In 2009, OSHA found BP in non-compliance of 270 "notifications
of failure to abate" and 439 new "willful violations," resulting
in the $87 million fine.
-
- In 2007, a US Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation
Board concluded that: "The Texas City disaster was caused by organizational
and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation." Warning
signs were there, but company management ignored them. In 2004, OSHA fined
BP $63,000 for violations at the same facility. In December 2009, a Texas
jury awarded workers $100 million for their injuries at Texas City.
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- At the time, Bloomberg.com reported that victims accused
BP of having "a long 'rap sheet' and a disturbing pattern of violations
and unfulfilled promises to correct them," saying that "Meaningful
change will occur only if forced by strict oversight through the court
system." Unfortunately, the courts, especially federal ones, are stacked
with pro-business justices so getting their help rarely happens and almost
never enough to matter.
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- In April 2010, OSHA fined BP $3 million for "willful
safety violations" at one of its Ohio refineries. In April 2006, it
paid a $2.4 million fine for similar safety and health violations at the
same facility.
-
- In 1999, the EPA cited BP Exploration & Oil for chemical
violations at 24 of its Ohio facilities, assessing over $295,000 in fines.
It also issued a 926 count administrative complaint against the company.
-
- In March 2003, California sued BP for $319 million over
thousands of clean air violations at its Carson refinery. The south Coast
Air Quality Management District accused the company of repeatedly breaking
rules on its storage tanks over an eight year period.
-
- In 2004, Alaska state regulators accused BP of safety
violations, proposing to fine the company for the second time. The other
was for earlier August 2002 violations causing a well explosion that seriously
injured a worker.
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- Minerals Management Service (MMS) fined BP numerous times:
-
- -- in February 2001, $20,000 for workplace violations
causing a serious injury;
-
- -- in January 2002, $20,000 for workplace violations
causing another one;
-
- -- in May 2002, $23,000 for a workplace safety violation
causing a worker injury;
-
- -- in September 2002, $39,000 for missing 13 monthly
tests of an "oil low level sensor;"
-
- -- in January 2003, $70,000 for a faulty fire water system;
in the same month, another $80,000 for bypassing "Relays for the Pressure
Safety High/Low for four producing wells;"
-
- -- in November 2003, $25,000 for a subsurface safety
valve "blocked out of service;"
-
- -- in February 2004, $25,000 because "The Rig's
Gas Detection System was bypassed with ongoing drilling operations being
conducted;"
-
- -- in July 2004, $190,000 for safety violations related
to a fire;
-
- -- in October 2006, $25,000 for unsafe operations; another
fine in October 2007 for various safety violations; and
-
- -- in the same month, $41,000 for similar safety violations.
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- BP's Deepwater Horizon site didn't have a remote-control
shut-off switch, an acoustic device some other oil producing countries
require (including Brazil and Norway) to protect against underwater spills.
When they occur, they work automatically to prevent small problems from
becoming greater.
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- BP has also been charged with numerous environmental
violations, felonies and at least one criminal misdemeanor, paying out
about $153 million in fines, penalties and settlements. It was fined another
$363 million for "price-gouging consumers and taxpayers." Nonetheless,
it legally avoided paying $172.5 million in taxpayer royalties on its Gulf
operated leases.
-
- BP is a serial scofflaw, earning billions while assessed
pocket change in fines, penalties and settlements for a company its size.
Despite its history of repeated violations, it's allowed to conduct business
as usual because effective crackdowns aren't imposed in an environment
of regulatory laxity. And, of course, it's as true across the board in
deference to all predatory giants in all sectors, preying on the public
and environment for profit with complicit government help.
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- BP Whistleblower Warns of More to Come
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- In his April 30 Truthout article, Jason Leopold cited
a whistleblower (unnamed for his protection), saying to expect more Gulf
catastrophes based on BP's history of breaking federal laws and its own
internal procedures.
-
- He "first raised concerns about safety issues related
to BP Atlantis, the world's largest and deepest semi-submersible oil and
natural gas platform, located about 200 miles south of New Orleans, in
November 2008."
-
- He "was hired to oversee the company's databases,"
containing Atlantis project documents. On the job, he learned "that
the drilling platform had been operating without a majority of the engineer-approved
documents it needed to run safely, leaving the platform vulnerable to a
catastrophic disaster," as bad or potentially worse than the current
spill.
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- BP knew of the problem, yet did nothing to address it,
showing its reckless disregard for public and environmental safety and
its own employees. Once a violator, always one, short of regulatory crackdowns
and criminal prosecutions, telling all violators what to expect. Not in
America, a scofflaw's paradise.
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- Transocean's Troubled History
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- On May 10, Wall Street Journal writer Ben Casselman headlined,
"Rig Owner Had Rising Tally of Accidents," saying:
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- "Nearly three of every four incidents that triggered
federal investigations into safety and other problems on (Gulf) deepwater
drilling rigs....since 2008 have been on rigs" the company operates,
according to federal data.
-
- Its oil company clients also saw a drop in its safety
performance. From 2005 - 2007, "a Transocean rig was involved in
13 of the 39 deep-water drilling incidents investigated by MMS...."
After merging with rival GlobalSantaFe, MMS found that it "accounted
for 24 of the 33 incidents."
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- It raises troubling questions of company negligence related
to the current spill. So far, no cause has been determined, but at least
two areas will be investigated - a cement seal in place to keep oil and
gas from escaping, and the blowout preventer, ocean floor valves meant
to close off the well in an emergency. MMS records show Transocean's troubled
history with both, including in 2006 when regulators found a blowout preventer
failed, partly from poor maintenance. In 2005, a failed cement seal caused
drilling fluid to leak.
-
- Until now, company violations have been minor, but small
problems warn of potentially greater ones, the current incident a prime
example.
-
- Transocean "specializes in a new frontier, drilling
from huge floating rigs that are either anchored to the sea floor or kept
in place with satellite-controlled thrusters." BP is its biggest Gulf
client. Although its overall safety record, measured by injuries per hour
worked, surpasses the industry average, it's especially worse than competitors
on deep water projects.
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- In recent years, this type drilling has increased rapidly,
forcing operators to compete for a limited number of skilled workers. As
a result, less experienced ones are used, suggesting a greater potential
for accidents, including serious ones like on April 20.
-
- After its 2007 GlobalSantaFe merger, Transocean's rankings
were close to the bottom in many categories of customer satisfaction. In
2008 and 2009, it ranked last among deep water drillers for "job quality"
and second last in "overall satisfaction." Pre-merger, it was
near top ranked on both measures - more evidence of the destructiveness
of monopoly or oligopoly size and the best reason to break up giants in
all sectors to prevent it.
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- The Halliburton Connection
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- Besides its war-profiteering history, Halliburton's notoriously
shoddy on-the-job performance was suggested in Russell Gold and Ben Casselman's
April 30 article titled, "Drilling Process Attracts Scrutiny in Rig
Explosion," saying with regard to the Gulf incident:
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- Halliburton's role in a cementing procedure "is
coming under scrutiny as a possible cause of the explosion (resulting in)
one of the biggest oil spills in US history, drilling expert said Thursday
(April 29)."
-
- Cementing is done to prevent oil and gas leakages by
filling gaps between "the outside of the well pipe and the inside
of the hole bored into the ocean floor." Cement is also used to plug
wells once drilling is completed.
-
- For Deepwater Horizon, cementing was finished and the
required areas temporarily plugged, but it's not known if the entire process
was done before the explosion. Regulators found cementing problems the
cause of other well blowouts, "in which oil and natural gas surge
out of a well with explosive force." When cementing is improperly
done and cracks develop, it happens, and because gas is highly combustible,
it's "prone to ignite."
-
- Halliburton is the largest company in the global cementing
business. It was contracted for the Deepwater Horizon rig. Transocean said
the process was completed. According to Robert MacKenzie, FBR Capital Markets
Managing Director of energy and natural resources:
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- "The likely cause of gas coming to the surface had
something to do with the cement."
-
- Other drilling experts agree, saying a faulty bottom
of well cement plug may be to blame. In 2007, a Minerals Management Service
(MMS) study found that faulty cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 Gulf blowouts
over a 14 year period. Halliburton was involved before - one instance being
a major 2009 Timor Sea explosion, causing fire and tens of thousands of
barrels leaked for over 10 weeks. MMS' recently retired regulatory affairs
head, Elmer Danenberger, believes poor Halliburton cementing caused the
Timor problem.
-
- It's shoddy work may be a factor in the Gulf, but Transocean
and BP share culpability, based on their disturbing histories, besides
regulatory and oversight laxity allowing it.
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- A Much Greater Disaster than Reported
-
- According to Ian MacDonald, Florida State University
biological oceanographer, about one million gallons of oil are leaking
daily, based on NASA data he studied. If so, the incident already exceeds
the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe (topping 11 million gallons) from which
affected areas haven't recovered and won't for decades, perhaps longer,
from any spill that large. Already, said MacDonald, as of May 7, around
6,200 square miles are affected, a figure growing daily as long as leakage
continues.
-
- Other scientists agree, suggesting an estimated 25,000
daily barrels spilled, or over one million gallons. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports a worse potential if a so-called
bent "riser pipe" deteriorates further. If so, daily leakage
could more than double to over two million barrels.
-
- Already, vast parts of the Gulf are at risk as well as
marshes, other type wetlands, estuaries, beaches, fishing, wildlife, the
mouth of the Mississippi River, East Coast, Florida Keys and Everglades,
parts of the Atlantic up to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and beyond
if Gulf Stream currents are affected, as well as inland cities, towns,
rivers, and lakes if Gulf hurricanes spread oil-contaminated rain - a vast
ecosystem threatened by corporate criminal negligence and government complicity,
the usual combination behind virtually all destructive acts.
-
- Public health is also affected from contaminated fish,
water, rain, and air from oil smoke and vapors - problems that won't abate
for years because oil is a toxic brew and enough contaminating the environment
causes an array of health problems, including potential chemical poisoning
(hydrocarbon pneumonia).
-
- According to Columbus, Ohio Nationwide Children's Hospital
Pharmacology and Toxicology head, Dr. Marcel Casavant:
-
- "Smoke from burning oil contains many chemicals;
some are potentially lethal poisons and some are nuisance irritants, but
even these....can trigger breathing problems in people with asthma or emphysema
or other lung disease(s)."
-
- Why is because burning oil smoke contains carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organics, and
other toxins - all harmful to human health. Once ingested, serious problems
can result affecting the heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver, pregnancy,
other bodily functions, and the potential for cancer and other diseases.
It'll be years before the full impact is known, but it's already clear
what happens when government and business share the same bed. The public
always suffers - this time, like others, disastrously.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
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- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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