The $500K switch that could have stopped the oil spill
U.S. regulators do not require oil companies install remote-control shutoff switches on their rigs because of the expense. (The valves cost about $500,000 each.) Maybe it's time to reconsider.
Mon, May 03 2010 at 10:35 PM EST
9
Photo: Eric Gay/AP I haven't written too much about the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster — just one piece admitting to making a bad call on supporting Obama's support of offshore drilling.
|
WorldShares lets you earn donations for your favorite nonprofit. Earn up to 20 points now.
Learn More |
Earn Points
What's this? |
Norway and Brazil mandate that all oil rigs be equipped with these backup acoustically triggered shutoff valves. Norway in particular is known for its exemplary safety record for oil rigs. Salon's Joe Conason says it's important to note that Norway's main oil company is state-owned and operated and doesn't spend heaps of cash every year to fight government regulation.
Right now officials think that around 5,000 barrels of oil (enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every three days) are pouring out of the broken oil line every day, up from an original estimate of 1,000 barrels. I'm inclined to believe that the real total is much higher than that though, but there is no way we'll ever know the real number — rough estimates are the best we'll ever get.
BP is spending more than $6 million a day in direct cleanup costs. The BP brand is taking a HUGE hit an order of magnitude larger than that, and the eventual bill will easily be well into the hundreds of billions of dollars when all the external factors are considered. (Right now there is no fishing going on in the Gulf and shipping has been disrupted). BP could easily not survive this one.
And it all could have been avoided if they had just installed a half a million dollar piece of equipment. I'm not well-versed enough in oil drilling technology to know if the shutoff valve could have prevented the explosion on the rig that set this chain of events into motion, but I do know that it could have prevented the river of oil that is currently pouring out from the ocean floor right now. With the installation of that football-sized piece of equipment, we would have all read about the tragic sinking of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and by now, two weeks later, forgotten it and moved on to the next big breaking story.
If we're going to drill, baby, drill (and I don't think we should), shouldn't we do it in the absolutely safest way possible? Even if it does cost the oil companies a few extra million in safety measures?
Ironically, if there is any good news in this tragic situation, it could be that this disaster is right on our doorstep. It was terrible when Alaska was coated in Exxon's oil, but it was easier to ignore because it was way up in Alaska. This could be the nasty, terrible, tragic dose of reality that we need to really gain momentum towards clean renewable energy. It's much harder to push out of the news cycle when it has pretty much shut down the entire Gulf of Mexico. This thing is going to be a story for a LONG time to come.
President Obama should make it a national goal and priority to wean the country off oil, coal (don't forget that one), and other dangerous and dirty sources of power. For the good of our nation, for the good of the world, for the good of our unborn successors, we need to stop using this power sources.
Are you on Twitter? Follow me (@sheagunther) there, I give good tweets.
And if you really like my writing, you can join my Facebook page.
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those
providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of
MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies
with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy
of any of their information.
 WorldShares
lets you earn donations for your favorite nonprofit. Earn up to 20
points now.Learn More Earn Points
|
CLOSE
link:
link:
| Previous Post Watch: 24 hours of Walmart | Next Post The waters rise over Nashville |
Comments
patclemente
Today 10:49 AM
A sound and responsible article about the oilspill! Thank you!
DC
05/06/2010 00:20 AM
Sweden, before Al Gore's "challenge" to the U.S., put into law a 10 year plan to eliminate petroleum completely within 10 years and to replace it with cleaner alternatives.
Oil kills almost all forms of life. Any time oil drips out of the engine of one's car, or gasoline/petrol drips at the gas station onto the ground, it eventually ends up in the water table. One quart of motor oil is enough to make 1/4 million gallons of ocean uninhabitable to life.
Oil causes cancer and birth.... More
Uncle B
05/05/2010 13:08 PM
Automotive industries die, Wall Street robs people in open daylight, Detroit City burns houses - replacement timbers for which are not yet re-grown. President himself shamefully admits schools are 32nd in the world, Viet Nam - lost. Iraq, promises lower oil prices for Americans, opposite happens, Three Mile Island style reactor problems shut down whole industry, the US paper fiat dollar falls like a stone in world markets, the Yuan threatens American prosperity, - What are we doing wrong? Are.... More
karl-burkart
05/04/2010 22:25 PM
Enter your comments hereIt's important to note that BP, Exxon and Haliburton all lobbied heavily to curtail regulations on offshore oil rig construction. While Countries like Norway required remote shut off valves by law. It seems astonishing to think that the platform operators wouldn't want a shot off valve that could be operated remotely (a technology widely available in the 80's) but the rest as they say is history.
Karl
05/04/2010 22:23 PM
It's important to note that BP, Exxon and Haliburton all lobbied heavily to curtail regulations on offshore oil rig construction. While Countries like Norway required remote shut off valves by law. It seems astonishing to think that the platform operators wouldn't want a shot off valve that could be operated remotely (a technology widely available in the 80's) but the rest as they say is history.
Terrrence Thomas
05/04/2010 14:45 PM
this is the bootiest website
Ben
05/04/2010 13:27 PM
"I'm not well-versed enough in oil drilling technology to know if the shutoff valve could have prevented the explosion on the rig that set this chain of events into motion, but I do know that it could have prevented the river of oil that is currently pouring out from the ocean floor right now."
You have just contradicted yourself. You admit not knowing about oil wells and technoloy, yet you assume that this technology would have done the trick just because it is missing. That is a.... More
Technology
05/04/2010 12:15 PM
Unfortunantly, an acoustic trigger for the BOP in this scenario would not have made a bit of difference in containing the current spill. In this scenario the BOP has failed completely, and despite multiple backup safety activation methods including ROV's, it is unable to shear and seal. An acoustic trip would have made no difference in enhancing its ability to close, it would have just been a dead signal trying to activate something that couldn't be activated. To liken this to an everyday.... More
