₦airaland Forum

tpiah:
oh shut up.

someone on this thread was griping about an oil refinery in kaduna as if there are none elsewhere and that's what i was responding to.

you people should try to sound informed when you type.

the fact remains: there are no refineries at all in the southwest, so carry your giraffe eyes to your own backyard.

Jesu!

So you didn't read the article too before commenting on it? . . .And you are a 46 year old woman?!
Dunce, let me help you. The article is about oil company headquarters, not refineries; you can write one about refineries, if thats what you're so desperate to comment about. Right now, you are firing off point! . . .A 46 year old woman?! Lordy Lord!

IBB is not yet tired of calling himself "North". Last time I looked, there were 19 Northern states; not one Northerner in IBB.

. . .But spiritual warfare??!!!! Dang!
www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

[size=14pt]2011: 3 govs in trouble over Jonathan [/size]
•, North launches spiritual warfare against him
•Sponsors clerics to Mecca for anti-President prayers
•How Obasanjo fell victim as president
Written by Isaac Shobayo & Idowu Samuel
Sunday, 13 June 2010

AS  part of the moves by the North to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2011 presidential election, there are strong indications that some powerful forces in the North have descended heavily on some of the northern governors drumming support for the president to run.

Sunday Tribune learnt that some powerful blocks scheming to stop the president were surprised by the recent outburst of some of their governors encouraging the president to contest and considered their actions as counter-productive and not in tandem with the northern aspiration.
Sunday Tribune learnt that prominent politicians of northern extraction, majority of whom were members of various political pressure groups in the North met in Kaduna last week and discussed extensively on the roles of some of the governors, especially those who changed gear after the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and suddenly became the proponent of ‘Jonathan can contest’.

It was viewed at the meeting that the quest for power to return to the North could be frustrated and jeopardised if those governors who were supposed to champion it and work towards the actualisation were the ones castigating the zoning arrangement to pave the way for the emergence of the president as the likely presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to findings, Arewa Consultative Forum, Arewa Elders Forum and the rival group, Northern Union, might likely close rank towards the actualisation of the North producing the next president while the ACF was alleged to have set up a committee of eminent northern leaders to meet with the recalcitrant governors not willing to play along in the scheme for a  president of Northern extraction.

It was further gathered that politicians of northern extraction scheming to stop the president or anybody from the South  from contesting were also contemplating the possibility of  working against the second term aspiration of the governors who refused to toe the line of the North concerning 2011.

Sunday Tribune learnt that this could be achieved by working with the opposition, especially within the PDP in their respective states to frustrate their second term bid.

A source close to the affected governors, two of whom are in the North-Central and one from the North-East, disclosed that they had, at their individual levels, resolved not to succumb to pressure or intimidation regarding their stance on President Jonathan.

One of the aides to one of the governors in the North-Central who spoke with Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity stated that the support of his governor for President Goodluck Jonathan was based on principle and the quest to strengthen democracy.

He disclosed that they were aware of the moves to align with the opposition especially within the PDP to frustrate the second term bid of his governor by sponsoring somebody within to run against the governor using prevailing situation as a yardstick for such action.

It will be recalled that Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State recently called on President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2011 election, saying the nation had outgrown the zoning arrangement in place in the country.

He frowned at the idea of zoning, saying that it was high time the nation did away with zoning in order to promote good governance. He added that for Nigeria to move forward it needed good leader with passion for governance and development.

Governor Jang, however, added that the people of Plateau State would support the presidential bid of Dr. Jonathan if he decided to contest the 2011 election on the platform of the PDP.

Other governors in the North had equally made similar comments which did not go down well with those leaders in the North who wanted power to return to the North in 2011 based on the controversial zoning arrangement of the PDP.

Meanwhile, Some concerned leaders in the northern part of Nigeria  are  not  leaving things to chances on how to reclaim the Presidency from Dr Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

[b]Indication that the north was keen on reclaiming the Presidency in 2011 emerged on the strength of reports that  some northerners had commissioned some marabouts and Islamic clerics, with sponsorship to Saudi Arabia, to offer prayers in support of the northern aspiration to produce the next president of Nigeria.

According to findings, supporters of President Jonathan were already aware of recourse to spirituality by some northern leaders on the issue of 2011 presidency, and had rather left everything in the hands of God, who, a top motivator said, only has power to give and take power.

Those engaging spiritualists  against Jonathan, according to findings, were not particular on any presidential hopeful from the north to take over from Jonathan. They were said to have been alarmed by the prospect of northern relegation in national politics for a long period with the possibility of enthroning Jonathan as the next elected President of Nigeria.

In essence, the north would be contented in the event of emergence of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or other presidential hopeful from the zone as president  in 2011.

Besides the spiritual angle to fighting for 2011 presidency, the northern media, most especially the radio, were also being used as means of mainstreaming the propaganda for northern presidency as reflected by most of the programmes aired by notable north based radio stations of late.

Sunday Tribune learnt that security reports had been filed based on open sentiments being canvassed by some of the radio stations, mostly in Kaduna and Kano, through interview sessions, debates on politics and other current affairs programmes.

The north had launched similar propaganda, using the radio in fighting the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, most especially during the plot to elongate his tenure through constitutional amendment with key National Assembly members being proponents.

Early in the regime of  Obasanjo as president, Sunday Tribune had reported that some spiritualists were camped at a mosque in Abuja to invoke specific verses in certain prayer books to pray for the then President who was at the height of his popularity, whereas the sessions were meant to  curse Obasanjo on the basis that he was all out to cripple the political and economic fortune of the north.[/b]

From indications, years after the negative prayers were said against Obasanjo who initially won the hearts of Nigerians by his laudable programmes and policy initiatives including creation of EFCC, ICPC, suppression of coup instincts in the military, improvement on Nigeria's external image, fat pay for civil servants, forging of national unity, introduction of GSM telephony into Nigeria, revival of Abuja City through construction of network of roads and many more, the former president took to outlandish ideas which eventually made him unpopular.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/front-page-articles/1305-2011-3-govs-in-trouble-over-jonathan-north-launches-spiritual-warfare-against-him-sponsors-clerics-to-mecca-for-anti-president-prayers-how-obasanjo-fell-victim-as-president

tpiah:
you people arent even serious.

i just checked, and nigeria actually has a minimum of three state owned refineries.

one in kaduna, one in warri and one in port harcourt.

yoruba and lagos wey dey disturb una sleep, do not have any refineries at all.

so what exactly is the problem here if not bad belle.

I am shocked!!!! Every kid knows the number and location of refineries in Nigeria.
You don't even know whats going on in Nigeria and you're arguing? You should be thoroughly ashamed.
I now understand where your crazy positions come from; you better come back home before you are totally lost abroad.

hopeyemmy:
wat happens nxt to d divorced 15yrs old girl? is she going to marry another old man like d sucking Yerima? ds are questions begging 4 answers. bt one thing is certain, d divorced girl can neva find a person of her age range to marry nd dt means her life is seemingly ruined. IGNORANCE!

Imagine! He divorced a girl of 15 to "marry" one of 13.
What will his younger kids call their new 13 year old "mummy"? He should be shot.

If the man won't commit suicide, someone should take him to bar beach and "help".
This man has always been in the news for gutter behaviour. Its not the first time.

EzeUche:
That is true, the oil companies are a major factor in why there is so much instability in the region. The degradation of the environment needs to be stopped.

The oil companies need to be held accountable but too bad the Nigerian government is in bed with these crooks. You see how BP is coming under fire in the states. The same thing needs to happen with Shell.

Pumping oil to Kaduna is quite crazy. Why not refine oil in the Niger Delta? It is not like that refined oil cannot be distributed around the country.

Its not just that. All oil depo's in the ND where not allowed to distribute products (other areas could), it is only after Jonathan came in that the rubbish was stopped; that is why fuel prices have come down drastically. You have to ask, why these foolish and wicked polices?
The only answers one can come up with are that some Hausa - Fulani cabals were prostituting the country for peanuts (if you recall, all our gas is sold until 2015, while we have none for domestic use). Yoruba people are just being used as much as ND people, but some like Tpia can't see it that all Nigerians are being flogged on foreign markets in a new slavery; she's thinking about grand buildings they don't benefit from. In the past, some were sold with mirrors, these days, its for a drop of oil.

If not for Enyeama's jass, 9ja would have lost by like 10 - 0 to Argentina yesterday. Up jass!
Messi is lucky he didn't see 7 lions.

EzeUche:
If peace and stability comes to the Niger Delta, then there should not be any problem with forcing the oil companies to relocate to the Niger Delta.

But there is no peace and security.

And the refinery in Kaduna is quite crazy. Most oil is refined near the source of oil. Look at Saudi Arabia.

Tell me about it! Oil is pumped all the way from Warri to be refined in Kaduna, wasting money that could be better utilised elsewhere. How much sense does it make?
I get your point about peace in the ND, but the oil companies are better off facing up to their responsibilities and accepting any consequences shoddiness or oppression might bring (like BP is doing in the US). No point allowing them create problems, ruin lives and then run off elsewhere.

^
Frederick Enitiolorunda Obateru Akinruntan does not sound like an ND name, so he is free to base himself in his own place or wherever. We don't care.
All foreign oil companys with 40% FG contracts must be based where the oil is.

Run along to bed now, its quite clear you are tired.

^
Sad old woman. It is never too late to learn. So you want to deny that the whole country is dependent on oil? Ok its dependent on high tech industry, computer chip manufacturing etc. Ode. . . A fool at 40+ is fool forev. . . 

sjeezy8:
Why are people here thinking like cave men ALOT OF COMPANIES ARE BASED IN NEW YORK YET THEIR FACTORIES AND PLACES OF PRODUCTION ARE OTHER PLACES AROUND AMERICA AND ALSO IN CHINA AND INDIA !!!!

This is 2010 Oil Companies have offices in ND states- NDELTANS should be concerned about job creation in the ND not where companies are based.

Companies have their own right to be based anywhere they like and THATS all companies- Obatoil owned by Prince (Dr.) F.E.O. Akinruntan FROM ESE ODO/ ILAJE Oil producing area and his Oil company is headquatered in Ikoyi Lagos.

So fagget beaf dont make it about tribe or region- companies would rather be based in Lagos and Abuja-

Listen bonehead, Indian companies whose business is in India are not based in new York. Same goes with Chinese or any other nationality companies. Do you get?

Another thing, we are not talking about indegenious oil coys like "Obatoil owned by Prince (Dr.) F.E.O. Akinruntan". Read before making comments, it helps you sound smart, you know. . . like you had your fruit and veg at the right age. Ode.

tpiah:
^^let me leave you to your daydreams about where the [not your] oil money is going.

while you're busily listening to the cash register jingling in your visions, be sure to calculate the percentage of this same oil money which is outside nigeria.

na only lagos dey hungry you?

I simply turned your question back on you. People foolishly remember "your elected representatives" and other inanities when it come to the ND; forgeting that the whole country is shamefully 100% dependent on oil and they should be asking their "elected representatives", why.

If the oil money was properly managed, nobody would be asking questions today. In fact, Nigeria would have been a developed country, instead we are populated with folk that ask questions about "your elected representatives" through their arseholes.

tpiah:
do you people think moving oil companies from lagos (as if na only there dem dey) will cripple lagos?

think again.

and while you're at it, learn to demand accountability from your elected representatives instead of whining everywhere with your neverending symphony of how others are always responsible for every single problem you have.

bad belle is not good!

Cripple Lagos? . . .Please! The whole of Nigeria is built on ND wealth, even your beloved Lagos gets a monthly wage from Abuja. Have you demanded accountability from your elected representatives as to why the whole of the country is parasitic on ND oil while the ND is the most polluted wetland and oil producing area in the World? Have you asked your governor why your state is a parasite?

We are talking about equity from the FG and you sit down to ask daft questions. With a little thought, you will find that everybody will benefit from justice in the ND.

Dis Guy:
that was a deadly crash, people forget how dangerous this sport is, thanks to the design and safety measures put in place, who would have thought a little spare part would cause so much damage to massa last year despite his helmet


and buemi's wheels coming off under him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7D2SHDqk1E&feature=related

watch how he steers the wheels away lol

Yeah, that was really funny! The car had no front wheels and had become a boat, yet there was Algesuari, busy steering around obstacles! Damn!

Dis Guy:
lol he was so caught up in trying to race them from the line, kimi was 'blocking' off the other guy pushing him to the right

The other guy was Kubica. I feel both of them should have been punished (for racing in the pitlane), but only Lewis was. Everybody also conveniently forgot that Rosberg ran into Lewis too. But then the FIA was led by the goat, Max Mosley (whose father was a Nazi). Mosley didn't like Lewis (and I suspect, black people), so he alone got punished. . . Still won the World title that year though.

mystikal:
Hamilton in pole position

Your nemesis!
Red Bulls string of 7 poll positions has come to an end. Stewards are investigating Lewis for stopping out on track though there are no rules governing that. I expect that to pass by without punishment.

Kobojunkie:
Were they really denying Nigerians this skill or were Nigerians denying themselves these skills by refusing to educate their own in this and do all possible to INVITE them to take advantage of the skills we have, not skills we do not have, to offer?

I really hate the way we continue to analyze issues -- always placing ourselves in position of victim in it all. Countries around the world have seen fit to train their own and INVITE investors from all over to come take advantage of skills and services available. China is a classic example of this. China has to invite thousands with tantalizing packages and today, it is become the center of the global economy essentially. Even America today has seen fit to offer incentives upon incentives to help bring companies and investors back to America. What are ND Governor's and people doing? Why should the companies be IN CHARGE of sending your own people to school just because they are drilling the area? Why are we always to quick to play victim when it is all too clear what the problem is
But ever consider that Lagos offers what the ND areas do not? Why should Lagos be denied these investors just because ND, which probably cannot offer what Lagos does currently does, wants them? Please we need to start putting sentiment aside and see things as they really are. Can ND offer these companies a better package than they currently get in Lagos today? Please, we need to start thinking like educated people do and not continue to try to play victim, even after we know how it all works.

[size=14pt]
What is the special thing Lagos can offer that the ND can't?[/size] Is it oil? I demand to know, because you are not sounding smart.
The only reason, oil coys are based in Lagos is because of majority groups exploiting minorities. Period!

evil666:
Don’t be myopic, why dint you say the “thanx” was wrongly spelt!
"reflcted" was abbreviated ok?

That is ok when you're texting on your phone or IM. On the wider Internet, it seems to be a habit common only to some Nigerians; no other people do it. It makes it seem that people are less intelligent than they are.
Please, please stop it. I am begging.

Pifa:
Naturally, the oil producing states should have been the jewels of Nigeria, had it not been for MEND Brothers Kidnappers, Incorporated who drove many oil expatriates out of their states and into the “warm” embrace of Lagos. Add to that a number of visionless and unimaginative governors; it is no wonder that large areas of the ND remain undeveloped and hostile to human settlements.
. . .
So, before you start pointing accusing fingers at others outside your region, you might want to turn around and take a closer look at your leadership and the effect MEND’s activities has had on driving investment away from the ND.

Nigeria is packed full of idiots and wicked people. What happened in the 40+ years before MEND very rightly took up arms in 2006? In that time, what revenue streams did the Nigerian govt develop? What does your state produce for instance, aside from relying on money from the ND? Have you blamed your governor for that?

First things first, the Federal govt owns the oil business; they are partnered with the oil companies in a 60 - 40 relationship. ND states are not pencilled into the contracts in any way. Therefore, blaming ND govts is the action of a dolt.

At the time Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni 9 were executed for making peaceful demands, where were you? At the time so many of our communities were razed to the ground by troops paid and armed by oil companies, where were you? Yes, until recently, Shell and Chevron owned the "Nigerian" army; and they did it becuase "clever" folk like you sell themselves cheap, thinking they are scoring points against the next ethnic group. Fool.

The reason the oil majors have offices in Lagos is for devide and rule. It clear as day that the Hausa-Fulani axis schemed that the best way to remain in control of oil and gas was by playing the South West against the South South, while starving the South East fuel or anything to do with the petroleum industry. Anyway, beans don burn!

Jonathan is doing all the right things by auditing the industry and slowly, but surely moving toward equity for the ND. Too many silly games have been played with Nigeria's welfare for the benefit of a wicked cabals pockets.

The oil companies have no choice, but to relocate to Warri and Porthacourt.

DaLover:
Becomerich
Let me understand your reasoning,
. . .

Dude, don't even try. Becomerich is NL's decorated nutter. . . Watchout for his maps.

@Negro_Ntns
Welcome back!!!!

Dis Guy:
I'd have prefer he starts from 2nd or third for some reason, so he can attack, dont want no boring race

from pole to the podium

True, but both Red Bulls are side by side; anything could happen.
Montreal always provides maximum entertainment and horror in equal measure. We'll have a great race tomorrow. Here's some vids from older races;

1) For no obvious reason, Lewis attempts to pass "through" Kimi, loses the lead and is out of the race!
[flash=640,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnCsG0DlXkU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&[/flash]

2) Horror! Kubitsa crashes big time! Really deadly!
[flash=485,385]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WItGK4ZwlVc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&[/flash]

Dis Guy:
dont know but the caption and chat seems a bit too real to be true, drivers dont talk that much heck they'll lose concentration but not hard to believe though those skank in the pits got their sums wrong

Its real. Those are real radio communications released by the FIA. I'm a bit suspicious about the FIA's reasons for releasing that info though, seems a bit underhand; like either a way to take some heat of Red Bull or to generate more controversy (and money ).

Pretty damning stuff.

[size=14pt]Published May 13 2010 by Climate Progress, Archived May 13 2010 [/size]
Stupak stunner: Oil well's blowout preventer had leaks, dead battery, design flaws
by Joe Romm

Coast Guard Captain slams industry "self-certification" of BOP: "Manufactured by industry, installed by industry, with no government witnessing oversight of the installation or the construction." And the rig flew the Marshall Island flag to further escape U.S. oversight

A senior House Democrat said that the blowout preventer that failed to stop an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico had a dead battery in its control pod, leaks in its hydraulic system, a “useless” test version of one of the devices that was supposed to close the flow of oil and a cutting tool that wasn’t strong enough to shear through joints that made up 10 percent of the drill pipe.

That’s the lead of the WashPost coverage on the devastating opening statement by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) in a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
It simply becomes more and more astounding that BP ever called this blowout disaster ‘inconceivable,’ ‘unprecedented,’ and unforeseeable. It was quite literally an accident waiting to happen. A 30-second video of the undersea volcano finally released by BP is above.
You can read comments by the Coast Guard on how the rig minimizes regulatory oversight in the WP piece and also at Nola.com, which reports:

The Coast Guard inspections follow up on the monitoring done by the classification society for the flag state. Gifford said the Deepwater Horizon used the Marshall Islands’ flag as a “flag of convenience” so it could comply with that country’s standards, and not the U.S. regulations.

The Nola.com story relates more shocking testimony from the Coast Guard and MMS:
Summarizing testimony by Mike Saucier, a regional supervisor for field operations for the federal Minerals Management Service, which oversees offshore drilling, Capt. Hung Nguyen said:
“So, MMS approves the design of the well, but they don’t check what type of pipe is used. And we have a study some time ago about whether a shear ram would cut a certain pipe (to shut off a well in an emergency), but we don’t know what was installed here. I don’t understand that.”
The testimony from Saucier established that the government agency he works for doesn’t do any certification of blowout preventers, the massive devices that are supposed to be the final cut off of an out-of-control well. Saucier said most of the action MMS has taken to control blowout preventers has been through “notices to lessees,” letters that go to drill operators but are not enforceable.
“We have self-certification of critical equipment and safety notices that are not enforceable…” Nguyen said, digesting the testimony before tailing off, pursing his lips and moving on to his next question.
The panel of three Coast Guard officials and three MMS representatives also appeared disappointed to learn from Saucier that tighter rules for monitoring deepwater drilling safety systems were proposed nine years ago, but got lost in the shuffle and never were adopted.
Saucier said new rules were written in 2001 to require secondary control systems for blowout preventers, the stacks of valves and pistons on the seafloor that are supposed to shut a well in an emergency, but MMS higher-ups in Washington never approved the regulations.
“As far as I know, they’re still up in headquarters,” he said.
If the rules had been adopted, they may not have prevented the catastrophe at Deepwater Horizon.

Hmm. I wonder what former Halliburton CEO was in charge of U.S. oil policy in 2001.
Also worth noting, “Coast Guard regulations governing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf have not been updated since 1996.”
Stupak points out that this is the third hearing he has held as chairman of Oversight and Investigations involving British Petroleum. Here are extended excerpts of his sobering opening statement:
Three years ago – almost to the day – this subcommittee held a hearing into British Petroleum’s disasters at Texas City and on the North Slope of Alaska. The 2005 Texas City refinery explosion resulted in the deaths of 15 workers and injured more than 170 people. As a result of that accident and BP’s failure to correct potential hazards faced by employees at Texas City, OSHA has twice slapped BP with record setting fines totaling more than $100 million. Several reports criticized management at the Texas City facility including BP’s own 2007 Report of the Management Accountability Project which stated “a culture that evolved over the years seemed to ignore risk, tolerated non-compliance and accepted incompetence.”
In March of 2006 BP discovered their pipeline on Alaska’s North Slope had spilled more than 200,000 gallons of oil on the tundra, making it the largest spill in North Slope history. Our hearings discovered that significant cost cutting measures resulted in decreased maintenance and inspections of the pipeline and BP’s management culture deterred individuals from raising safety concerns.
Since our last hearing BP has experienced continued problems on the North Slope
•September 29, 2008 an 8 inch high pressure gas line at the Y-Pad location “separated” sending 3 pieces of pipe to the tundra. One segment of the pipe landed 900 feet from the pipeline. Roughly 30 minutes later a second and unrelated incident occurred on the S Pad where there was a gas release.
•January 15, 2009 a isc cleaning pig became lodged and lost in a 34 inch Oil Transit Line during de-oiling allowing gas to pass around the pig and travel through Skid 50, to Pump Station 1 causing a significant venting of gas to the atmosphere and the complete shutdown of the Trans Alaska Pipeline for a period of time.
•October 10, 2009 at the Central Compressor Plant low pressure flare staging valves were stuck closed causing gas to travel to the backup low pressure flare valves, which activated causing the gas to vent to the atmosphere which could have caused an explosion.
•November 29, 2009 an 18 inch three-phase common line near the Lisburne Production Center carrying a mixture of crude oil, produced water and natural gas ruptured spraying its contents over an estimated 8,400 square feet area.
… The world is wondering what went wrong to allow explosive gas to shoot out of the drill pipe on the Deepwater Horizon causing the explosion. We heard Chairman Waxman discuss theories of what may have gone wrong in the well (down hole as they call it) and what went wrong on the rig. I would like to take a few minutes to discuss issues related to the blowout preventer (BOP) which was the “fail safe system” to cut off the flow of oil and gas to the rig.
In his testimony today, Lamar McKay, the President of BP America, says that blowout preventers are “intended to … be fail-safe.” But that didn’t happen. The blowout preventer used by the Deepwater Horizon rig failed to stop the flow of gas and oil, the rig exploded, and an enormous oil spill is now threatening the Gulf Coast.
We know that the blowout preventer, the BOP, did not properly engage. The BOP has multiple rams that are supposed to slam shut to pinch off any flow around the drill pipe and stop the flow of oil from the well. There are also shear rams in the BOP that are supposed to cut and seal the pipe to prevent oil and gas from flowing. The question we will ask is why did these rams fail?
Our investigation is at its early stages, but already we have uncovered at least four significant problems with the blowout preventer used on the Deepwater Horizon drill rig.
First, the blowout preventer apparently had a significant leak in a key hydraulic system. This leak was found in the hydraulic system that provides emergency power to the shear rams, which are the devices that are supposed to cut the drill pipe and seal the well.
I would like to put on the screen a document that the Committee received from BP. This document states: “leaks have been discovered in the BOP hydraulics system.”
The blowout preventer was manufactured by Cameron. We asked a senior official at Cameron what he knew about these leaks. He told us when the remote operating vehicles (ROVs) tried to operate the shear rams, they noticed a loss of pressure. They investigated this by injecting dye into the hydraulic fluid, which showed a large leak coming from a loose fitting, which was backed off several turns.
The Cameron official told us that he did not believe the leak was caused by the blowout because every other fitting in the system was tight.
We also asked about the significance of the leak. The Cameron official said it was one of several possible failure modes. If the leak deprived the shear rams of sufficient power, they might not succeed in cutting through the drill pipe and sealing the well.
Second, we learned that the blowout preventer had been modified in unexpected ways. One of these modifications was potentially significant. The blowout preventer has an underwater control panel. BP spent a day trying to use this control panel to activate a variable bore ram on the blowout preventer that is designed to seal tight around any pipe in the well. When they investigated why their attempts failed to activate the bore ram, they learned that the device had been modified. A useless test ram – not the variable bore ram – had been connected to the socket that was supposed to activate the variable bore ram. An entire day’s worth of precious time had been spent engaging rams that closed the wrong way.
BP told us the modifications on the BOP were extensive. After the accident, they asked Transocean for drawings of the blowout preventer. Because of the modifications, the drawings they received didn’t match the structure on the ocean floor. BP said they wasted many hours figuring this out.
Third, we learned that the blowout preventer is not powerful enough to cut through joints in the drill pipe. We found a Transocean document that I would like to put on the screen. It says: most blind shear rams are “designed to shear effectively only on the body of the drillpipe. Procedures for the use of BSR’s must therefore ensure that there is no tool joint opposite the ram prior to shearing.”
This seemed astounding to us because the threaded joints between the sections of drillpipe make up about 10% of the length of the pipe. If the shear rams cannot cut through the joints, that would mean that this so-called failsafe device would succeed in cutting the drillpipe only 90% of the time.
We asked the Cameron official about the cutting capacity of the blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon. He confirmed that it is not powerful enough to cut through the joints in the drillpipe. And he told us this was another possible explanation for the failure of the blowout preventer to seal the well.
And fourth, we learned that the emergency controls on the blowout preventer may have failed. The blowout preventer has two emergency controls. One is called the emergency disconnect system or EDS. BP officials told us that that the EDS was activated on the drill rig before the rig was evacuated. But the Cameron official said they doubted the signals ever reached the blowout preventer on the seabed. Cameron officials believed the explosion on the rig destroyed the communications link to the blowout preventer before the emergency sequence could be completed.
In other words, the emergency controls may have failed because the explosion that caused the emergency also disabled communications to the blowout preventer.
Still, the blowout preventer also has a “deadman switch” which is supposed to activate the blowout preventer when all else fails. But according to Cameron, there were multiple scenarios that could have caused the deadman switch not to activate. One is human oversight: the deadman switch may not have been enabled on the control panel prior to the BOP being installed on the ocean floor. One is lack of maintenance: the deadman switch won’t work if the batteries are dead. The deadman switch is connected to two separate control pods on the blowout preventer. Both rely on battery power to operate. When one of the control pods was removed and inspected after the spill began, the battery was found to be dead. The battery in the other pod has not been inspected yet.
And one appears to be a design problem. The deadman switch activates only when three separate lines that connect the rig to the blowout preventer are all severed: the communication, power, and hydraulic lines. Cameron believes the power and communication lines were severed in the explosion, but it is possible the hydraulic lines remained intact, which would have stopped the deadman switch from activating.

If this last scenario is true, the acoustic shut-off switch BP failed to install to save $500,000 would probably have worked to stop the blowout (see “Shocking allegations against BP“):
These are not the only failure scenarios that could impair the function of the blowout preventer. The Cameron official we met with described many other potential problems that could have prevented the blowout preventer from functioning properly. Steel casing or casing hanger could have been ejected from the well and blocked the operation of the rams. The drill pipe could have been severed successfully, but then dropped from the rig, breaking the seal. Or operators on the rig could have tried to activate the shear rams by pushing the shear ram control button. This would have initiated an attempt to close the rams, but it would not have been successful. The shear rams do not have enough power to cut drill pipe unless they are activated through the emergency switch or the deadman switch.
In fact, we uncovered an astonishing document that Transocean prepared in 2001, when it bought the blowout preventer from Cameron. I would like to display the executive summary from this document. It says there are 260 separate “failure modes” that “could require pulling of the BOP.” According to this report, “the predominant failures” included “ram locking mechanisms.”
How can a device that has 260 failure modes be considered failsafe?
The problems with the blowout preventer extend to the procedures for testing the device. The CEO of Transocean, Steven Newman, says in his testimony: “we have no reason to believe that they were not operational – they were jointly tested by BP and Transocean personnel as specified on April 10 and 17 and found to be functional.”
But this assertion appears to be contradicted by a document prepared by BP on April 27, one week after the explosion. According to this document, “BOP stack emergency systems are not typically tested once the BOP stack is on the seabed.” What this means that while some functions on the BOP may have been tested in the weeks before the explosion, the emergency systems, including the deadman system and the leaking emergency hydraulic system, were unlikely to have been tested.
After the Alaska pipeline and Texas refinery disasters, BP promised to make safety its number one priority. This hearing will raise serious questions about whether BP and its partners fulfilled this commitment. The safety of its entire operations rested on the performance of a leaking and apparently defective blowout preventer.

And so again we see the tragic combination of Recklessness, Arrogance, and Hubris.

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/52795

debosky:
That is false – further calculations of flow rates are no longer required, what is required is focus on the stopping the flow. This is completely different to claiming that the initial flow rates were lies. In any case, if NOAA wanted more equipment down there, it would be down there, but the government is clearly not interested in more measurements now.

The initial flow rates were lies and have been universally recognised as such. Further calculations not required, yet they must stop the flow, without a clue of how much liquid is coming out? You mean BP should employ shoot and miss tactics 1.5 kilometres below the ocean surface! Daft. 

debosky:
You don't know me either bro - and I won't say any more.

Beats me - that is the most intelligent thing you've said all day. Don't claim universal knowledge of reservoir dynamics when you don't have all the information.

Stop sounding jealous, just school up.

debosky:
how do you know that gas doesn't exist at reservoir pressures? How can you accurately quantify a flow rate from a well without knowing the proportion of gas? How can you determine the amount of gas released if it may not be fully evolved from the oil till it reaches the surface? Again, you are barely scratching the surface of the various factors involved here.

You will find that gas is only present in the outflow of this particular well. Do some research instead of making brain-dead assumptions. Anyways, long and short is, there is no gas at reservoir pressures in that oil well, like I said earlier “light carbon chains are released from the oil solution due to change in pressure on exiting the reservoir.” BP themselves have only ever claimed the presence of gas in the risers; http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/5805138599/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/hse/2010/05/bp-captures_varying/QP129867/cmpid=EnlDailyMay212010.html
In fact BP's poor approach allowed gas to enter the well, with the catastrophic results we now see; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/12/gulf-oil-blowout-prevente_n_573532.html

debosky:
I have made no claims - official initial investigation results have stated the existence of the anomalous pressure, not some so called 'reports'.

No need to wonder - if the estimate was 160k and the current flow is estimated at 40k, a four fold decrease should be enough to tell you that the uncertainties in these initial calculations can be very very large. The predictions don't always match reality - that is the most basic thing about PREDICTIONS. People drill for months and end up with dry holes, even after predicting thousands of barrels of flow.

You made claims. Don't dodge your own words, because they turned out to be unsupported. Anomalous pressures have never been cited as the reason for the blow up, aside from speculation. There was a negative pressure test failure, most likely because of defective equipment and BP’s sham approach; the wells blowout preventer had a leak, dead batteries and there were design flaws, http://www.energybulletin.net/node/52795.
The current volumes are 40k? . . .By whose estimates, BP's, the US govts or independent experts? The simple answer is the true figure is unknown because it is being obfuscated by BP.

I too feel like abusing Mpele the wannabe racist, but the World Cup is making me too happy and proud. Well done South Africa!

There should be firm laws to protect women from this sort of rubbish in the country. There is no saying that Yuguda has no right to divorce his wife - that is his private life; but how can the police be involved in ejecting the woman? How can he seize all of her property and gifts? She contributed to the household and that must be recognised in Nigerian law. I am tired of hearing these horrible stories. . . Yuguda is supposed to be a leader for goodness sake!
Last time it was the ex Deji of Akure beating his wife in public to the extent that she is in hospital, but he is still walking around a free man. Lets prove to ourselves and the World that our women and girls have rights.

mistakay:
You said youd rather live without electricity than see a girl of 13 doit.I gave you a link as a reference just to show you its no big deal,its common place place in Uk 13 yr olds are having babies daily and the sky did not fall you retorted is Nigeria Uk?

Cant you see you are the one acting like a retard

mistakay:
You said youd rather live without electricity than see a girl of 13 doit.I gave you a link as a reference just to show you its no big deal,its common place place in Uk 13 yr olds are having babies daily and the sky did not fall you retorted is Nigeria Uk?

Cant you see you are the one acting like a retard

I am sure you have 13 year old sisters and daughters to sell to old paedophiles. Fool.
The bastar'd, Yerima first "married" a 15 year old whom he "divorced" after f**king the hell out of the child. He discarded her, left her on the rubbish dump to "marry" a 13 year old child. God punish the monster.
What is he going to try next after "divorcing" the 13 year old child, a nine year old; then a new born baby?[size=14pt] I say, jail the bastar'd Yerima![/size]

@Gators
Don't mind that clown jare! Thats how bush people attempt to drag everybody into their little gutter.

mistakay:
So instead of shouting at us backward people from mountain top why not come down from the mountain and go Abia shout some more at those rampaging armed robbers lets see for how many minutes you will shout.Entire criminal industries are springing up in your midst,your youths are busy kidnapping your own people,even sick, diabetic and hypertensive people are not spared,beating and torturing chambers for kidnapped victims are being constructed as we type here, instead of you people to think of a solution for the apparent lack of humanity of your youth you come here talking about Yerima.Does scale of reference ring a bell in your head ?arrange in order of priorities?once you do that you will see that yerimas of this world are at the bottom pit on the list of your problems.silly deranged goat.

You are a disgrace to humanity.

Don't spread the net man! You are the backward fool, same as is any paedophile with the criminal Yerima mindset. If you want to talk about kidnapping open a thread and discuss to your hearts content.
If you have not realised it by now that it is due to fools and criminially minded people like yourself that the country is corrupt; it is never too late to get your head out of that smelly arse, sit down and do some serious thinking. Backwardness is the major reason for criminality in Nigeria.

Stop defending paedophiles, !diot!

New York Times: BP has resisted entreaties from scientists that they be allowed to use sophisticated instruments at the ocean floor that would give a far more accurate picture of how much oil is really gushing from the well.

“[size=14pt]The answer is no to that[/size],” a BP spokesman, Tom Mueller, said on Saturday. “We’re not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It’s not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/us/16oil.html

Debosky, the above is the only reason why there's no accurate figure. There is no voodoo about it; BP simply is hiding and lying.

debosky:
I have more fluid dynamics in my little toe than your entire cranium can withhold

Wow! . . .And you don't even know me or what I do? You must be really, really "clever". At least, I give it to you that you've got skills with the simpletons dodge.

debosky:
Now seriously - BP had not even carried out flow measurements before the explosion - they were trying to CEMENT the well - i.e line the pipes so they could begin measurements.

Secondly, depending on the driving force of the oil in the well, the amount of gas coming out with the oil and the interconnectivity of the reservoir pores amongst other factors, there is NO WAY a definitive estimate can be given prior to flow measurements to the surface, especially not through visual observation of a plume sitting under a mile of seawater alone. If the government requires 4 different expert teams to come up with estimates, your claims are clearly false that all of the flow rates were pre-known.

This is not true - anyone will tell you this is EXPLORATION - all BP would know is that a reservoir existed (or probably existed) and try to drill for it. The only sizing that would occur would be to keep the oil in the reservoir till it could be safely produced, and NO PRIOR estimate of the pressures in the well can be claimed as definitive. If oil companies still drill wells that turn out to be dry, it is the height of folly to keep insisting everything was known about the flow characteristics of the well.

Finally, the whole purpose of drilling this well was to carry out those tests you are talking about - you cannot know flow rates from a well without PRODUCING the well to the surface and finding out how much exactly is flowing. This process often takes weeks to give a definitive estimate.


As for Ibime's comments on BP knowing stuff about pressures, let's wait for the investigation to be concluded. People are claiming all sorts of things now, so it is folly to believe rumours and stories with no clear basis. All that is known clearly was that there were ANOMALOUS pressures (i.e. pressures not expected) whether too high or too low is another matter all together.

The above is a lot of talk that is neither here nor there. What is the "driving force of the oil in the well?" Is it not the pressure? How can the "interconnectivity of the reservoir pores" cause such wild variation that accurate measurements of pressure become impossible? Beats me!
As for the gas you mentioned above, it is only present in the outflow of this particular leak. Why? Light carbon chains are released from the oil solution due to change in pressure on exiting the reservoir. How can that change the volume of oil flowing out of the pipe if the chemistry of the oil in the reservoir is not varying? Beats me!

You claims that there were "ANOMALOUS pressures" fair no better, the only reason given for the failure to date, is that there was a methane bubble that rose to the surface and exploded.

Even before drilling started, BP was able to predict a maximum flow of 162,000 barrels per day (I wonder how). Here is their Initial Exploration Plan (with lots of figures that should interest your little toe ); http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PI/PDFImages/PLANS/29/29977.pdf