Things that make you angry:
At a hearing in New Orleans, the highest ranking official on the Deepwater Horizon testified that he had a disagreement with BP officials on the rig before the explosion.
Jimmy Harrell, a manager who was in charge of the rig, owned by Transocean, said he had expressed concern that BP did not plan to conduct a pressure test before sealing the well closed.
Yeah, I think you might want to have some idea of the pressure when you’re sealing a well in 5,000 feet of water.
It was unclear from Mr. Harrell’s testimony whether the disagreement took place on the day of the explosion or the previous day.
Either way, kind of a ‘I told you so” moment.
The investigative hearings have grown increasingly combative. Three scheduled witnesses have changed their plans to testify, according to the Coast Guard. Robert Kaluza, a BP official on the rig on the day of the explosion, declined to testify on Thursday by invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
Another top ranking BP official, Donald Vidrine, and James Mansfield, Transocean’s assistant marine engineer on the Deepwater Horizon, both told the Coast Guard that they had medical conditions.
Let us know what decisions were made? Not today, I’ve got a headache. What kind of medical condition allows you to work on a rig but not sit in a chair and talk to people?
Apparently, the Top Kill plan has not yet succeeded. It hasn’t failed either, but I am not feeling a lot of confidence on the part of the people who are making statements.
Tangent, but I hate the US system of measurement. I knew the pressures at such a depth would be incredible, but I can’t put it into context when it’s in psi; kind of how most Americans can’t put Celsius into the correct context of temperature.
Anyway, when I did do the conversion to MPa, I was stunned. 17 MPa?!?! Jesus Christ that’s an insane pressure.
Yeah, it’s amazing. There’s a mile of ocean on top of you and you have to hold it up. Oops, 1.5 km.
The disagreement story has been batted around since early on. Lets hope someone will give details (eventually maybe)! I hope someone feels free to talk! Other issue: “spill” does not describe this, is misleadingly tame. we need another noun!! “leak” is even worse! may I buy a noun?
A Schlumberger crew was there to check the cement work.
Rumor has it they weren’t happy the well had been filled with seawater and with the technical data they were seeing and left. Schlumberger has confirmed their people were on site and left the day of the explosion.
All signs point to BP pushing to get the exploratory rig off site and save a few days in lease fees.
Stunning, just stunning:
So what criminal jeopardy might he be in? Or is it really civil jeopardy he is trying to avoid?