Coast Guard officials state, approximately 6,000 feet of oil protection boom as in place with attempts to contain the nearly mile long oil slick. The operator of the tug stated, warning lights required by law, were not in place at the abandon site. The investigation into the incident continues.

Once again, the inhabitants of the Gulf are paying the price for humanity’s quest for black gold signaling, the dangers of offshore oil exploration. A district federal court judge overturned the administrations moratorium against new offshore oil exploration with further proceedings pending.

The incident occurred on Mud Lake around 1 a.m. this morning according to reports filed with the United States Coast Guard. The owner of the well, Texas based Cedyco have not responded to attempts by the Coast Guard to address the issue.

The government contacted Environmental Safety and Health for the clean up, and is currently on the scene. Independent contractors were dispatched to both seal the well, and handle the clean up. A safety perimeter has been established at two miles around the gusher to protect vessels from the hazards associated with the spill.

With thousands of both active and abandoned wells in the area, the Gulf of Mexico will be at the mercy of those that have reaped profits from the wonders of nature, and leveraged the world’s ecosystem with no guarantees, or concerns and pass the entire bill onto the consumer, for decades to come.

R. Grone – WorldNewsVine

In a letter to Bob Dudley, Chief Managing Director, BP, Retired Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander directed BP to marshal in all its resources to deal with the new development. Undersea robots have detected methane gases seeping close to the Macondo wellhead.

Thad Allen stated, “Given the current observations from the test, including the detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head, monitoring of the seabed is of paramount importance during the test period.” The Incident Commander further ordered BP adding, “When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours.”

Of concern is BP’s response in dealing with emergencies that arise from its new valve system under test at this time. Engineers with BP have stated in the past that, the valve system may have to be reopened if a sudden drop in pressure being measure at the wellhead is observed, or seepage is detected. In response to the news, Thad Allen mandated BP to comply stating, “I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed.”

The letter also refers to the finale of this situation is the completion of the two relief wells, and the permanent sealing of the Macondo gusher.

In other news, ‘A Whale’ was pulled from operation following initial tests that produced very little to no oil from the waters of the Gulf. This is due to the excessive use of chemical dispersants both on the surface, and underwater by BP with hopes of breaking down the crude oil prior to it spreading ashore.

Testing still continues on the new containment system as, preparations for both temporary oil production on the floating platform some 5,000 feet above the wellhead and completion of the relief wells continue.

As of the posting of this article, no updates have been received regarding the latest undersea developments as observation of the available video feeds, does not indicate the relief valve has be opened allowing crude to flow freely into the Gulf of Mexico.

Robert Grone – WorldNewsVine

Map of the northern Gulf of Mexico showing the... The above map shows nearly 4,00 active Oil and Gas Platforms. Image via Wikipedia

Gulf of Mexico (July 16) – An air of optimism on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon’s Macondo well today as initial tests on the closed valve system appear to be positive. Engineers contintue to monitor the pressure at the new system.

BP officials reported today that the gusher of oil flowing from the Macondo well, the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion has been halted if, only temporarily. Engineers monitoring the situation have turned their undersea robots; ROV’s to scan the seabed looking for any escaping gases or crude.

Engineers state that if, the pressure at the new containment system drops, they will open the valve and begin pumping crude and natural gas up to the awaiting floating production platform to be collected and flared off. Low pressure at the valve could indicate an even serious problem, crude would be seeping from the well bore itself.

Readings at the relief valve rose to almost 6,700 pounds per square inch, a good sign that the bore is intact. At one point the pressure at the new containment system began to stabilize lower than expected then, abruptly began to rise. Due to the condition, BP officials ordered around the clock monitoring of the system.

According to Incident Command Director, retired Admiral Thad Allen, “We’re at the point where there’s enough uncertainty … we need to be careful not to do any harm.”

The federal government has deployed a ship with the ability to detect methane gases in the water to aid in the monitoring of the situation. BP was ordered to take more seismic readings of the seabed, and expand the monitoring of the seabed in the proximity of the well.

Thad Allen mentioned one of the possible reasons the pressure at the wellhead leveled off at lower than expected readings could simply be, the undersea reserve may have depleted itself while pumping millions of barrels of crude freely into the Gulf over the last 12 weeks.

Engineers are remaining on a six-hour vigilance regarding recording of readings and sharing information with scientists, and government officials both on, and off the scene.

This is certainly a major step forward in safeguarding the inhabitants of the Gulf. Marine life in the region has no control over humankind however, has suffered greatly in loss at their hands. Rescue and cleanup operations are still underway as the environmental damaged caused by undersea oil exploration, this incident will be with us for a lifetime.

Robert Grone – WorldNewsVine

Gulf of Mexico, (Jul 14) – British Petroleum spokesperson announced today one of the rams designed to seal the Deepwater Horizon gusher, developed a leak under pressure. The earlier videos from the undersea operation still showed oil gushing form the wellhead.

Once the leak has been repaired, the valve will remain shut for up to 48 hours to test whether the new containment system, a mini-blowout prevention system will work. Officials will be examining and monitoring the pressure on the new wellhead containment system releasing updates approximately once every six hours amongst the teams involved reviewing and considering options as needed.

As of the latest update, BP officials feel confident the new valve containment system works. Still, officials will await the results of conclusive tests and observations over the next 48 hours. Of concern, is the pressure being recorded at the valve itself. Low pressure could indicate that crude is leaking elsewhere, possibly from below the wellhead and eventually make its way to the seabed.

Market shares of BP rose this afternoon by 7.5 percent on the ‘good news’.

BP still plans to use flexible cap system to produce up to 80,000 barrels a day of crude to ships on the surface, where the oil and gas will be stored or flared.

The Deepwater Horizon gusher, known as the Macondo well has been spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly 12 weeks now killing countless numbers of the Gulf’s inhabitants along with disrupting both commercial and recreational fishing in the area. BP officials have stated that payments to those that have been financially effected by this disaster will soon begin seeing cash from a $20 billion fund set-up to pay for both the damages economically, and environmentally.

Testing will begin today on the new sealing cap as engineers monitor the internal wells pressure over the next 6 to 48 hours. If successful, BP will finally have gained an upper hand on the situation allowing them to control the amounts of crude gushing from the well completely. Oil production from the well is expected to continue until the adjacent relief wells are completed and the well is permanently sealed.

Company officials stated the containment system has never been deployed at such depths or conditions and cannot give any assurances that oil will not begin spewing into the Gulf of Mexico during the testing. The poorly design containment system that was in use, was less than 30 percent effective as an estimate 60,000 barrels of crude were flowing from the gusher with less than, a third of the crude being capture by temporary production platform above.

“It is expected, though cannot be assured, that no oil will be released to the ocean for the duration of the test. This will not, however, be an indication that flow from the wellbore has been permanently stopped.”

The efforts if successful, will allow BP to shut down the well for short periods during emergencies such as, hurricanes. According to Thad Allen, retired U.S. Coastguard Admiral test results will, “provide valuable information about the condition of the well below the sea level and help determine whether or not it is possible to shut the well for a period of time, such as during a hurricane or bad weather, between now and when the relief wells are complete”.

The current containment system is considerably larger than the previous system and is constructed of a “stack of valves” bolted on to the wellhead itself.

Currently, BP officials state the cost of cleanup operations along with estimated economic losses in the region have reached $3.5 billion dollars. Long-term and permanent damage to delicate intercostals ecosystems along with the uncounted death toll of inhabitants of the region has not been factor into the effort. A long-term moratorium, a ban placed on deepwater oil exploration by President Obama’s administration was initially struck-down by an ultraconservative federal circuit court judge in Louisiana.

Relief well efforts designed to intersect Deepwater Horizons gusher thousands of feet below the Gulf’s seabed, were within 190 feet of the well. If the current production schedule is maintained, officials hope to begin permanently sealing of the well with back fill by the middle of August.

Gulf of Mexico, (July 12) – A press conference held earlier today by, Doug Suttles, BP’s CEO told reporters during the conference call that if the current configuration passes a critical 48-hour test, the gusher may finally be shut-off.

Accordingly, the test is to begin sometime this morning, as a stack of valves designed to control the gusher is bolted to the top of the Blowout Prevention Valve replacing the riser pipe. Meanwhile, work on the relief wells, needed to apply a permanent plug continues.

Thad Allen, National Incident Commander told reporters the tests are needed to determine whether the valves can withstand the pressure, or the temporary riser pipe needs to be reconnected to continue producing oil from the blown out wellhead, until the gusher is permanently plugged.

The well has been spewing some 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20 shortly after the explosion and eventual sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil exploration platform.

In all likelihood, BP will continue to produce crude from the well until permanently sealed. This is due to currently lower than expected pressure coming from the well indicating a leak in the well bore, according to President Obama’s administration and BP officials.

“We remain on track to have the sealing cap in place within four to seven days,” Suttles said. “We’re on day three.”

To date, BP has spent an estimated $3.5 billion on the spill, including cleanup efforts, and damage claims. Both relief wells underway are on schedule for completion near the end of July at which time, the Deepwater Horizon, or Macondo well as known to BP executives, will be permanently sealed. This should signal the end to deepwater oil exploration however, only time will tell if current laws are overturned that permit such reckless, and potentially dangerous actions.

Crews removed the temporary containment cap allowing all the crude to flow freely into the Gulf as engineers move as swiftly as possible to install a new containment cap intended to be bolted in place of the damaged riser pipe. The first caps failure was attributed to the failed diamond cut on the riser pipe preventing a rubber seal from functioning properly.

Currently undersea robots are unbolting the structure in preparation for placement of the new containment system. The entire operation is expected to take up to seven days with hopes of completion in as little as four days.

A fleet of skimmers is in the immediate vicinity to help prevent the crude gushing from the Deepwater Horizon damaged wellhead from spreading any further than it has to date.

Oily tar balls along with, oil slicks have already contaminated the beaches in the Gulf states and have attributed to the death and injury of countless marine life.

All hopes are on this new device with expectation of it containing the leak until the relief wells are drilled and the Deepwater Horizon gusher is permanently sealed.

Gulf of Mexico (Jul 9) – Spokesperson from BP, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, stated that they have received the go-ahead to begin operations to replace the leaky containment cap now in place over the gusher.

The work schedule has been accelerated to take advantage of a window of opportunity regarding the weather. Initially, a third containment vessel was to be attached to the temporary riser system prior to the upgrade of the well cap. The current containment system is still less than fifty percent efficient as it continues to allow oil gushing from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead to pollute the waters of the Gulf.

The procedure requiring the removal of the existing cap will unfortunately, allow all the crude gushing from the wellhead to escape into the Gulf waters however, the new cap is said to be designed to eliminate any leakage.

Currently, the Development Driller III, located a few thousand yards away from the current location of operations, is within several feet of closing in on the shaft of the Deepwater Horizon well. The operation has slowed to ensure that the drilling will perfectly intersect with the existing well.

The plan to backfill the existing well is rather complicated as, engineers on the scene are unaware at this time whether the crude flowing into the Gulf is actually coming from the steel encase well, or the annulus surrounding the steel tube. Once the determination is made, the proper recourse for sealing the well permanently will be determined.

According Admiral Thad Allen, “The time it will take to do this—the reason it is unknown right now and I’m not willing to come off the mid-August deadline is, if they have to pump mud up through the annulus and then go into the pipe and pump mud there, too, that’s a period of seven, 10 days to accomplish both of those things.  And if they have to be done in sequence because of the condition of the wellbore when they go in, it will probably take into August, so we’re looking at optimal conditions on what they find when they penetrate the wellbore.”

Admiral Thad Allen was out on location to inspect the operations, and sea conditions today.

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Gulf of Mexico (Jul 7) – For over two months now, scientists and engineers working the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster have yet to bring the rigs gusher under control. Tar balls begin spreading westward washing up on Texas beaches.

As oil is still gushing from the wellhead at over 60,000 barrels a day, BP is still having problems coping with the situation. The poorly fitted riser pipe and cap system is still less than fifty percent effective in dealing with the situation.

Following Hurricane Alex and numerous unrelated storms in the Gulf region producing high seas, scuttling existing efforts by teams of thousands of smaller skimmer boats, have left the latest hopes, A Whale’s efforts in question.

BP claims to have a plan to increase its capacity of capturing crude from the temporary riser pipe, as well as replacing the system. Overall, the planned changes will capture upwards of 53,000 barrels a day leaving the remaining 10,000 barrels per day to drift off causing further environmental damage in the Gulf leaving uncounted numbers of marine life unprotected, poisoned, and possibly killed.

Accordingly, the Obama administration is doing everything they can to aid in the cleanup and recovery efforts of this, yet another manmade environmental catastrophe. There are more than 17,000 National Guard Troops from Gulf States available for response and cleanup efforts as well as, more than 45,000 personnel on the ground to protect the shoreline.

There are over 6,900 ships and skimmers available and responding as weather permits, and millions of feet of various containment boom in place as well as, being maintained.

To date, some 484 miles of Gulf Coast shorelines are contaminated, some areas will be without a doubt, permanently uninhabitable for decades to come; this number does not reflect the miles of shoreline hard working volunteers have already cleared.  Close to 82,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico, polluted and closed to fishing and other related industries. That is close to a third of the entire Gulf of Mexico, permanently scarred by carelessness, and unnecessary deepwater oil exploration.

Countries from around the world have been pitching in to help, as the administration has leveraged assets from international organizations as part of this being referred to as a, all-hands-on-deck approach to the run-a-way oil gusher. The following countries and agencies are lending a hand in the effort to end this disaster: Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom, Tunisia the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization, the European Union’s Monitoring, and Information Centre, and the European Maritime Safety Agency.

Gulf of Mexico, (Jul 5) – The Supertanker, A Whale has begun skimming oily waters from the Gulf of Mexico as the Deepwater Horizon disaster becomes the most significant environmental disaster in modern history. The BP Oil spill damage is surpassed by the 1991 Gulf War in which, Iraqi troops intentionally destroyed above ground wells.

With an estimated 60,000 barrels of crude gushing from the Deepwater Horizon’s damaged wellhead since April 22 this year, somewhere in the range of 3.6 million barrels of the damaging fluids along with, dangerous chemical dispersants have bled into the Gulf forever damage the fragile ecosystem.

Only once before has the Gulf of Mexico’s inhabitants been attacked at such a massive level, in 1979 the Ixtoc accident pumped some 3 million barrels of crude into the ecosystem. It took close to nine months to stop that gusher.

Accordingly, it will not be until mid-August before horizontal drilling efforts will be completed at the Deepwater Horizon site to which, the plan is to permanently seal the well with mud and cement via the two relief wells.

Enter, ‘A Whale’ a Taiwanese supertanker designed to radically increase the amounts of water being skimmed per day and separated from the Gushers black gold. The supertanker has large cuts in the sides allowing it to, suck up 21.6 million gallons of contaminated seawater per day.

Current skimmer efforts consisting of thousands of smaller skimmer boats to date have collected a mere 28 million gallons of polluted waters in the Gulf, pale comparison to ‘A Whale’.

Although, a final decision regarding the supertankers efforts have not been reached with, testing still underway, the United States Coast Guard will make the final deployment determination within days.

The effects of Hurricane Alex causing rough seas forced the smaller vessels to return to port halting current skimming operations as well as, the deployment of additional boom.

According to sources, ‘The Whale’ is capable of sucking up seawater with up to 30 percent contamination of oil, process, collect the crude, and then discharge sea water containing less than one percent of contaminants back into the sea. This will be the first time the supertanker has been tested in live conditions. All hopes rest with positive results that in turn, will save thousands of inhabitants’ lives in the Gulf region.

source: U.S. Coast Guard