RE: Simmons, relocated BOPs, holes and cracks
I don't know what to believe anymore. Holes where wells used to be. Cracks in the sea floor. Flights over the GOM being banned. On and on.
I will take a swipe at the press for the 50th time. Those people can't write a technical description to save their lives.
I can't understand what Simmons is saying. I see on the spill cams what appears to be a vertical structure on which a cap has been placed. Oil gushes uniformly around the lower edge of the cap. The uniformity of flow suggests that the underlying structure is in the vertical, else all of the flow would be out to one side being the highest.
I saw an article this AM which stated that the FAA had banned flights over the GOM.
What would the government gain by not coming clean if this is a Category 100 disaster instead of the current Category 5??? Certainly financial panic and mania in selected markets: real estate from Florida to Texas, other deep water drillers, deep water service, tanker, everything downstream which depends on indirectly on oil (plastics, etc) and perhaps a general market panic. If we are talking about wiping out the GOM then a total market panic would be a reasonable expectation. The ramifications would not be easily comprehended. And when the insight into the future becomes opaque instead of merely murky, then panic begets panic and the giant sucking sound happens.
It this were October, I could see (but not condone) massive amounts of Corexit to put lipstick on the pig until the election. But if this is as big as some (fear mongers?) suggest, then a lid can't be kept on for another five months. Obama is already beginning to be skewered on the horns of this disaster. A Cat 100 mess in the GOM would almost assure a housecleaning in Washington.
Oh. That is another source of uncertainty. A political GOM based upheaval.
Note: I am not suggesting that a change of political leadership (I use that term loosely) is in order because of this. I really don't blame Obama for the initial blow-out. What fool would? But the population at large likes to find a scapegoat in the presence of a Cat 100 crisis, deserving or not, and the President & Congress have big targets painted on their backsides. |
