This BP oil spill/leak.

[vegster]

I have worked offshore since 1992 & would say it is a highly regulated and safe industry - at least on the North Sea- the main problem being the evergreen issue of using contractors to do specific items of work which inevitably comes down to the cheapest quote.

Having worked for BP in the past on installations they actually ran, as opposed to having an interest in, I would bet my house on this being the problem in the Gulf of Mexico.

I would be genuinely interested to know if anyone else on NSC actually works in the oil & gas industry or are your opinions on BP etc. gained from the safe distance of living in Sussex and reading the Guardian?

In 1977, after being thrown out of college for bunking off, I worked for a while at International Stores ( Lancing ). I was nominaly in charge of the pet food and canned vegetable sections but with a temporary additional responsobility for the bread rolls. On odd occaisions I was asked to work the tills and, as such, I did in fact sell the odd can of 3 In One Oil. So, anything I can help you with, fire away !

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The guys at the top seem to have slowly realised that after getting angry and exerting all the pressure they can downwards, they are in the end completely in the hands of the techies. Maybe they should now give the techies time and space to get on with finding a solution.

 

[beorhthelm]

I would have thought everyone, especially the stock market, is knocking BP at present.....

i dont see it in this discussion. and the stock has been hit because a) they face a fat cleanup bill and b) thats what the markets do, sell on any sniff of trouble. up 4% today, shorters must have had a shit day.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Vegster. Tucked that up !!! Naugty boy.

 

[jakarta]

In 1977, after being thrown out of college for bunking off, I worked for a while at International Stores ( Lancing ). I was nominaly in charge of the pet food and canned vegetable sections but with a temporary additional responsobility for the bread rolls. On odd occaisions I was asked to work the tills and, as such, I did in fact sell the odd can of 3 In One Oil. So, anything I can help you with, fire away !

Sorry to ask a sensible question, so in other words you are have absolutely no knowledge of the industry I am talking about and therefore you are not in any position to make a relevant comment?

Or to put it another way - f*** Off

 

[vegster]

Sorry to ask a sensible question, so in other words you are have absolutely no knowledge of the industry I am talking about and therefore you are not in any position to make a relevant comment?

Or to put it another way - f*** Off

Well,there you go, It's easy to see why you ended up working in the oil industry. however I'm a bit confused, I'm here in good old Sussex but its seems that for some reason I can't figure out, it's you who has actually f***ed off rather than me ? No need to be viscous.

 

[jakarta]

Well,there you go, It's easy to see why you ended up working in the oil industry. however I'm a bit confused, I'm here in good old Sussex but its seems that for some reason I can't figure out, it's you who has actually f***ed off rather than me ? No need to be viscous.

You will have to tell me why you think 'it is easy to see' that I ended up working in the Oil & Gas Industry (because I passed the Offshore Survival Course?) - sorry but I think your written English is so poor that I can't make out what your argument is?

It was interesting to read about your first job - what do you do now - waste diposal operative comes to mind.............

 

[Seagull Stew]

However the blame is split between the separate parties is debatable. What is clear at this stage is that BP are responsible for some if not all of the blame. What really pisses me off is seeing their chiefs giving interviews wearing suits in air conditioned rooms and NOT on a beach in overalls and carrying spades!
Yes, it would only be a token gesture, but unless they are actively taking part in the scientific studies trying to stop the leak then it would be just what they'd need to be doing if they claim to be doing "all they can".

 

[vegster]

You will have to tell me why you think 'it is easy to see' that I ended up working in the Oil & Gas Industry (because I passed the Offshore Survival Course?) - sorry but I think your written English is so poor that I can't make out what your argument is?

It was interesting to read about your first job - what do you do now - waste diposal operative comes to mind.............

Well, The Oil industry tends to ride roughshod over environmental issues all the time and has an arrogant superior attitude. Also your understanding of written English seems poor, despite my putting most of the letters in my posts in the right order. And you do have a humour bypass. As for my current vocation, ( you may need to look that word up ) I don't tend to come in to contact with rubbish unless its on here.

 

[beorhthelm]

What really pisses me off is seeing their chiefs giving interviews wearing suits in air conditioned rooms and NOT on a beach in overalls and carrying spades!

you obviously misse dlast week when the BP CEO was on the beaches down there. whats the point of token spade shots though? isnt the fact he was on the scene to ensure top level descision where made and seen to be made on site in full knowledge of the situation. i think BP is taking the responsibility and getting on with everything they can: they know they are losing oil and facing massive compensation claims, they arent standing by waiting for someone else to fix it or for it to blow over.

Well, The Oil industry tends to ride roughshod over environmental issues all the time

maybe but we all demand the cheap energy and commodities. you're using a computer, come back once you've found an environmentally friendly produced one.

 

[Dr Q]

I have worked offshore since 1992 & would say it is a highly regulated and safe industry - at least on the North Sea- the main problem being the evergreen issue of using contractors to do specific items of work which inevitably comes down to the cheapest quote.

Having worked for BP in the past on installations they actually ran, as opposed to having an interest in, I would bet my house on this being the problem in the Gulf of Mexico.

I would be genuinely interested to know if anyone else on NSC actually works in the oil & gas industry or are your opinions on BP etc. gained from the safe distance of living in Sussex and reading the Guardian?

I do. Thankfully don't go anywhere near the mucky, hot and muddy end of exploration anymore. Did a few wellsite visits in the N Sea a long long time ago and the safety out there is second to none. I've been to some real shiteholes as well in the M East and Africa, where I'm surprised the rig (on and offshore) haven't gone up in flames from day one.. terrible. Not much experience in the GOM, but it should be up there in terms of safety. I think BP and Transocean have been pretty unlucky here and I think BP, whilst being a little naive at first in terms of public perception have done the best they can in a very difficult environment. Obama is milking having a pop at a successful UK company. Would he have been the same about an American company .. absolutely not.

 

[ryeseagull]

I live in the U.S. and have not noticed the media focusing on BP as a foreign company, just as a transnational corporate giant.

I don't suppose they've done a better or a worse job than any other oil giant.

Drilling is a particularly politically sensitive issue at the moment, so the timing is terrible for BP.

 

[Seagull Stew]

i think BP is taking the responsibility and getting on with everything they can: they know they are losing oil and facing massive compensation claims, they arent standing by waiting for someone else to fix it or for it to blow over.

Like spending $50 million on TV advertising to improve their image. At least we know we know they are doing all they can in that respect!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10243278.stm

 

[rcf0712]

I have worked offshore since 1992 & would say it is a highly regulated and safe industry - at least on the North Sea- the main problem being the evergreen issue of using contractors to do specific items of work which inevitably comes down to the cheapest quote.

Having worked for BP in the past on installations they actually ran, as opposed to having an interest in, I would bet my house on this being the problem in the Gulf of Mexico.

I would be genuinely interested to know if anyone else on NSC actually works in the oil & gas industry or are your opinions on BP etc. gained from the safe distance of living in Sussex and reading the Guardian?

I work in the oil & gas service industry and have done for 25 years. I feel pretty confident that they are doing absolutely everything they can to sort the situation as fast as possible - the most likely way to staunch the flow is by hitting the target with a relief well which due to the extreme depth of water and deepness of the well itself won't be done (if they are successful in hitting a target smaller than a bin lid through 15,000ft of rock in over 2,000m of water) until August. In the meantime rest assured they are cleaning up and containing as best as they can (their very existence depends on it) and Obama's threat to take over the operation is ridiculous political posturing and frankly beneath the man.
The latest I've head is the cost to BP will be way in excess of the US$25bn currently being bandied about....

 

[Seagull Stew]

Obama's threat to take over the operation is ridiculous political posturing and frankly beneath the man.
The latest I've head is the cost to BP will be way in excess of the US$25bn currently being bandied about....

Of course it's not rediculous. It should have been done in the first place. BP will always be mainly concerned about its profits first and how its image will affect that. They will have set a budget to deal with the clean up. The US Government would, (or should) have set no budget on the clean up; spent first and raised the money later, through fining those responsible. If that meant companies being responsible for this going under, then so be it!

What is needed now for the clean up is all resources being made available; no questions asked, no calculating costs, no spending money on advertising, and no time to be worrying about budgets, or prices of shares.

 

[rcf0712]

Of course it's not rediculous. It should have been done in the first place. BP will always be mainly concerned about its profits first and how its image will affect that. They will have set a budget to deal with the clean up. The US Government would, (or should) have set no budget on the clean up; spent first and raised the money later, through fining those responsible. If that meant companies being responsible for this going under, then so be it!

What is needed now for the clean up is all resources being made available; no questions asked, no calculating costs, no spending money on advertising, and no time to be worrying about budgets, or prices of shares.

disagree, if you don't think BP (and the whole industry) are doing all they can to stop the flow and clean up the mess then you have a very poor grasp on how the high end of this industry functions.
If Obama wants to help rather than point then finger then I'm sure BP would welcome it, but to suggest they are not trying hard enough is wrong - do you really think the US govt' pays better wages than BP, and therefore has better experts and skill sets to stop the well flowing...

 

[Seagull Stew]

disagree, if you don't think BP (and the whole industry) are doing all they can to stop the flow and clean up the mess then you have a very poor grasp on how the high end of this industry functions.
If Obama wants to help rather than point then finger then I'm sure BP would welcome it, but to suggest they are not trying hard enough is wrong - do you really think the US govt' pays better wages than BP, and therefore has better experts and skill sets to stop the well flowing...

I agree that BP have more expertise than the US Government to stem the flow of the well. What I am talking about is the clean up operation on the beaches including the treatment of the wildlife affected. This should not be constrained by any budget and all resources should be made available to remedy this situation. Like I said, spend the money first, recoup it later.

 

[beorhthelm]

Like spending $50 million on TV advertising to improve their image. At least we know we know they are doing all they can in that respect!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10243278.stm

dont be a cock. in your own link it highlights they have already spent nearly $1billion in trying to fix and clean up the spill. if they choose to spend a little money on PR (and who says its as much as that, and is that normal spending in the same period?) thats their look out, they are still spending whats necessary to fix the problem.

Obama is posturing over taking over, since as i understand it, if the government does take over the situation they effectively own it and BP can legally walk away. BP is more concerned than anyone as the loss of oil and the envirnomental impact and clean up effects their future profits.

 

[Seagull Stew]

dont be a cock. in your own link it highlights they have already spent nearly $1billion in trying to fix and clean up the spill. if they choose to spend a little money on PR (and who says its as much as that, and is that normal spending in the same period?) thats their look out, they are still spending whats necessary to fix the problem.

Obama is posturing over taking over, since as i understand it, if the government does take over the situation they effectively own it and BP can legally walk away. BP is more concerned than anyone as the loss of oil and the envirnomental impact and clean up effects their future profits.

How many people could you employ to help clear up the mess on the beaches and rescue oil swamped animals and birds with $50 million?

 

[Nottseagull]

- sorry but I think your written English is so poor that I can't make out what your argument is?

An unfortunate sentence on which to misplace a question mark.