MSM: Report: BP had 3 indications of trouble in hour before blast

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(CNN) – BP had three indications of trouble aboard the doomed drill rig Deepwater Horizon in the hour before the April 20 explosion that sank the offshore platform, congressional investigators reported Tuesday.

Witnesses reported the well was spurting liquid and pressure tests indicated “a very large abnormality” was occurring aboard the rig, according to a memo released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

The memo summarizes preliminary findings of BP’s own investigation into the disaster, which left 11 workers dead and uncapped an undersea gusher that has spewed crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for a month.

The well unexpectedly spouted fluid three times in the 51 minutes before the explosion and pressure on the drill pipe “unexpectedly increased” before the blast, the memo states. In addition, BP’s investigation “raised concerns about the maintenance history, modification, inspection, and testing” of blowout preventer, a critical piece of equipment that has failed to shut down the well. – Source: CNN

One thought on “MSM: Report: BP had 3 indications of trouble in hour before blast”

  1. BP will soon inject drilling mud and concrete into the broken pipeline at a pressure of 50 barrels per minute in an effort to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf. Unless they know the accurate volume of oil, along with the pressure at which it is escaping, there will be little chance of success.

    Scientists claim that approximately 50,000 to 100,000+ barrels of oil a day are leaking into our coastal waters. Knowing those approximations, we can roughly calculate how many barrels of oil are escaping from the pipe every minute and how much pressure will be needed to cap the well:

    •50,000 barrels a day / 24 hours a day / 60 minutes = 34.72 barrels per minute
    •100,000 barrels a day / 24 hours a day / 60 minutes = 69.44 barrels per minute
    In order for the “Top Kill” plan to work, the drilling mud and concrete must be forced into the pipe at a rate exceeding the pressure at which the oil is escaping. As you can see (above), BP might have a slim chance of success if the pressure from the pipe is below 50 barrels per minute. However, if the oil pressure is above that number (72,000 barrels a day or more), their attempt to seal the well will be ineffective.

    http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

    http://www.calculateme.com/Volume/Gallons/ToBarrels(Petroleum).htm

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